Sourcer, AI Talent

About the Role

At Robots & Pencils, we believe that creativity and technology work best when people do too. As we continue to expand our Applied AI Studio and scale our AI-first delivery model, we’re looking for a Sourcer, AI Talent to build the early-stage pipelines that bring exceptional technical talent into our organization.

In this role, you’ll partner with the AI Talent Recruiter and AI Studio leadership to proactively source Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs), AI Engineers, AI Builders, and related roles across our engineering teams. You’ll research talent markets, identify top candidates, engage technical communities, and create the relationships that fuel our long-term hiring needs.

This is a hands-on, people-centered role for someone who thrives in fast-moving environments, loves finding talent before anyone else does, and enjoys connecting with engineers, researchers, and builders who are shaping the future of AI.

This position requires being onsite in our Bellevue office 5 days per week. Only candidates located in the Greater Seattle/Bellevue area—or those relocating independently—will be considered.

 

Why This Role Matters

As Robots & Pencils enters an AI-first chapter, our ability to reach, engage, and build trust with technical talent is critical. The Sourcer, AI Talent plays a foundational role in building the pipelines that support our AI Studio and client-facing engineering teams.

You’ll help us connect with world-class AI talent early—long before a requisition opens—ensuring our teams stay ahead of demand and continue delivering breakthrough solutions across industries. Your work will directly influence our ability to scale elite engineering teams and advance our technical mission.

 

What You’ll Do

Talent Sourcing & Pipeline Development

 Proactively identify Forward Deployed Engineers, AI Engineers, Machine Learning Engineers, and other high-demand technical talent.

 Build and maintain targeted talent pipelines for both immediate and long-term hiring.

 Leverage sourcing tools, AI search platforms, open-source communities, meetups, universities, and technical networks.

 Conduct initial outreach, engagement, and qualification conversations with potential candidates.

 Track talent signals, market trends, and competitive movements to inform sourcing strategy.

Candidate Engagement & Relationship Building

 Build meaningful, long-term relationships with prospective candidates.

 Personalize outreach to reflect our culture, values, and AI-first approach.

 Maintain warm connections with past candidates, referrals, and community members.

 Represent Robots & Pencils at technical meetups, events, university partnerships, and AI community gatherings.

 Travel Requirements: Ad-hoc local travel for technical meetups, university visits, or community events

Research & Insights

 Conduct market research to identify high-performing AI talent pools and emerging skill sets.

 Provide hiring teams with insights on talent availability, compensation signals, and sourcing feasibility.

 Maintain awareness of cutting-edge AI hubs, communities, and online ecosystems.

Collaboration & Talent Operations

 Partner closely with the AI Talent Recruiter to ensure alignment on hiring needs, pipelines, and prioritization.

 Collaborate with Marketing, Talent Attraction, and AI Studio leadership on employer brand initiatives.

 Maintain accurate and timely data in sourcing systems and ATS workflows.

 Support creation of talent content, outreach messaging, sourcing campaigns, and community-building activities.

 

What You’ll Bring

 1–3+ years of sourcing, recruiting coordination, research, or talent acquisition experience (technical sourcing preferred).

 Strong ability to identify and engage engineering or AI/ML talent across multiple channels.

 Curiosity and willingness to learn AI/ML concepts, prompting, and frameworks to better understand candidate skill sets.

 Excellent communication skills with a human-centered approach to outreach.

 Highly organized, with the ability to manage multiple pipelines simultaneously.

 Proactive, resourceful, and energized by continuous research and community engagement.

 Familiarity with sourcing tools (LinkedIn Recruiter, Gem, AmazingHiring, Github search, or similar).

 

Bonus Points

 Prior sourcing experience in AI-first companies, high-growth startups, or technical consulting environments.

 Experience supporting talent branding, university outreach, or community events.

 Understanding of LLM/AI terminology and emerging technical skill categories.

 Familiarity with ATS platforms like Greenhouse or Lever.

 

You’ll Thrive Here If You…

 Love connecting exceptional people with meaningful, high-impact work.

 Are naturally curious and enjoy discovering talent others can’t find.

 Communicate thoughtfully and value relationship-building over transactional outreach.

 Enjoy working closely with engineers, talent teams, and leadership.

 Stay organized and calm in a fast-moving, evolving environment.

 Bring creativity and authenticity to every candidate interaction.

 

Join Us

If you’re excited by the intersection of people, creativity, and AI—and you’re passionate about helping build world-class engineering teams—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.