Run a customer discovery → POC → pilot loop
Scope a POC with a client, build/adapt it fast, demo it, handle objections, hand over to production.
Tools: LLM APIs (OpenAI/Anthropic/Azure), Notion/Slides (POC scoping doc), Loom (demo recording), a no-code or lightweight backend for the POC build
You should be able to…
- Scope a proof-of-concept with a client to a narrow, demonstrable slice within days, not months
- Build or adapt a working POC fast, reusing existing components where possible
- Demo the POC to the client and handle technical objections in real time
- Define what 'pilot success' looks like before the pilot starts
- Hand a successful POC over to a production team with a clear scope and known gaps
- Manage client expectations when the POC surfaces a limitation mid-engagement
- Own the engagement end to end from discovery call to pilot decision
Needs first: Build an end-to-end chat assistant, Communicate AI trade-offs to stakeholders
The few resources that matter
Inbound Sales
Forward Deployed Engineer Interview: The Definitive Guide
AWS Prescriptive Guidance: patterns
POC: AI-assisted GST reconciliation for a mid-size retailer
Role-play a discovery call with a retailer's finance lead who wants to reconcile GST returns against purchase invoices. Write a one-page POC scope doc defining what will and won't be built in 2 weeks, then build a narrow working POC (even with sample/synthetic data) that demonstrates the core value: flagging mismatched invoices. Deliver a live demo and write a pilot-success definition for what would justify moving to production.
- POC scope doc explicitly lists in-scope and out-of-scope items agreed 'with the client'
- Working POC is built and demoed on synthetic or sample data within the stated timeline
- A pilot-success definition with measurable criteria is documented
- A recorded or live demo walkthrough exists, under 10 minutes
Evidence a recruiter can check
- POC scope document (public)
- Working POC repo or deployed demo link
- Recorded demo walkthrough
- Pilot-success criteria document
Questions you'll get asked
- Walk me through a POC you scoped and delivered — what did you cut to hit the timeline?
- How do you handle a client asking for a feature mid-POC that wasn't in the original scope?
- What does 'pilot success' mean, and how do you define it before you start building?
- Tell me about a POC that failed or wasn't converted to a pilot — what went wrong?
- How do you hand off a successful POC to a production engineering team?
- How do you keep a POC honest — not overselling what a demo can actually do in production?