Cognizant has announced the creation of two new workforce categories — Frontier Certified Engineer and Frontier Business Operator — designed to support enterprise AI transformation and help organizations operationalize AI-driven business outcomes at scale.
The company stated that the new roles are part of its broader AI Builder strategy, which focuses on bridging the gap between AI investment and measurable enterprise value through workforce modernization, AI process integration, and operational transformation.
According to Cognizant, many organizations continue struggling to convert AI investments into measurable operational and financial outcomes despite growing adoption of enterprise AI technologies.
The company stated that its research estimates a $4.5 trillion gap between AI’s potential business impact and the value currently being realized by enterprises, largely due to workforce and process limitations.
Cognizant said the newly introduced Frontier Certified Engineer and Frontier Business Operator roles are intended to address this challenge by creating AI-native operational and workforce models.
Frontier Certified Engineers will work directly with enterprise clients to redesign and optimize business processes for AI-enabled environments.
According to Cognizant, the role combines strategic process thinking with technical AI fluency and focuses on identifying operational inefficiencies, automation opportunities, and AI-driven workflow improvements.
The company described the role as a critical workforce category for organizations seeking to integrate AI into large-scale enterprise operations and business functions.
Cognizant stated that Frontier Business Operators will oversee blended operational environments that combine human workers, AI agents, automation systems, and digital labor platforms.
The role is designed to manage operational outcomes by coordinating AI-driven workflows alongside human decision-making processes.
Where Frontier Engineers redesign enterprise workflows, Frontier Business Operators will focus on executing and managing those systems in real time.
"The question every enterprise is asking is why AI results aren't showing up yet. The answer is talent and process," said Thirumala Arohi, Senior Vice President and Head of Learning and Development at Cognizant.
"The reason is not the technology; it is the workforce architecture. The pyramid was built for a pre-AI world. Frontier Certified Engineers who design for agentic outcomes and the Frontier Business Operators who own them are a new kind of professional, trained from day one to turn AI capability into business reality."
Central to the initiative is SkillSpring, Cognizant’s proprietary workforce training platform designed to onboard and develop talent for AI-focused operational roles.
The company stated that the platform will provide structured learning programs covering AI fluency, process design, operational leadership, data interpretation, and enterprise AI orchestration.
Cognizant said SkillSpring is designed to reduce onboarding time while preparing associates to work in AI-enabled enterprise environments requiring human-AI collaboration.
"We are making a deliberate bet on the next generation," said Kathy Diaz, Chief Human Resources Officer of Cognizant.
"Frontier Certified Engineers and Frontier Business Operators are roles that are being designed from scratch and at scale for the world we are in now. SkillSpring gives us the ability to rapidly develop associates who can lead in an AI-first environment."
The company stated that the initiative reinforces Cognizant’s broader strategy of building operational, workforce, and technology infrastructure required to help enterprises deploy AI at scale across industries.
About Cognizant
Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, bridging the gap between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization's unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, drive tangible outcomes and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world.
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