The Task Exposure Indexv2026.Q3
Occupation · SOC 11-9041.00 · Job Zone 5

AI exposure: Architectural and Engineering Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as architecture and engineering or research and development in these fields.

Reading this score

computed

37.9% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Architectural and Engineering Managers at the 67th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.6 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.

What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 19 tasks it averages 2.19 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.

The most exposed thing this job does is Assess project feasibility by analyzing technology, resource needs, or market demand, at 75.6%. The least is Manage the coordination and overall integration of technical activities in architecture or..., at 6.7%. A gap of 68.9% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.

Within management occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 41.4% across the group's 56 roles, with 39 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.

What would move this score. Of 19 tasks, 15 are currently banded exposed, 2 assisted and 2 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take cheaper ways to verify output, since the cost of checking is currently doing more to hold this work in place than the cost of producing it. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.

Task by task

19 tasks, O*NET 31.0
TaskExposedAssistedUntouchedImportanceBand
Assess project feasibility by analyzing technology, resource needs, or market demand.75.6%24.4%0.0%3.40exposed
Present and explain proposals, reports, or findings to clients.66.7%33.3%0.0%3.46exposed
Prepare budgets, bids, or contracts.58.3%29.2%12.5%3.47exposed
Confer with management, production, or marketing staff to discuss project specifications or procedures.50.0%25.0%25.0%3.41exposed
Solicit project support by conferring with officials or providing information to the public.48.3%26.7%25.0%2.86exposed
Direct, review, or approve project design changes.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.00exposed
Perform administrative functions, such as reviewing or writing reports, approving expenditures, enforcing rules, or purchasing of materials or services.45.0%30.0%25.0%3.14exposed
Establish scientific or technical goals within broad outlines provided by top management.40.0%35.0%25.0%3.16exposed
Evaluate the environmental impacts of engineering, architecture, or research and development activities.40.0%35.0%25.0%3.04exposed
Identify environmental threats or opportunities associated with the development and launch of new technologies.40.0%35.0%25.0%3.26exposed
Evaluate environmental regulations or social pressures related to environmental issues to inform strategic or operational decision-making.40.0%35.0%25.0%2.91exposed
Develop or implement policies, standards, or procedures for engineering and technical work.31.1%27.2%41.7%3.33exposed
Develop or implement programs to improve sustainability or reduce the environmental impacts of engineering or architecture activities or operations.28.3%21.7%50.0%3.10exposed
Consult or negotiate with clients to prepare project specifications.26.7%23.3%50.0%3.84exposed
Review, recommend, or approve contracts or cost estimates.26.7%23.3%50.0%3.38exposed
Plan, direct, or coordinate survey work with other project activities.23.3%26.7%50.0%3.15assisted
Direct recruitment, placement, and evaluation of architecture or engineering project staff.20.0%30.0%50.0%3.15assisted
Plan or direct the installation, testing, operation, maintenance, or repair of facilities or equipment.10.0%15.0%75.0%3.26untouched
Manage the coordination and overall integration of technical activities in architecture or engineering projects.6.7%18.3%75.0%4.26untouched

Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.

Where the score comes from

judged

Every task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.

DimensionMeanScale
Capability2.620-4
Embodiment0.430-3
Presence1.040-3
Accountability1.280-3
Context2.190-3
Verification cost1.820-3

What this means in practice

Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.

Occupations either side of this one

The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.

Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.