Hire an AI developer platform designer

Everything it can hand back

Your task sets the actual outputs. The specialist picks the methods that cover them.

• A ranked list of what to pave first, with the reason for each
• A golden path spec for the top item, with its inputs, defaults and outputs
• A design for the self-serve command or form
• A service catalogue entry with owner, on-call and runbook
• Adoption and developer experience measures, with starting targets
• A rollout and retire plan, and the open questions

How it does the job well

• You cannot build, deploy or inspect the user's systems unless the host gives you tools. Say which checks you did not run.
• Targets in the profile are goals, not results. Never report them as measured.
• Do not invent survey numbers, adoption rates or tickets.
• Ask before changing live systems, access rules or anything developers depend on.
• Read the existing code, its conventions and its tests before changing anything. Match the project's patterns.
• Make the smallest change that fully solves the request. Keep unrelated refactors out.
• Reproduce a bug before fixing it, and add a test that fails without the fix.

Mistakes it avoids

• Claiming code works without running it or its tests.
• Inventing APIs, package versions or settings instead of checking the installed ones.
• Changing behaviour outside the request, such as reformatting whole files or renaming public interfaces.

What a good result looks like

An example, not your task: Developers wait on tickets for databases, domains, secrets or deploy setup.

• Friction list. Each manual task, how often it happens, what it costs and who does it today.
• Paved or dirt roads. Each workflow marked supported, unsupported or missing, with a priority rank.
• Golden path spec. The inputs, defaults and outputs of the top path, with the trade-off behind each default.
• Self-serve interface. The command or form developers use, with its options and an override file.
• Catalogue entry. Owner, on-call, runbook and dependencies for a service.
• Measures. Adoption and developer experience measures with starting targets, and how to count them.

How the work is checked

• The changed files build, and the relevant tests and linters pass. The commands and results are shown.
• Each change is explained in one line with its reason, and risky areas are named.
• Any check that could not run is reported as NOT_RUN with what it needs.
• States which checks passed, failed or could not run, and names missing inputs.

These checks have not been run against a model yet. Your AI uses them to check its own work.

Capabilities

• Find the friction. It reads your pain points and request list, and finds the manual work developers do today that should become a standard road.
• Rank the candidates. It ranks them by how often they happen, how much time each costs and what they are worth.
• Spec the golden path. For the top item it writes the inputs, the defaults, the outputs and an ADR, a short note on the trade-offs.
• Design self-serve. It designs the one-command or form version, with sensible defaults and a file for power users to override them.
• Plan the pilot and rollout. It plans a pilot with two or three teams, a launch note, and weekly adoption tracking for the first 90 days.
• Plan upkeep. It plans a quarterly survey, a review of paved roads, and a 6-month warning before anything breaks.

How the role works

1. Checks your task, context and available tools.
2. Picks the methods needed and prepares a work plan.
3. Carries out supported tasks, with each method's limits and review gates.
4. Checks the real deliverables and corrects supported faults.
5. Hands back files, evidence and unresolved gaps.

Your specialist's working setup

Download the base specialist without a task form or account. README.md and SETUP.md explain how to use the folder. SOUL.md defines its scope. INTAKE.md asks missing questions inside your AI. PLAYBOOK.md, SKILLS.md, BEST_PRACTICES.md, CHECKS.md and HANDOFF.md guide the work and its checked deliverables.

Complete associated skills, supporting files and licences are included. Choose only the methods needed for the actual task. Keep context, working files and accepted feedback in your AI project.

Use this specialist through MCP or the API

Call prepare_specialist with role_id engineering-platform-engineer only. No task is required to load it. Your AI asks what job you need done, what you want back and which relevant context it can use.

For task-led hiring, call find_specialist, explain the suggested specialists and let the user accept or change the team.

Complete ZIP: Download base specialist. API: GET /api/v1/specialists/engineering-platform-engineer/pack. The host AI supplies its own model, tools and execution; a pack does not connect accounts or run a task.

Inputs and helpful context

The specialist starts from the task brief. Only active methods require their inputs.

For the primary method, when used

• A short list of what slows your developers down, such as tickets and wait times
• How many teams and services you have, and the main languages
• The tools you use today, such as your cloud, CI and Backstage (optional)
• The five requests the platform team gets most often
• Security or compliance rules every service must meet (optional)

Helpful context (optional)

• Last quarter's platform request tickets.
• Short interviews with five to eight developers.
• Your current deploy time for a new service.

Tools and access

• Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini with file upload: They can read your ticket lists and survey answers together.
• Backstage: The profile uses it as the front door for services and templates. It is optional. It is free and open source, but you host and run it yourself, which takes engineering time. You need no access to it to start; the plan works from your tickets and notes.

Functions and deliverables

• Developer platform designer: Plan an internal developer platform with easy paths for new services, self-serve requests and adoption checks. Bring your team's pain points.
  • A ranked list of what to pave first, with the reason for each
  • A golden path spec for the top item, with its inputs, defaults and outputs
  • A design for the self-serve command or form
  • A service catalogue entry with owner, on-call and runbook
  • Adoption and developer experience measures, with starting targets
  • A rollout and retire plan, and the open questions
  Source: Michael Sitarzewski and Agency Agents contributors.
• Developer adoption program planner: Plan how outside developers build on your product. Get an open or curated choice, a developer path, docs order, support routes and metrics.
  • A readiness check with fixes to make first
  • An open or curated choice, with reasons
  • The developer path with a metric for each stage
  • A docs order and a support route
  • Partner tiers, and a student program if it fits
  • A 30, 60 and 90 day plan
  Source: GitHub Copilot community.
• Internal meeting minutes writer: Turn your meeting notes or transcript into clear meeting minutes. You get decisions, action items with owners and due dates, and open questions.
  • A record with decisions, each with who approved it and why
  • Action items with an owner, a due date and what counts as done
  • Notes for each agenda item, with open questions
  • A parking lot for topics that need another meeting
  • TBD marks where your notes leave out an owner or date
  Source: GitHub Copilot community.
• Pain-point ad builder: Write a pain-point ad that names a real problem, shows your proof and one step to take. Checks the fix first and flags policy risks.
  • A four-part check: threat, specific fix, proof the fix works, buyer can do it
  • An ad draft in problem, fix, proof, step order
  • An optional block that answers a rival claim
  • A list of policy and truth flags
• AI project context organiser: Share your project and next task. Get a short rules file, a focused file list and a clear handoff for later sessions.
  • A ready rules file for your project
  • A list of which files to load for each task
  • Rules for when to reset or trim the session
  • A checklist for spotting drifting answers
  Source: Addy Osmani.

Tasks you can use it for

• Developers wait on tickets for databases, domains, secrets or deploy setup.
• Every new service is set up differently, and no one knows which way is right.
• You are setting up Backstage or a service catalogue and need a plan for it.
• You built platform tools and want to know if teams use them.

Limits to check before starting

• You need one build and deploy pipeline for one project. Use the Deployment pipeline designer.
• You need to keep a live service up, with alerts and recovery goals. Use the Site reliability engineer.
• You are designing the structure of a single app. Use the Software architect.

Best way to use this role

Give it one clear outcome, the actual files and a definition of done. Keep the work in one AI project so it can reuse checked context and earlier files.

• Download the pack and add it to your AI as a skill. Or open a new chat and paste SKILL.md, then references/source-agent.md.
• Paste your list of pain points and the five most common requests. Add your stack and team count.
• Read the ranked list first. Check that the top item is what your developers really lose time on.
• Share the golden path spec with two or three friendly teams before you build it.
• Treat the targets as starting points. Replace them with your own numbers once you have a baseline.
• After launch, track adoption each week and ask non-adopters why. Paste the answers back for the next round.

Read it as data

Read the complete role setup as JSON. Connect your AI to the AI Blocks MCP library and read aiblocks://roles/engineering-platform-engineer for its role instructions and pinned sources.

This is a prepared AI role. No task has run. Your AI carries out authorized work using its available tools and reports the actual deliverables and checks.