- 200+Placements
- 47Countries
- 95%12-mo retention
- 33,000+Network
- 98%Client CSAT
- 2021Operating since
Hire AI Engineers + Researchers.
Forward-deployed engineers, agent engineers, AI safety researchers, governance leads, CAOs and genAI engineers. DeFinitive's AI desk launches in 2026 on top of five years of crypto-native recruitment discipline — same principal-led operating model, AI-specialism focus. Hire Web3 talent →
AI specialisms covered
Firm-wide placements (Web3 desk)
Upfront fees
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Don't wait for a reply — book a 30-minute call directly with our team and get your AI hiring brief locked in today.
Book a Call →WHY DEFINITIVE AI
An AI Desk That Brings Real Recruitment Discipline.
Built on Web3-desk operating discipline
DeFinitive's Web3 desk has run 200+ placements across 47 countries since 2021. The AI desk launches in 2026 with the same principal-led operating model — direct relationships, named-client confidentiality, contingency-only pricing.
Generic AI recruiters launched in 2024 and are still figuring out how to vet production AI work. We start with five years of crypto-native operating discipline and apply it to the AI specialism set.
Where AI talent actually lives
Strong AI engineers aren't on LinkedIn under the canonical job titles. When we run an AI mandate we'll source from:▸ Frontier-lab alumni networks (Anthropic, OpenAI, Cohere, DeepMind)▸ Agent-framework contributors (LangGraph, Anthropic SDK)▸ Senior generalist engineers with shipped AI features post-2024▸ AI x crypto convergence engineers — our biggest natural advantage
Vetting tuned for production AI
Same 3-stage pipeline we've run on 200+ Web3 hires, recalibrated for AI:01 Technical screen — model integration, eval design, deployment scars02 Portfolio review — shipped systems with real usage, not demos03 Culture and motivation fitFirst AI mandates will sharpen this further — we'll publish updated screen criteria as searches close.
You pay nothing until you hire
Pure contingency model.✓ No retainers✓ No upfront fees✓ No milestone paymentsPay only when a candidate starts. Every placement includes a 60-day replacement guarantee.
HOW A SEARCH WILL RUN
Brief. Source. Vet. Close.
Four stages from brief to signed offer — the same operating model that runs our Web3 mandates. AI-search time bands will firm up as the first AI mandates close; the structure stays the same.
Brief
Day 0
30-minute call with Nathan or the AI desk principal. We map role scope, comp band, must-haves vs nice-to-haves, and hiring timeline. No retainer. No upfront fee. You leave with a written search plan.
Source
Days 1–7
For AI mandates we tap frontier-lab alumni networks, Anthropic / OpenAI residency graduates, agent-framework contributors and senior generalist engineers with shipped AI features. Same principal-led sourcing model as our Web3 desk — first AI search timing will refine these bands as the desk runs its opening mandates.
Vet
Days 7–14
Three-stage internal pipeline: technical screen → portfolio review → culture-fit assessment. You see the strongest candidates with our recommendation and risk flags — not raw CVs. Calibrated against frontier-lab production-readiness signals (shipped AI features, eval discipline, model-swap survival).
Close
Weeks 3–8
We coordinate interviews and debrief after each round. Offer negotiation backed by live data from our salary benchmarks. 60-day replacement guarantee from start date. $0 invoiced until your hire’s first day.
SIX AI SPECIALISMS
Forward-Deployed. Agent. Safety. Governance. CAO. GenAI.
One desk, six specialisms. All six pages are live with full role briefs, salary bands and FAQs. Click any card to see how we'd run that search.
Forward-Deployed Engineer→
Customer-embedded delivery (Anthropic / OpenAI staffing model).
$160K – $230K base
Chief AI Officer→
C-suite executive search. Cross-links to Web3 CTO at the convergence tier.
$300K – $450K base
Each specialism page details the role, salary band, screen criteria and FAQ — submit a brief when you're ready.
SEARCH TYPES WE RUN
What an AI Mandate Looks Like.
Three staffing patterns the AI desk is built around. As the desk runs its opening mandates, named-client case studies will replace these pattern descriptions — clients first, marketing language second.
Forward-Deployed Pattern
Customer-embedded AI delivery
Anthropic / OpenAI staffing model
Pattern
Senior engineer embedded with a customer team to ship AI features in production — model integration, evals, infra, customer workshops.
Best fit
AI-native crypto firms and frontier-lab partners adopting the customer-embedded delivery pattern.
Safety + Eval Track
Alignment, red-teaming, evals
EU AI Act + frontier-lab convergence
Pattern
Research-track engineers building production guardrails — capability evals, red-teaming, alignment fine-tunes — ahead of EU AI Act enforcement.
Best fit
Teams that need documented safety evidence to ship in EU markets or enterprise contracts.
AI × Web3 Convergence
Bridging both desks
Built on 200+ Web3 placements since 2021
Pattern
Engineers fluent in both production AI and on-chain code — the rarest profile in the recruitment market and the one our Web3 desk credibility most directly extends to.
Best fit
AI-native crypto firms hiring the convergence tier (zkML, on-chain agents, AI x DeFi).
Looking for Web3-side proof? Three named clients (Celo, Sorella Labs, Kaito) on the Web3 desk page — the operating discipline that the AI desk inherits.
GET STARTED
Submit Your AI Hiring Brief.
Tell us what you need. We'll come back with a written search plan and the first batch of vetted candidates as the desk runs your mandate.
I'm Hiring
Get 3-5 vetted candidates in your inbox within 72 hours