Recruiter, AI Talent

About the Role 

At Robots & Pencils, we believe that creativity and technology work best when people do too. As we enter an AI-first chapter and continue to scale out our Applied AI Studio, we are looking for a Recruiter, AI Talent who will play a key role in attracting and hiring the technical innovators who bring our most ambitious work to life. 

You’ll report into the AI Studio leadership team and lead full-cycle recruiting for highly specialized engineering talent, supporting hiring for Forward Deployed Engineers, AI Engineers, AI Builders, and other technical roles that power our client-facing pods. From sourcing and candidate experience to hiring strategies and skills assessments, you’ll ensure that every step of our hiring process reflects our values, raises our technical bar, and strengthens our ability to deliver breakthrough AI solutions. 

This is a hands-on and strategic role for someone who thrives in fast-moving environments, understands the nuance of technical hiring, and enjoys building meaningful relationships with candidates and leaders alike. 

*This position requires being on site in our Bellevue office 5 days per week. Only candidates who are based in the Greater Seattle/Bellevue area or are in the process of relocating without company assistance will be considered. 

 

Why This Role Matters 

As Robots & Pencils evolves into an AI-first organization, designing intelligent systems, agentic workflows, and enterprise-grade AI products, our success depends on the quality of engineering talent we hire. 

This role ensures that we attract and hire exceptional builders who can partner directly with clients to design, prototype, and deploy advanced AI solutions. You’ll be instrumental in scaling our most strategic teams and shaping the talent foundation that enables us to redefine what’s possible for our clients and their industries. 

 

What You’ll Do 

Technical Recruiting & Talent Acquisition 

• Lead full cycle recruiting for Forward Deployed Engineers, AI Engineers, Machine Learning Engineers, and other technical roles across the AI Studio. 

• Partner with hiring managers to define role requirements, scorecards, and interview plans aligned with software engineering fundamentals and emerging AI capabilities. 

• Source top-tier technical talent using a mix of outbound strategies, sourcing tools, networks, communities, and referrals. 

• Act as a trusted advisor to engineering leaders, sharing talent insights, pipeline trends, and recommendations to support decision-making. 

• Manage candidate communication end-to-end, ensuring a high-touch and transparent experience that reflects our culture and values. 

• Facilitate offers, negotiations, and closing conversations while ensuring fairness, clarity, and alignment with compensation guidelines. 

Strategy, Process & Collaboration 

• Build and refine recruiting processes that support high-volume, highly specialized technical hiring. 

• Partner with Talent Attraction, HR, and Marketing to craft compelling job postings, candidate materials, and employer brand assets. 

• Collaborate with AI Studio leadership on workforce planning for client engagements, pod structures, and capability expansion. 

• Ensure accurate and timely data across ATS and recruiting systems to support compliance, reporting, and leadership visibility. 

• Represent Robots & Pencils at local meetups, university engagements, and AI community events to build strong talent pipelines. 

Candidate Assessment & Quality Bar 

• Work closely with engineering interviewers to uphold and continuously refine our technical hiring bar. 

• Conduct initial technical screens to evaluate software fundamentals, AI/ML exposure, problem-solving abilities, and client-facing potential. 

• Guide teams in structured interviewing, fair evaluation practices, and bias-free hiring decisions. 

• Contribute to the evolution of interview rubrics, sourcing strategies, and talent analytics. 

 

What You’ll Bring 

• A degree in business, HR, communications, or a related field (or equivalent experience). 

• 3–5+ years of recruiting experience, including 2–3+ years focused specifically on technical or engineering roles. 

• Demonstrated experience hiring software engineers, AI/ML practitioners, or cloud-native engineering talent. 

• Ability to understand and discuss foundational technical concepts (APIs, cloud architectures, LLMs, vector databases, agentic workflows). 

• Strong experience sourcing passive talent in competitive markets like Seattle/Bellevue. 

• Excellent communication skills and a candidate-first approach to relationship-building. 

• Proven ability to manage multiple searches while maintaining clarity, organization, and exceptional follow-through. 

 

Bonus Points 

• Experience recruiting in AI-first environments, high-growth startups, or digital innovation consultancies. 

• Familiarity with agentic AI, LLM engineering roles, or full-stack development hiring. 

• Experience with ATS platforms such as Greenhouse or Lever. 

• Comfort supporting talent brand initiatives, community-building, or technical events. 

 

You’ll Thrive Here If You 

• Love matching exceptional technical talent with meaningful, high-impact work. 

• Are proactive, adaptable, and energized by ambiguity. 

• Build strong relationships at all levels, from junior engineers to senior technical leaders. 

• Take pride in driving both speed and quality in the hiring process. 

• Communicate clearly, collaborate with empathy, and lead with curiosity. 

• Stay organized, detail-oriented, and solutions-focused, even when priorities shift. 

 

Join Us 

If you’re inspired by the intersection of people, creativity, and AI and excited to help build a world-class engineering organization, we’d love to meet you. Together, we’ll continue shaping a workplace where humans and intelligent systems can do their best work, side by side.