9 October, 2026

Across the AI sector, the role of Member of Technical Staff has become remarkably common, appearing on a huge number of employee profiles at firms including OpenAI and Anthropic. The label is vague, and used across a range of roles, specialisms and levels of seniority.

Tech companies have long looked to flattened organisational structures, but this is a new trend. In an era where work is increasingly cross-functional, some companies appear less interested in traditional hierarchies and more focused on skills, impact and collaboration. And that raises a bigger question: if AI is changing the nature of work itself, do traditional job titles still make sense?

It’s an interesting idea. Removing layers of hierarchy in theory encourages collaboration and flexibility. But job titles have traditionally helped signal expertise and responsibility, giving people inside and outside an organisation a shorthand for understanding how work is organised.

As organisations become more complex, many people still value that clarity. When everyone shares a similar title, organisations may need to explore other ways to help people understand responsibilities, progression and ways that decisions are made.

Perhaps the question is not whether hierarchies are good or bad. It is how to balance simplicity and clarity, and what that means for the way we work together. AI companies may be testing one answer, but the wider challenge will feel familiar to many businesses: helping people understand how they contribute, collaborate and learn in a world where work is changing at pace.

By Bertie Bateman