Top Skills for LLM Developers in 2025

[simka]

I’ve been working in software dev for a few years, mostly backend stuff, but I’m seriously thinking about switching over to LLM work. The whole space is evolving fast, and I’m trying to figure out what would actually make someone great in this field — not just good. Like, I’ve seen folks talk about experience with transformers or fine-tuning, but is that enough? I dabbled with some open-source models for a chatbot side project, but it still feels like I’m missing something more practical. Any tips from people who’ve made the switch?

[bims]

Honestly, the biggest game changer for me was learning how to handle model deployment — not just training. It’s one thing to fine-tune a model, it’s another to get it working reliably at scale. I also found it super useful to understand prompt engineering on a deeper level — not just throwing in keywords but actually designing adaptive systems. If you’re thinking of jumping in, check out what they’re looking for here: https://www.devheaven.io/positions/llm-developers . Helped me get a sense of what’s really valued these days.

[kosia]

I’ve seen some friends move into this space over the past year, and the biggest surprise for them wasn’t the tech itself — it was how much experimentation is involved. Stuff breaks, results vary, and there’s no magic formula. Being comfortable with ambiguity and iteration seems to matter just as much as knowing the right libraries or frameworks. It’s kind of refreshing if you’re into problem-solving more than predictability.

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