Automation agency · People
Automation engineer onboarding
Bring a new automation engineer up to your build standards before they touch a client's systems. They give their details through a shared link before day 1, prove the standards on a reviewed practice build, and get client access one project at a time.
- Duration: 30 days
- How often: For every new automation engineer
- Steps: 10 steps
- AI agents: 1 AI agent
- Approvals: 1 approval
Free plan, no credit card needed.
What changes with this template
Without it
New engineers get every client login on day one.
The build standards live in a senior engineer's head.
Onboarding depends on who has time that week.
Nobody decides when the new engineer is ready for client work.
With it
Client access waits for an approved practice build and covers one project at a time.
The new engineer does a practice build that is reviewed against the standards.
Every new engineer follows a 30-day plan with a named buddy.
The 30-day check-in records the decision on solo client work.
The template, step by step
Each step says who does it: someone on your team, an AI agent, or the client through a shared link. An approval keeps every later step locked until it is given.
- Done by your team
- Done by an AI agent
- Done by the client, through a shared link
Starts when
A new automation engineer signs their contract. The delivery manager starts a run with their name, start date and buddy.
- 1
Prepare the start and share the pre-start link
Before day 1Delivery manager · Team
Send the new engineer the shared run link so they can give their details before day 1, and choose their buddy and first client project.
Checklist
- Shared link sent to the new engineer
- Buddy assigned
- First client project chosen
Fields to fill in
- Engineer name (required)
- Start date (required)
- Buddy (required)
- First client project (required)
- 2
Share your details and experience
Before day 1New automation engineer · Shared link
Through the shared link, the new engineer confirms their contact details and describes the automation platforms and languages they have worked with.
Checklist
- Contact details confirmed
- Address for equipment confirmed
Fields to fill in
- Phone number (required)
- Platforms and languages you have worked with (required)
- Code repository username (required)
- Link to a public automation you built
- 3
Set up accounts and the sandbox
Day 1Delivery manager · Team
Create the engineer's accounts on the build platforms, the password manager and the agency's sandbox workspace. Give no access to client workspaces yet.
Checklist
- Accounts on the build platforms
- Password manager access
- Sandbox workspace access
- No client workspace access yet
Fields to fill in
- Accounts created (required)
- 4
Draft the 30-day plan
Day 1Onboarding plan writer · AI agent
The onboarding plan writer turns the engineer's experience, the buddy and the first client project into a 30-day plan: what to learn each week, the practice build, the client build to shadow and the first support task.
Fields to fill in
- Draft 30-day plan (required)
Checked by: The senior automation engineer corrects the plan and walks through it in step 5.
- 5
Review the plan with the new engineer
Day 1Senior automation engineer · Team
Correct the plan to fit the engineer's experience and the team's workload, then walk through it with them.
Checklist
- Plan fits the engineer's experience
- Practice build defined
- Client build to shadow chosen
Fields to fill in
- Link to the final plan (required)
- 6
Do the practice build
Week 1New automation engineer · Team
Read the agency's build standards and build the practice automation in the sandbox, with a short runbook.
Checklist
- Build standards read
- Practice automation built in the sandbox
- Failure alert works
- Practice runbook written
Fields to fill in
- Link to the practice build (required)
- Questions about the standards
- 7
Review the practice build
Week 2Senior automation engineer · Team
Review the practice build against the build standards with the engineer, and note what to improve.
Checklist
- Naming and structure follow the standards
- Errors are logged and retried
- Failure alert and runbook work
Fields to fill in
- Review notes (required)
- Result (required)
Approval: Access to client workspaces stays locked until the senior engineer approves the practice build.
- 8
Grant access to the first client project
Week 2Delivery manager · Team
Give the engineer access to the workspaces of their first client project only, and explain the client confidentiality rules.
Checklist
- Access limited to the first client project
- Access list updated
- Confidentiality rules explained
Fields to fill in
- Client workspaces granted (required)
- 9
Shadow a client build
Weeks 2 to 3New automation engineer · Team
Join the buddy on the live client project: the design review, part of the build under review and the test run.
Checklist
- Design review attended
- Part of the build done under review
- Test run attended
Fields to fill in
- What you learned
- 10
Hold the 30-day check-in
Day 30Delivery manager · Team
Review progress with the engineer and the buddy, and decide whether the engineer takes client work on their own.
Checklist
- Feedback from the buddy collected
- Next skills to learn agreed
- Decision on solo client work recorded
Fields to fill in
- Ready for solo client work (required)
- Check-in notes (required)
- Engineer's rating of the onboarding
Done when
The engineer has passed a reviewed practice build, shadowed a client build, has access to their first client project only, and the 30-day check-in has decided on solo client work.
Make it yours. Rename steps, change owners and add checklist items, fields or approvals. The template is a starting point for the way your team works.
The AI agents in this template
An agent only works on its own steps, and a person on your team checks what it did. Anything an agent writes to a connected app waits for approval unless you allow it.
Onboarding plan writer
Turns the new engineer's experience and the team's choices into a 30-day onboarding plan.
What it does
- Reads the engineer's experience, the buddy and the first client project on the run
- Writes a week-by-week plan with the practice build and the client build to shadow
- Records the draft plan in its step and completes it
Checked by: The senior automation engineer corrects the plan and walks through it in step 5.
Questions this template answers
Give them accounts, your build standards and a practice build before any client work, then let them shadow a live project. Steps 3 to 6 cover the accounts, the 30-day plan and the practice build, and in step 9 the engineer shadows a client build with their buddy.
Only after a reviewed practice build, and then only to the workspaces of their first client project. Step 7 is an approval gate that keeps client access locked until the senior engineer approves the practice build, and step 8 grants access to one client project.
Have them build a practice automation that must follow the standards, and review it against a checklist. Step 6 is the practice build with logging, retries, a failure alert and a runbook, and step 7 reviews it item by item.
Let AI draft the 30-day plan from what you already know about the engineer and their first project, and let the buddy adjust it. In step 4 the onboarding plan writer drafts the plan week by week, and in step 5 the senior engineer corrects it and walks through it with the new engineer.
Learn the build standards, finish a practice build, shadow a client build and handle a first support task with their buddy. Step 4 drafts that plan week by week, and step 10 decides at day 30 whether the engineer is ready for client work on their own.
Start new engineers in a sandbox with the password manager, and add client access project by project. Step 3 sets up accounts with no client access, and step 8 records exactly which client workspaces the engineer gets.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.