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Reference file

Hierarchy inference

hierarchy-inference.md

Hierarchy inference rubric

Use this rubric to turn titles into a transparent hypothesis, not a fabricated reporting chart.

Seniority layers

  1. Founder or enterprise leader: founder, co-founder, CEO, president, managing director.
  2. C-suite functional owner: CTO, CRO, CMO, CFO, COO, CPO, CISO, CHRO.
  3. Executive operator: EVP, SVP, VP, general manager.
  4. Functional leader: Head of, senior director, director.
  5. Team manager: manager, team lead, practice lead.
  6. Individual contributor: principal, staff, senior, specialist, engineer, analyst, representative.

"Head of" is context-sensitive. At a company below 50 employees it may own the entire function and report to the CEO. In a large company it may sit below a VP or Director. "Lead" can mean manager or senior individual contributor; do not infer people management without corroboration.

Functional classification

Classify from the current title, not the profile headline:

  • Engineering and data: engineering, platform, infrastructure, data, security, IT.
  • Product and design: product, design, research, user experience.
  • Revenue: sales, revenue, business development, partnerships, customer success.
  • Marketing: growth, demand generation, brand, communications, product marketing.
  • Operations: operations, strategy, finance, legal, people, talent, workplace.

Cross-functional titles remain cross-functional. Do not force a Chief of Staff into Operations if the evidence shows an executive-office role.

Edge confidence

Score each proposed reporting edge:

  • 3 — Supported: an official biography, team page, job description, or reliable statement names the relationship.
  • 2 — Likely: same function, adjacent layers, and no competing functional owner is visible.
  • 1 — Possible: title and level fit, but multiple parents are plausible.
  • 0 — Unsupported: function conflicts, layers skip without evidence, or the relationship exists only to complete the tree.

Only scores 2 and 3 should appear as edges by default. Show score 1 as an unconnected functional group or dotted hypothesis. Drop score 0.

Readability limits

  • Up to 20 nodes: show the whole requested scope.
  • 21–50 nodes: show layers 1–4; list managers and individual contributors by function.
  • Above 50 nodes: map one function or leadership layer at a time.

The diagram is a navigation aid. The evidence register is the source of truth.