Getting Started with Applied AI Engineering: A Curated Resource Guide

As someone who has spent several years building agents and AI systems, I've compiled this comprehensive guide to help others navigate the world of Applied AI Engineering. This guide focuses specifically on practical implementation aspects like building agents and RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) systems, rather than traditional ML/AI engineering.

Core Learning Resources

1. Foundational Overview

For those just starting, I highly recommend checking out this comprehensive overview of Applied AI Engineering fundamentals:

• AI Engineering Patterns Guide - A thorough introduction covering essential concepts, complete with videos and additional resources.

2. Expert Resources

Two notable figures in Applied AI Engineering are Hamel Husain and Jason Liu. Their work has significantly influenced the field:

• Applied LLMs - Their collaborative website with practical insights
• Parlance Labs Education - Hamel's consulting firm's educational resources and lectures

3. Essential Documentation

These documentation resources have proven invaluable in my work:

• OpenAI Platform Documentation
• Instructor Python Library
• Pydantic AI
• LangGraph How-tos
• Claude API

4. Prompt Engineering

While prompt engineering techniques evolve rapidly (with new methods like least-to-most prompting emerging regularly), this resource provides excellent foundational knowledge:

• Prompt Engineering Guide

5. Industry Experts to Follow

To stay current with the latest developments, I recommend following these influential AI engineers on X (formerly Twitter):

• Jason Liu
• Hamel Husain
• Ahmad Osman
• Shreya
• Eugene Yan
• Chi
• Skylar Payne
• Giyu
• Alex Fazio
• Danial
• Verrsane

Tools of the Trade

In my daily work, I rely on several key tools:

• Development Tools: Cursor
• Research Assistants: Perplexity, Claude, DeepSeek R1
• API Services: OpenRouter, Gemini API (particularly useful for free API calls) and OpenAI API

Stay Connected

I'm currently developing an AI website where I'll be sharing more detailed resources and insights. Stay tuned for updates and additional content in this space.

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Last updated: 2025-02-01