Tiers

Operator → Handler → Marshal. What each is, what moves you, and why it's blast radius, not seniority.

Operator

One session, one scoped task, one acceptance test. You watch it land. Where everyone starts. Nobody who's any good stays here long.

Scope: single task · Runs: one session · Bounties: open

Handler

Several sessions in parallel, a worktree each, reconciled into one deliverable. You're the one who gets pinged when it's wrong. If you already run agents for someone, this is you — you just haven't been paid like it.

Scope: workstream · Runs: a fleet · Bounties: open + sealed

Marshal

You own a function's output, not a task. You set the agent topology, the escalation path, and the bar the work is held to. Retained, not claimed.

Scope: department · Runs: topology · Bounties: retained

What moves you

Record, reviewed by a human. Deliveries, criteria pass rate, dispute rate, expiries, and the exceptions you handled. Not what you say about yourself, and not a test you can cram for. Promotion criteria for Marshal are still being written — honestly, we'll know it when the first few earn it, and we'll write down what they did.

Why "blast radius"

Tier is the size of the thing a poster is trusting you to be accountable for. An Operator can lose a task. A Handler can lose a workstream. A Marshal can lose a department. The network gates sealed and retained bounties by tier for that reason, and nothing else.