Many young people are worried that AI is muscling in on the entry-level job market.
Dylan Field, the 34-year-old billionaire CEO of Figma, however, says AI gives young people an advantage in the hiring process.
During a recent appearance on the “In Good Company” podcast, produced by Norges Bank Investment Management, Field said the effect of AI on hiring is a “critical” debate happening now in the software industry.
“Does AI mean that you should hire senior people or middle-level, or junior, or are all the jobs going to go away because AI will replace them all?” Field asked. “I’ve heard that last one a bunch of times, and it hasn’t come true yet. All the people have said that. They continue to hire.”
Field said that, in his opinion, young professionals have an advantage because they tend to have a better understanding of AI, an increasingly important skill.
“My bias actually is a lot more toward the junior folks, and I think people that are younger are AI native in a way that folks that are older have to learn,” Field said.
He said Figma, which offers design products and services and competes directly with Adobe, has always hired a mix of ages, but that an understanding and passion for AI is a must going forward.
“I think that it is important that people come in, first of all, knowing that we’re pushing full steam ahead into the AI era,” Field said. “So, if you have a bias against AI, that’s a great dinner-table conversation between us, but we’re very focused on making sure that we build for this AI age.”
Young professionals are navigating a labor market bogged down in unemployment and uneven job growth. The Bureau of Labor Statistics in December published its final 2025 jobs report, which showed that the job market has remained stagnant, economists said.
The rise of AI has only added to that instability. Many companies these days are betting that AI will be able to do many of the tasks of entry-level workers, and economists say that could lead them to pause hiring young professionals.
Field, however, doesn’t share that outlook.
During an October 2025 appearance on “Lenny’s Podcast,” Field said he doesn’t think AI will take human jobs at all.
