CIEL HR, an end-to-end HR solutions firm, has revealed that artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming hiring patterns in India’s Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) sector, with demand for AI-linked skills surging 178% over the past two years.
According to the company’s latest India CDMO Talent Intelligence Study, AI-linked skill demand in the sector rose from 6.2% in 2023 to 17.2% in 2025, signalling a structural shift in workforce requirements across pharmaceutical manufacturing and research operations.
The study noted that AI demand remains strongest in technology and digital functions, where nearly 38% of roles now require AI-related capabilities.
Overall hiring demand rises 52%
The report highlighted that overall talent demand in the CDMO sector increased 52% between 2023 and 2025, driven by capacity expansion and growing complexity in outsourced pharmaceutical programmes.
Manufacturing and operations continue to account for one of the largest workforce segments, contributing around 1,820 roles in 2025. However, growth in these functions has slowed to nearly 8% year-on-year, indicating a gradual transition from labour-intensive models toward automation, planning precision and quality predictability.
Sharp shortage of AI-skilled talent
The study flagged a widening gap between demand and talent availability, particularly in specialised scientific and research functions.
While demand for AI skills in research and development roles has climbed to 24%, the supply of AI-skilled talent in these functions remains below 1%, creating a major execution bottleneck for the industry.
The imbalance extends across multiple functions. In manufacturing, only around 0.8% of nearly 144,000 professionals possess AI-related capabilities. Commercial roles show an even lower penetration, with AI-skilled talent accounting for just 0.1% of an estimated workforce of 119,000 professionals.
Even within technical functions such as data and analytics, only about 15% of professionals currently possess AI-linked skills, the report added.
Talent concentrated in few states
The report said more than 60% of India’s CDMO talent pool remains concentrated in a few states, led by Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana, increasing the sector’s dependence on limited talent ecosystems.
Emerging talent hubs such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the National Capital Region (NCR) still have significant ground to cover in attracting specialised pharmaceutical and AI-driven talent.
Commenting on the findings, CIEL HR Managing Director and CEO Aditya Narayana Mishra said the sector is entering a phase where intelligence-led operations will define competitive advantage.
“The CDMO sector is entering a phase where competitive advantage will be the ability to integrate intelligence into every layer of operations. AI is becoming central to how research is accelerated, manufacturing is optimised and client commitments are delivered,” he said.
New workforce trends emerging
The report projected that India could add 45,000 to 60,000 CDMO jobs by 2028-29, supported by the global “China+1” manufacturing strategy and increasing demand for outsourced pharmaceutical production.
It also warned of persistent workforce shortages in biologics manufacturing, where less than 8% of India’s pharma graduates currently possess bioprocessing training despite the segment expected to grow at 13-15% CAGR.
The study further highlighted the emergence of specialised roles such as tech-transfer specialists, alongside rising attrition levels of 25-30%, particularly in mid-career quality and R&D functions.
At the same time, the sector is expected to witness the return of 4,000-6,000 global professionals between 2026 and 2028, helping bridge capability gaps in critical areas.
The report covered more than 50 CDMO and pharma manufacturing organisations operating across APIs, formulations, biologics, speciality pharma and integrated development platforms in India.