Advisory
Team design and market intelligence for AI infrastructure
Kernavique Advisory is fixed-scope consulting that happens before the hiring starts. We design the team that an AI platform practice, a data center delivery program or an expert program needs. That means the roles, the order to hire them, the mix of contract and permanent people, and what each costs in your market. It is for engineering and operations leaders who want a written plan before they commit headcount.
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Team design and market intelligence, fixed scope
Advisory
Four services
- 01
Capability Blueprint
Org design for an AI platform practice, a data center delivery team or an expert program, with role specifications, a hiring sequence and the contract-versus-permanent mix. It ends in a build-versus-buy recommendation you can take to your leadership.Capability Blueprint in detail - 02
Compensation Benchmarking
What commissioning leads, mission-critical engineers and platform engineers cost in Northern Virginia, Atlanta, Columbus, Phoenix and Dallas–Fort Worth. Every figure is tied to a named employer and a dated job ad, so you can defend the number internally.Compensation Benchmarking in detail - 03
Expert Program Design
For labs and data vendors that need qualified professionals for model training and evaluation. We set the pool, the vetting, the deliverable structure and the legal structure before anyone is engaged.Expert Program Design in detail - 04
Market Intelligence
Hub reports, hiring-market reads and custom research questions, answered with sourced data. The Briefing is the public part of this work.Market Intelligence in detail
Who Advisory is for
- VP Engineering or Operations at Series A to C AI companies planning their first platform or infrastructure hires.
- Practice leads at consultancies standing up an AI platform or data center practice.
- Heads of data at AI labs and data vendors designing an expert program.
How we work
Advisory
Fixed scope
- DiagnoseWhat you are building and what it needs.
- DesignRoles, sequence, mix and cost.
- RecommendA written plan you own.
- DeliverSearch and Capacity execute it, if you want us to.
Related: How to add AI to your company
Questions buyers ask
- What does an AI team design engagement involve?
- A brief call, then a short diagnostic of what you are building and the people it needs. We write up the roles, the hiring sequence, the contract and permanent mix and the cost, and walk you through it. You own the plan whether or not we deliver it.
- How is an Advisory engagement scoped?
- Each engagement is fixed scope and quoted after the brief call, once we know what you are building and which markets matter. The scope and the deliverable are agreed in writing before work starts.
- Do we have to use Kernavique for the hiring afterwards?
- No. The Capability Blueprint is yours. If you want us to execute it, Search and Capacity can; if you would rather hire in-house or use another firm, the plan still works.
- Where does your compensation data come from?
- From pay ranges published in live job ads. Each figure is recorded with the employer, the exact title, the location, whether it is base salary or total compensation, the date we read it and the URL. We do not use figures we cannot trace.
- Should we build an AI team, buy a platform or bring in experts?
- It depends on what you need to own. Our Briefing piece on how to add AI to your company sets out the three routes and what each needs in people; a Capability Blueprint applies them to your situation.