Hire AI Talent for your Web3 Team.
The only specialist firm running both desks. We started cultivating AI engineers, researchers and product leaders in early 2025, at the start of the curve. Built on 200+ Web3 placements across 47 countries since 2021. AI demand is now scaling fast inside crypto, and we are already a year ahead on the people who fill it.
Whatever AI hire your Web3 team needs, we already know who fills it.
[SHORT ANSWER]
DeFinitive runs AI recruitment for Web3 teams across every category: engineering, research, agents, infrastructure, safety, product, leadership. The advantage is timing. We got on the AI curve early. Since early 2025, when AI x crypto first emerged as a real category, we have been deliberately adding AI engineers, researchers and product leaders to our talent network. Built on top of 200+ Web3 placements since 2021. We know the people, we know the compensation structure on both sides, and we run the search faster than agencies still building their AI bench.
AI roles we cover.
Every AI role a Web3 team typically hires. First AI engineer or scaling an AI-native crypto team, we have run the search.
AI / ML Engineers
Production model serving, RAG, LLM-powered features, fine-tuning, and applied ML. The largest category. Most Web3 teams adding AI start here.
AI Research Engineers
Post-training, RLHF, evaluations, safety work and novel architectures. Frontier-lab pedigree (Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepMind, Meta AI alumni) at the top of the bench.
AI Agent Engineers
Autonomous agents, tool-use loops, agent frameworks (LangGraph, AutoGen, custom). The fastest-growing category in our pipeline since we started the AI desk.
AI Infrastructure Engineers
Training infra, inference serving, GPU orchestration, model deployment pipelines. The bottleneck role for any team scaling beyond a single notebook.
AI Product Managers
PMs who understand both ML capabilities and crypto-native UX. Translating model behaviour into shipping products users actually want.
Heads of AI / Chief AI Officers
Executive search for the AI leadership hire. Confidential, principal-led, run against board and investor stakeholders.
Why we have this network.
We got on the AI curve in early 2025. Built on five years of Web3 placements underneath. Four things that came from running early on a credible base.
On the AI curve from early 2025
We started adding AI engineers, researchers and product leaders at the start of the wave. Built on top of the existing Web3 desk, not added as an afterthought.
5 years of Web3 reach as the foundation
200+ Web3 placements across 47 countries since 2021. The crypto-native employer network is what makes the AI desk credible to AI candidates considering Web3 work.
Compensation fluency on both sides
We structure offers across base, equity, token grants and vesting. The exact place pure-AI recruiters lose Web3 candidates and pure-crypto recruiters lose AI candidates.
Confidential by default
Every search runs without public job postings. Important for executive AI search and for protocols not yet ready to broadcast their AI roadmap.
How we run the search.
[01]
Brief
A 30-minute call with the hiring manager. Not an account executive. We map the actual technical problem, not the JD. Same day.
[02]
Source
We pull from the AI talent network we have been actively cultivating since early 2025 plus the wider Web3 network from 2021. Most candidates are warm contacts, not cold outreach.
[03]
Vet
Three-stage screen: technical depth, portfolio walkthrough, culture fit against your Web3 employer profile. Roughly 12% reach your inbox.
[04]
Close
We help structure the offer across base, equity, token grants and vesting. 95% of placements are still in seat at 12 months.
[CREDIBILITY]
The only firm running both desks.
Generalist AI agencies cannot read crypto. Generalist crypto agencies cannot read AI. The intersection is uncontested, and it is the one we have been operating inside since the start of the AI x crypto wave. 200+ placements across 47 countries since 2021. AI engineers, researchers and product leaders deliberately added to the talent network from early 2025 onwards.
Recent placements include:Celo, Sorella Labs (Paradigm-backed), Kaito (Sequoia), Botanix (Polychain), Sodot (acquired by MoonPay), Validation Cloud, Mento Labs, and Solstice Labs.
Frequently asked.
What kinds of AI roles do you recruit for?+
How do you have an AI talent network if you are a Web3 firm?+
Do you only hire AI talent for AI-native Web3 teams, or for traditional crypto teams adding AI?+
How long does it take to hire an AI engineer for a Web3 team?+
What is typical compensation for AI engineers at Web3 teams?+
Why hire through a Web3-specialist firm instead of a generalist AI recruiter?+
[Related]
- Web3 Recruitment Agency→Engineering, leadership, product, GTM. 200+ placements since 2021.
- Crypto Recruitment→Specialist firm built for crypto teams.
- Brief us on a role→Direct conversion. 72hr shortlist. $0 until hired.
- Hire a Solidity Developer→For protocols pairing AI with on-chain logic.
- Browse live AI x Web3 jobs→Roles our clients are hiring for right now.
- Web3 Salary Checker→Benchmark AI x Web3 compensation in 30 seconds.
[READY WHEN YOU ARE]
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