Bench forecast
As of Oct 19, 2026 · 26 weeks · 9 engineers · 24 engagements · synthetic data
What to do about it
- Open the req by Nov 9
AI agents is short 0.71 FTE on average from Feb 15 (worst week 2.02 FTE). With 8 weeks to hire and 6 to ramp, that's the last date a new engineer is fully billable when the work lands.
- Cross-train
AI agents is short in 2 weeks while people without it sit on the bench. Most idle in those weeks: Cian Murphy (1 wk), Dana Brooks (1 wk). One of them picking up AI agents work closes part of the gap and the bench at once, which a hire alone doesn't.
Billable utilization, whole team
Billable hours over hours actually worked. The line weights every deal by its stage; the band runs from signed work only up to every likely deal closing.
Who's on the bench, week by week
Free billable hours per engineer in the expected case. Stronger color means more bench; hover a cell for the hours.
Unstaffed demand by skill
Engineers short at 70% utilization, expected case. The hairline is 0.5 FTE. A skill triggers a hire when, over any 4 weeks, it averages at least that short and is that short in 3 of them.
Every week in a table
| Week | Booked | Expected | Stretch | Available h | Short: Security automation (FTE) | Short: IT ops (FTE) | Short: Cloud & identity (FTE) | Short: AI agents (FTE) | On the bench |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 19 | 67% | 67% | 67% | 320 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | Cian Murphy |
| Oct 26 | 67% | 67% | 67% | 320 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | Cian Murphy |
| Nov 2 | 73% | 73% | 73% | 320 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – |
| Nov 9 | 79% | 79% | 79% | 320 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – |
| Nov 16 | 82% | 82% | 82% | 320 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – |
| Nov 23 | 85% | 85% | 85% | 216 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.9 | – |
| Nov 30 | 70% | 70% | 70% | 360 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | Jordan Ellis |
| Dec 7 | 70% | 75% | 77% | 360 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – |
| Dec 14 | 57% | 62% | 64% | 360 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | Niamh Doyle |
| Dec 21 | 71% | 78% | 78% | 224 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – |
| Dec 28 | 70% | 70% | 70% | 184 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | Dana Brooks |
| Jan 4 | 39% | 54% | 58% | 320 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | Priya Nair |
| Jan 11 | 28% | 53% | 59% | 320 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | Niamh Doyle |
| Jan 18 | 32% | 69% | 78% | 280 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – |
| Jan 25 | 28% | 65% | 76% | 320 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | Niamh Doyle |
| Feb 1 | 22% | 73% | 82% | 296 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | – |
| Feb 8 | 20% | 68% | 80% | 320 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | Niamh Doyle |
| Feb 15 | 16% | 73% | 85% | 280 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | – |
| Feb 22 | 14% | 68% | 83% | 320 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | Niamh Doyle |
| Mar 1 | 16% | 78% | 85% | 280 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | – |
| Mar 8 | 16% | 81% | 85% | 280 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | – |
| Mar 15 | 20% | 83% | 85% | 224 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | – |
| Mar 22 | 0% | 68% | 79% | 280 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | Cian Murphy |
| Mar 29 | 0% | 60% | 79% | 304 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | Cian Murphy, Dana Brooks |
| Apr 5 | 0% | 60% | 77% | 320 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | Cian Murphy, Dana Brooks |
| Apr 12 | 0% | 60% | 77% | 320 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | Cian Murphy, Dana Brooks |
Who leads each engagement
| Customer | Stage | Skill | Starts | Weeks | Hours/wk | Lead (expected) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarry Systems | Signed | AI agents | Sep 14 | 16 | 30 | Priya Nair |
| Meridian Retail | Signed | Security automation | Sep 21 | 12 | 30 | Niamh Doyle |
| Kestrel Logistics | Signed | IT ops | Sep 28 | 12 | 20 | Luis Ortega |
| Harbor Mutual | Signed | Security automation | Oct 5 | 14 | 35 | Maya Chen |
| Brightwater Energy | Signed | Cloud & identity | Oct 12 | 16 | 25 | Sam Whitfield |
| Larkspur Health | Signed | Security automation | Oct 19 | 10 | 30 | Dana Brooks |
| Oakline Media | Signed | AI agents | Oct 19 | 8 | 25 | Aoife Byrne |
| Vantage Freight | Signed | Security automation | Oct 19 | 6 | 20 | Luis Ortega |
| Fenwick Bank | Signed | Cloud & identity | Nov 2 | 20 | 20 | Cian Murphy |
| Tidewater Insurance | Signed | IT ops | Nov 9 | 14 | 20 | Luis Ortega |
| Lumen Payments | Signed | Security automation | Nov 16 | 18 | 25 | Aoife Byrne |
| Northfield Utilities | Commit | IT ops | Dec 7 | 12 | 25 | Jordan Ellis |
| Cobalt Freight | Commit | Security automation | Jan 4 | 16 | 35 | Maya Chen |
| Granite Pharma | Commit | AI agents | Jan 11 | 20 | 40 | Priya Nair |
| Saltmarsh Labs | Commit | Security automation | Jan 18 | 14 | 30 | Aoife Byrne |
| Orchard Health | Commit | Cloud & identity | Feb 1 | 16 | 25 | Sam Whitfield |
| Ashgrove Bank | Best case | Cloud & identity | Jan 25 | 12 | 25 | Sam Whitfield |
| Redcliff Telecom | Best case | AI agents | Feb 1 | 16 | 40 | Jordan Ellis |
| Pinecrest Media | Best case | Security automation | Feb 15 | 10 | 30 | Luis Ortega |
| Summit Outfitters | Best case | AI agents | Feb 15 | 14 | 30 | Jordan Ellis |
| Willow Analytics | Best case | AI agents | Mar 1 | 12 | 35 | Aoife Byrne |
| Elmstead Retail | Pipeline | IT ops | Feb 22 | 10 | 25 | Cian Murphy |
| Stonebridge County | Pipeline | Security automation | Mar 8 | 16 | 40 | Luis Ortega |
| Marlow Health | Pipeline | AI agents | Mar 15 | 12 | 30 | Nobody with the skill has room |
Assumptions
- 40-hour weeks, minus regional holidays and PTO. Planning stops at 85% billable; the rest is internal work, enablement, and presales help.
- Stage weights for the expected case: signed 100%, commit 80%, best case 50%, pipeline 20%.
- One lead per engagement: someone with room, working the week it kicks off, able to carry at least 90% of it, in the customer's region if it has one, in that order. Overflow goes to others with the skill that week; anything left is unstaffed.
- New hires ramp at 50% for 6 weeks. A req takes 8 weeks to fill.
- Demand doesn't pause for holidays, so holiday weeks look tighter than they will be. The trigger rule exists so those weeks never hire anyone on their own.