Don't Hire the AI Specialist. Buy the Outcome.

The Math

The Real Cost of the Hire

• Year one is 12× the monthly salary — before the person is fully productive
• 17% employer CPF on top of every one of those months
• 1–2 months of recruiter fees if you use a search firm
• 1–2 months of an empty seat while you run the hiring process
• 1–2 months of ramp while they learn your business before output starts

A S$6,000/month role is a ~S$100,000 first-year commitment — before the person is fully productive.

The Alternative

Buy the Outcome

• Fixed scope, fixed fee, live in 4–8 weeks
• Priced at roughly three months of the role it replaces — payback in ~3 months
• You own everything: code, infrastructure, documentation
• No CPF, no recruiter fees, no probation risk, no empty seat

A Third Option

Rent the Operator

If the role is broad and ongoing — "drive our AI transformation," not "build us one thing" — there's a middle path between buying a build and hiring a stranger.

• I do the job from the job description — as a contractor, not an employee
• Monthly retainer at the top of your posted salary range — no CPF, no levy, no benefits, no recruiter fee
• An employee is incentivized to fill their days. I'm incentivized to finish them — you get an FTE's outcomes, delivered faster
• Remote-first, with scheduled office visits when the work needs it
• Everything I build in your environment, you own — code, infrastructure, documentation
• Either side can end it with 30 days' notice. No probation, no severance, no lock-in

The trade-off, stated plainly: you don't get presence — someone at a desk nine hours a day. You get outcomes. If the role genuinely needs daily physical presence, hire. If it needs the work done, this is faster, cheaper loaded, and lower risk than the posting you're about to fill.

Being Honest

When You SHOULD Hire

• You need ongoing product evolution for years — not a defined outcome with a finish line
• The JD is settled and proven — you know exactly what the person will own, day one
• You have engineering management in place to direct and review the work

The smart sequence: hire into a running system. A build first de-risks the role, gives the hire something real to own on day one, and makes the position far easier to fill well.

Proof

Built and Operated in Production