Should we hire in-house AI talent or use a consultant?
Depends on your firm's size, AI ambitions, and ability to recruit. Hiring a senior AI engineer costs $200K-400K+ per head, takes 3-6 months to find, and that person still needs PE domain knowledge they will not have on day one. A consultant gives you an experienced team immediately, with the domain expertise already built in.
Most firms that get this right start with a consultant to build the first systems, then hire internally to maintain and extend what was built. The consultant transfers knowledge, the internal hire runs with it. This hybrid model works better than either extreme because you get speed at the start and ownership over time.
The worst outcome is hiring someone internal first, waiting a year to see results, and then bringing in a consultant anyway. Start with the consultant. Hire when you know what to hire for.