When I first learned about Anthropicâs approach to job titles, I was intrigued. In an industry where titles like âSenior Principal Distinguished Engineerâ have become commonplace, Anthropic took a radically different path: everyone, from new hires to co-founders, shares the same title - âMember of Technical Staffâ (MTS).
This isnât just another Silicon Valley quirk. Itâs a deliberate strategy that serves multiple purposes, from talent retention to fostering a more egalitarian culture. Letâs dive into why this matters and what other companies might learn from this approach.
Why âMember of Technical Staffâ?
While Anthropic hasnât publicly stated their reasoning for this title approach, looking at industry practices and organizational psychology, we can explore some likely motivations.
Iâve been thinking about why they do this, and honestly, itâs pretty clever:
- Anti-Poaching Defense: When everyone shares the same title, it becomes significantly harder for competitors to identify and target specific experience levels through LinkedIn and other professional networks.
- Cultural Statement: A unified title structure might reflect Anthropicâs emphasis on collaborative research over hierarchical divisions - particularly important in AI development where breakthroughs often come from unexpected places.
- Organizational Security: In the competitive field of AI research, maintaining some opacity about team structure and hierarchy could be strategically valuable.
- Information Control: In AI development, where strategic advantages can come from organizational structure and research focus, generic titles make it harder for outsiders to infer internal hierarchies or specializations.
Think of it like chess - sometimes the best moves arenât about adding complexity, but about simplifying in a way that gives you an advantage. Thatâs what Anthropic appears to be doing with their title structure.
But letâs be clear - these are informed observations based on industry patterns, not official statements from Anthropic. Iâd be curious to hear other perspectives on this approach.
