A useful hiring question is whether someone has already solved a problem similar to yours, even if the product looked different.
Vikas Chandra gave a clear example in his September 14 announcement that he had joined Atoms as VP of AI. He described moving from eight years of work making AI models fit the constraints of smart glasses to building foundation models for the physical world.
He also said Atoms was hiring across foundation models, robotics and systems. His personal biography describes his prior AI leadership at Meta Reality Labs and earlier work on efficient inference at Arm Research.
This is Travis Kalanick's industrial robotics company. Its founder announcement confirms a $1.7 billion equity investment led by a16z. The company describes work spanning physical automation, including mining, transportation and manufacturing.
The funding provides context. For me, the more useful part of this hire is how clearly Chandra connects his previous work to the next problem.
Describe the constraint you need someone to solve
A founder searching only for an exact previous title can miss relevant experience. Someone who has worked on models for a small device may have experience with limited compute, power and response time. Whether that experience fits your robotics team depends on the actual job.
I would turn that into a more precise interview. Ask the candidate what constraints they worked within, what decisions they owned and how they knew the system was performing well. Then discuss what changes in your environment.
That last part matters. A good transfer story should include the gaps. Experience with one kind of device does not automatically cover control, safety, mechanical systems or operating a fleet. Be explicit about what the person brings and which complementary expertise the team still needs.
This makes a better job description too. Instead of asking for someone who has done everything, identify the few problems that will determine whether the hire succeeds. Candidates can then judge whether their experience is relevant before either side commits to a long process.
Candidates should make that connection themselves
If you want to move into a new category, explain the bridge. Name a system you helped build, the constraint that made it difficult and what you personally contributed. Then explain why that experience would help with the new company's problem.
Be equally clear about what you would need to learn. That gives the hiring team something concrete to evaluate. It is more useful than relying on a recognizable employer to explain your value.
One leadership hire does not establish an industry-wide talent trend. It does show why a search can benefit from looking beyond matching titles. For founders, the question is which experience transfers. For candidates, the opportunity is to make that transfer easy to understand.
