Hires Plan
Extracted 2026-05-24 from the old
People Map.md(which has been repurposed as a Knowledge Directory). Closes the ⚠️ “Hires Plan” gap flagged in NOTQIN KM System — Master Index.
Why this exists
The current 5-person team (NOTQIN Path-to-Pilot — Team Orchestration 2026) is staffed for the path to first paid pilot — not for the org NOTQIN needs to be after that. This file is the forward-looking hiring view: roles to fill, when to fill them, what to offer, how to recruit.
Current team
Per NOTQIN Path-to-Pilot — Team Orchestration 2026 §1:
| Person | Role | Workstream(s) | Comp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahmed Ben Ahmed | Founder · CTO · CEO | WS-A + WS-F | sweat equity / founder |
| Elwalid | AI lead | WS-B | TBC at Alignment Meeting 2026-06-07 |
| Imrane | GTM / Marketing | WS-C + WS-D | TBC |
| Oussama | OT engineer (auto) | WS-E | TBC |
| Mouad | OT engineer (CBAM/steel) | WS-E | TBC |
Role categories — what NOTQIN will need
| Role | When (gating event) | Why needed | Skills | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eng #1 — Backend / Data infra | After pilot #1 cash-positive | Ahmed offloads WS-A so he can focus on customer + product strategy | Python / NestJS / TimescaleDB / Postgres / MQTT | ⏳ Not yet |
| Eng #2 — OT field engineer | After pilot #2 | Convert Oussama/Mouad student capacity into senior OT delivery | PLC / Sparkplug B / IEC 62443 / on-site customer work | ⏳ Not yet |
| Sales #1 — Industrial B2B | After 2 paid pilots | Convert Imrane’s GTM ops into account-management at scale | Moroccan industrial network + Challenger Sale + Arabic+French+English | ⏳ Not yet |
| Designer (part-time / contract) | Before investor deck | Pitch decks · factory-app UI polish · brand assets | Figma · industrial UI · marketing | ⏳ Not yet |
| Research collaborator (part-time) | Already partial via Claude | Track policy · market · competitors | Analytical · writing | 🟡 Partial — Claude + Ahmed |
| Content / community lead | Phase 3 (post-credibility) | Founder LinkedIn cadence + technical content + community building | Writing · marketing · industrial vocab | ⏳ Not yet |
| Domain experts (per sector, on-demand) | Per pilot | Sector knowledge (pharma · gym · automotive · steel · cement · agro) | Ex-operator / ex-quality / ex-engineering at the target | 🟡 Tap on contract |
Hiring discipline
Per NOTQIN Project Management OS §6 R5 (founder-leverage) and the equity discipline in NOTQIN Go-to-Market OS:
- No salaried hires before first paying contract. Sweat equity, contractor, or revenue-share only.
- Each new role has a single-page job spec + a 1-week trial deliverable BEFORE any contract / equity discussion.
- First deliverable lands well → formal role discussion. First deliverable misses → polite exit.
- Comp anchored to runway, not “market rate” until Series A.
- Reference checks mandatory — Moroccan industrial network is small; 3 calls catches most red flags.
Where to find candidates
| Pool | Channel | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ENSA Berrechid (Ahmed’s network) | Direct + PFE supervisors | SIBD filière — primary OT/data engineering pipeline |
| ENSIAS | Alumni network | Computer science / AI |
| UM6P | Through Ahmed Ratnani / advisor pool | AI / data science / OT-CPS |
| ENSA Marrakech / ENSAM Casablanca | Engineering schools | OT / automation specialists |
| Moroccan startup communities | Technopark · CFC startups · 212 Founders | Business-side and product hires |
| LinkedIn (Moroccan tech) | Direct outreach | Best for sales / GTM hires |
| Personal network | Founder relationships | Highest signal, lowest false-positive |
What to offer
- Interesting technical + strategic problems (industrial intelligence is novel in Morocco)
- Real product that ships (not slideware)
- Co-author credit on published research (whitepapers, PFE supervision, conference papers)
- Equity or revenue share for sustained contributions
- Strong portfolio contribution
- For students: PFE supervision + thesis support
Standard onboarding
- Share the NOTQIN Team Onboarding & Alignment Pack 2026 (the master onboarding doc)
- Define first deliverable (max 1-week scope, measurable)
- Pair them with an existing team member for shadowing
- 2-week trust-build window before stacking real customer pressure
- If first deliverable lands → formal role + comp discussion
Action items
- 2026-06-07 (Alignment Meeting) — lock comp/equity framework for Elwalid / Imrane / Oussama / Mouad (currently TBC)
- Post-pilot-1 — draft job spec for Eng #1 (backend / data infra)
- Post-pilot-1 — refresh this file against actual roles emerging from operational reality
- Monthly — review against Funding Strategy runway to confirm timing assumptions
Open items
- What’s the SAFE/equity instrument for early sweat-equity contributors in Morocco? (Moroccan SARL doesn’t have native SAFE — need legal advice)
- Should ENSA-Berrechid PFE supervision count toward equity? Soft “yes” but no formula
- Reference customer hires (ex-AMICA Tier-1 quality director, ex-OCP digital, ex-Renault SQA) — when do we make the first reach-out, and to whom?
See also
- People Map — current relationships + targets (Knowledge Directory)
- NOTQIN Path-to-Pilot — Team Orchestration 2026 — current team configuration
- NOTQIN Project Management OS
- NOTQIN Critical Artefacts — Dependencies & Tracker
- Funding Strategy — gates timing
- Advisor Targets — sibling for advisor recruitment (not employees)