Workday exec trades CTO title for 'member of technical staff' role at Anthropic

In the rapidly evolving realm of artificial intelligence, the title 'member of technical staff' (MTS) is gaining recognition as a prestigious role within the tech industry. Recently, Peter Bailis transitioned to Anthropic as an MTS, having served for less than a year as the Chief Technology Officer at Workday. Gerrit Kazmaier, Workday's president of product and technology, previously expressed excitement over Bailis's hiring, emphasizing the company's commitment to advancing its AI initiatives. Bailis's professional journey includes a significant tenure as a VP at Google, which lasted approximately 18 months before his stint at Workday. A spokesperson for Workday expressed gratitude for Bailis's contributions and enthusiasm for Gabe Monroy, who is stepping into the CTO role, steering the company towards its next phase of AI innovation. Anthropic confirmed Bailis’s new position, where he will focus on reinforcement learning engineering. The MTS title is increasingly common in leading tech labs such as Anthropic and OpenAI, symbolizing a non-hierarchical and collaborative work environment. While it does not denote a traditional executive role, it is associated with high status and opportunities for innovation in product development. Anthropic's career page highlights that employees are encouraged to engage in both research and engineering, ensuring that everyone can influence the company’s direction. Notably, compensation for MTS roles can be substantial. As reported by Business Insider, salaries for MTS positions at Anthropic range from $300,000 to $405,000, while OpenAI offers between $210,000 and $530,000. The soaring valuation of Anthropic, which aspires to reach a post-money valuation of $380 billion, further enhances the appeal of MTS roles, as they often come with lucrative equity opportunities. This shift towards MTS roles reflects a broader trend where AI startups like Anthropic are disrupting traditional software companies. The release of Anthropic's Claude Cowork and specialized plugin tools earlier this year led to significant stock sell-offs in the software sector, a phenomenon termed the 'SaaSpocalypse,' highlighting concerns that advanced AI solutions could render conventional software services obsolete.