THE KEY POINT
Start with the work you expect from that person. An automation professional can connect and improve workflows; an AI Engineer can build solutions with models; a CTO leads technology decisions. The roles can be combined, but they are not interchangeable.
The job title comes after the work.
Asking for someone who knows AI can bundle together very different expectations: connecting a CRM with the ERP, extracting information from documents, supporting users or coordinating suppliers. If everything is grouped under a single title, it becomes hard to make the job advert specific and to compare answers.
Describe what needs to change, which teams the person will work with, which systems will remain in use and which decisions they will be able to take. Then you can define the capabilities, the time commitment and the level of responsibility.
Three roles, three different priorities.
Specialism and responsibility are different dimensions. A CTO may need experience in AI or cybersecurity, but that cannot be inferred from the title. A specialist may have great technical depth without leading a team.
| Role | Work worth defining |
|---|---|
| Automation and integration | Connecting tools and data, designing workflows and handling errors and exceptions. |
| AI Engineer / applied AI | Building solutions with models, checking results and controlling costs and limits. |
| CTO / technology leadership | Translating business needs into priorities, coordinating teams and taking technical decisions. |
Questions that sharpen what you are looking for.
- Should they build, integrate, support adoption or lead?
- What will they have to maintain after the first project?
- What experience do they need with your technical environment?
- Which risks, systems and data will be their responsibility?
- Who will they need to explain and agree changes with?
From the role description to evidence.
A specific job advert helps to attract relevant professionals. To prepare for the interview, it also helps to observe how they reason about the work. The tools they mention are only part of the answer: what matters is what information they ask for, how they check a change and how they communicate their decisions.
The Evidence service uses five scenarios tailored to the role and the company context. The audio explanation expands on the answers; the human-reviewed report brings together evidence and questions to explore in greater depth during the interview. You decide whom to hire.
Frequently asked questions
Can one person combine these capabilities?
Yes, depending on their experience and the scope of the role. It is worth defining which work predominates and what they need to demonstrate, without assuming that a single title vouches for every capability.
What if we also need cybersecurity?
Define the risks and responsibilities: protecting applications, systems or data is not the same as leading all of technology. That need should form part of the role and of what is observed.
Keep clarifying what you need. A specific situation is the starting point.
