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# AI Companies Abandon Job Titles for "Technical Staff"
- URL: https://adjacent.media/signals/ai-companies-abandon-job-titles-for-technical-staff/
- Published: 2026-09-27T16:12:13.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-27T16:12:13.000Z
- Description: Anthropic and OpenAI are flattening organizational hierarchy by replacing specific job titles with the catch-all “Member of the Technical Staff”—a 50% increase in one year—which allows them to rapidly redeploy talent across undefined roles without renegotiating compensation or authority.
- Author: Jonathan Greene
- Tags: #signal, theme-brand, talent moves, org strategy, employer branding

Source: [NYT > Business](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/business/members-of-technical-staff-artificial-intelligence.html?ref=adjacent.media) (paywall)

Anthropic and OpenAI are flattening organizational hierarchy by replacing specific job titles with the catch-all "Member of the Technical Staff"—a 50% increase in one year—which allows them to rapidly redeploy talent across undefined roles without renegotiating compensation or authority. Venture-backed AI labs operate more like research communes than traditional corporations. The trade-off: ambiguous work boundaries and potential cost containment through equity dilution across growing headcount. Whether this approach produces better outcomes or organizational confusion that favors management flexibility remains open.