What is agent orchestration? The AI skill that Wall Street banks are increasingly seeking amid a surge in hiring

As artificial intelligence (AI) technology evolves rapidly, while many worry about eventual job losses on Wall Street, it is creating jobs first.

CNBC cited an analysis by hiring data firm Draup and reported that AI-related job postings at banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Capital One rose 49 per cent in 2026 from 2025, reaching 139,819 listings. Draup has seen the biggest growth in skills related to AI agents. The firm, which analyses public job postings and platforms such as LinkedIn, found that mentions of agent orchestration rose 1,721 per cent this year, with company CEO Vijay Swaminathan calling it the "hottest skill on Wall Street."

What is agent orchestration?

The skill involves designing AI agents to work together on a task. According to Nasscom, as enterprises deploy multiple AI agents, a common challenge emerges: while individual agents can perform their assigned tasks, they often struggle to work together. One may handle customer queries, another retrieve information from a CRM, while a third manages ERP workflows, without coordinating with the others.

According to the report, orchestration works as a coordination layer that decides which agent will handle each step of a task, manages handoffs between specialised agents, and tracks state across multi-step workflows. It acts as a bridge between what a user wants to accomplish and the tools, AI models, and systems needed to complete that task. Without this layer, an enterprise is left with separate AI tools operating independently rather than a connected AI system.

Why is agent orchestration gaining importance in 2026?

According to Nasscom, the growing adoption of AI agents is a key factor behind the rising demand for agent orchestration skills. A Gartner report found that inquiries related to multi-agent systems increased 1,445 per cent between Q1 2024 and Q2 2025. Gartner also expects AI agents to be incorporated into a significant share of enterprise application systems by the end of 2026.

Wall Street banks moving beyond chatbots: Draup

According to Draup's CEO, Wall Street banks are shifting their focus beyond chatbots as they determine the next stage of their AI strategies, a move that could affect executives, employees and shareholders. As banks seek to use AI to improve productivity and automate routine work, they are increasingly exploring a future where large numbers of AI agents handle a growing range of tasks.

He further suggested that while a previous wave of AI hiring was focused on engineers and data scientists building models or adapting them to corporate data, the AI boom has now expanded to include people who can embed AI directly into their business lines.

The Draup CEO said agent orchestration is particularly important for forward-deployed engineers, who determine which AI agents are required, assign responsibilities to them, and select the appropriate technology. Their role also includes identifying situations where human oversight is necessary, he added.

Draup found that mentions of “responsible AI” in job postings rose 657 per cent this year. References to AI governance and risk management also increased significantly, climbing 394 per cent and 359 per cent, respectively. Security teams are meanwhile working to ensure that third-party tools and external model connections do not introduce broader vulnerabilities.

Renewed focus on soft skills: Draup CEO

Apart from agent orchestration, Swaminathan stated that some other skills gaining traction are soft skills, including problem-solving, creativity, the ability to ask tough questions, and being assertive.

The shift suggests that as banks expand their use of AI agents, the focus is moving beyond building AI systems to ensuring that these systems can work together effectively.