A practical guide to getting the right help
Who should build
your AI project?
The answer starts with the work, the person who will manage it, and what happens after launch.
Work through your optionsBuild a capability
inside your team.
Bring in a specialist
for a bounded job.
Give a team a
defined delivery scope.
Three relationships.
Different responsibilities.
These are starting points for a conversation, not guarantees about any individual provider.
| What you need to plan | Employee | Freelancer | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| Continuity | Ongoing work within your team | An agreed engagement and availability | A delivery scope and a separate support plan |
| Day-to-day direction | Your manager and product owner | Your lead, with specialist input | Shared through an agreed project lead |
| Skills beyond AI | Existing team or additional hires | Verify which skills one person covers | Verify who covers design, software, and operations |
| After the first release | Usually part of the continuing role | Agree on handover or retained support | Agree on handover and ongoing ownership |
| Watch for | A role broader than one person can own | A task that keeps growing without a decision-maker | A proposal with no named delivery responsibility |
Start with your situation.
Three questions can make the tradeoffs easier to see. This worksheet uses simple rules, not a hiring assessment. Your answers stay in this browser.
A good interview
follows the work.
Ask the person to walk through a project from an input to a useful result. Spend time on the parts that failed, what they checked, and who used it.
Use the interview guide“Show me how you would know this is good enough to use.”
About this guide
This guide is published by Sun Flint, a software development and consulting company. Sun Flint offers project work, so this is not an independent hiring marketplace or a directory of available candidates. The comparison is here to help you choose an appropriate working relationship.
If you decide a company engagement fits, explore the AI development process or talk to Sun Flint.