How to evidence AI experience when your best work is under NDA
7 minute read. Updated 2026-08-08.
You cannot show the code, so show the shape of the problem. Describe the architecture and constraints without naming the client, get a named referee to confirm scope and outcome by phone, and rebuild a smaller version of the method on public data so a buyer can see it work. Vague claims about 'delivered ML systems at scale' convince nobody; specific, sanitised detail does.
Why the usual CV line fails
Every AI CV has a line like this: 'delivered a production machine learning system for a major UK retailer'. It tells a hirer nothing they can check and nothing they can use. They cannot ring the retailer. They cannot see the code. They are left guessing whether you built the model, watched someone else build it, or wrote the slide that described it.
A hirer commissioning fractional AI work is trying to answer one question: if I put this person in front of the same problem again, will they make the right calls. NDA-protected work can still answer that question. It just cannot answer it by naming names.
Strip the client, keep the decisions
The fix is to describe the shape of the work rather than the client. Keep the numbers, the constraints and the decisions; drop the identity. 'Built a real-time fraud-scoring pipeline handling several million events a day for a large UK retailer' tells a hirer what they need to know without naming the retailer.
Go further than most people do. State what broke and how you fixed it. State what you owned versus what a team around you owned. State the trade-off you made under pressure, such as choosing a simpler model because the latency budget ruled out the accurate one. That level of detail is what a hirer actually reads for, and it almost never breaches an NDA, because it does not identify the client.
Check the wording of the actual NDA before you decide what is off-limits. Most restrict naming the client, the data and the specific deliverable; far fewer restrict describing your own general approach or technique. Do not assume more caution is safer; vague caution just reads as evasive.
A named referee beats any write-up
A phone call with someone who managed you is worth more than a case study, because a hirer can ask a follow-up question a document cannot answer. Line this up before you leave the contract, not after, while the relationship is still warm and the sponsor still remembers what happened.
Brief the referee on exactly what they can say without breaching confidentiality: the type of problem, roughly what you built, whether it worked, whether they would hire you again. Most sponsors are comfortable confirming those points even under a strict NDA, because none of them expose the client's data or commercial position.
Offer the referee early in a conversation, not as a last resort when a hirer pushes back. Volunteering it signals you have nothing to hide, which does more work than the call itself.
Rebuild the method on public data
If you cannot show the artefact, show that you can build it again. Take the technique you used under NDA, such as a particular approach to class imbalance, a retrieval pattern for a RAG system, or a monitoring setup for model drift, and rebuild a smaller version on open data: a government dataset, a Kaggle set, anything public.
Write it up properly. Explain the framing, the decisions you made and why, and where it failed before it worked. A notebook with a headline accuracy score tells a hirer nothing; the write-up around it is the proof of judgement.
Be upfront about what this does and does not prove. It shows you can execute the technique. It does not show you can hold your ground when a client's timeline collapses or a stakeholder wants the wrong metric optimised. Say so, if asked; hirers respect the distinction more than a claim that the two are the same.
What not to do
Do not name the client, the product or any detail your NDA specifically restricts, even informally in conversation. A hirer who sees you casually break one confidence will assume you would break theirs too.
Do not fill the gap with vague scale claims such as 'transformed the business with AI' or 'delivered enterprise-grade solutions'. This reads as evasion, not discretion, and buyers who see enough CVs learn to spot it quickly.
Do not invent a metric to make the story land. A specific, honest, sanitised number beats an impressive but unverifiable one, and the difference shows the moment a hirer asks a follow-up question.
When a hirer asks for the code anyway
Some hirers will ask outright for a code sample or a deck, not realising it is covered. Do not get defensive. Say plainly what you can and cannot share, and offer the referee call and the public reproduction in the same breath. 'I can't send you the client's code, but I can walk you through the design decisions and put you on the phone with the person who managed the project' answers the question they were actually asking.
If a hirer keeps pushing past that, it is worth asking what they are actually trying to establish. Usually it is technical depth or trustworthiness, both of which the referee call and the reproduction already cover. If neither satisfies them, that is a mismatch in what they are hiring for, not a gap in your evidence.
Building the evidence pattern
Structure each NDA-covered role the same way: one sanitised line describing the architecture and your decisions, one referee offered by name and role, one link to a public reproduction of the core technique where the role calls for it.
Lead with the referee offer in the first real conversation, not buried at the bottom of a CV. It is the single strongest piece of evidence you have, and it costs the hirer one phone call to check.
What to do about it
- Keep the numbers and decisions in your description; strip only the identifying details.
- Line up a named referee while you are still on good terms, before the contract ends.
- Brief the referee on exactly what they can confirm without breaching the NDA.
- Rebuild the core technique on public data if the artefact itself cannot be shown.
- Never fill a gap with vague scale language or an invented metric.
- Offer your evidence early in the conversation; do not wait to be asked.
Questions people also ask
Can I name the client on my CV if the work is under NDA?
Usually no, and you should check the actual wording rather than assume. Most NDAs restrict naming the client, the data or the specific deliverable, but allow you to describe your own general approach and decisions. If you are unsure, ask the client's legal contact directly rather than guessing; it takes one email and removes any risk of a breach.
What if my former manager refuses to be a referee?
Ask what they would be comfortable confirming rather than assuming a flat no. Most people who will not do a detailed reference call will still confirm the basics: the type of work, roughly what you delivered, whether they would work with you again. If they genuinely will not, look for a colleague who worked alongside you rather than above you; peers are often more willing.
Will a hirer accept a public-data reproduction instead of the real project?
As part of the evidence, yes; as the whole case, no. It proves you can execute a technique correctly. It does not prove you can hold a decision under commercial pressure or manage a stakeholder who wants the wrong thing measured. Pair it with a referee call that speaks to judgement, and say plainly what each piece of evidence is and is not showing.
How much technical detail can I give about an NDA project without breaching it?
More than most people assume. Numbers, architecture choices, trade-offs and failure modes almost never identify a client on their own. What identifies a client is naming them, naming their product, or describing data specific enough to be traced back. Describe the problem and your decisions in detail; leave out the label.
Where the figures come from
Every rate and salary quoted in this article is a median or percentile of figures advertised in UK job postings over the six months to 8 August 2026. They are not rates paid, and the gap widens at the top of a range.
- IT Jobs Watch, UK contract rates, 6 months to 8 August 2026, read 2026-08-08.
- IT Jobs Watch, UK permanent salaries, 6 months to 8 August 2026, read 2026-08-08.