Technical Recruiter - Specialized & Research Talent

About ai& ai& is a new global AI technology company dedicated to meeting the world's growing demand for AI. Our vision is twofold: to serve as a premier AI lab specializing in localization, and to act as a global infrastructure and compute provider. We are building a unified, optimized global platform that integrates next-generation data centers and infrastructure, heterogeneous compute serving, and advanced model services. We believe that the most effective way to build and scale AI is to own the stack from top to bottom. At ai&, we empower small teams with the autonomy needed to tackle significant challenges. Our approach is to deconstruct large problems into manageable components and solve complex issues collaboratively. We seek highly motivated, mission-driven individuals who demonstrate strong personal agency. We value curiosity as the foundation of talent, and we are looking for people eager to develop alongside our evolving technology and expanding business. We are actively hiring worldwide, with presence in Tokyo, SF, Austin, and Toronto. We are more than happy to meet exceptional talent where they are. Role overview As our Technical and Specialized Recruiter, you will find and recruit the exceptional talent that ai& needs to execute on its mission. This is not a high-volume recruiting role. It is a precision role — sourcing the best researchers, engineers, and technical specialists in the world and convincing them that ai& is where their work will matter most. We are building across some of the most competitive talent markets in the world — frontier AI research, kernel engineering, inference optimization, data center infrastructure. The people we need are often not looking. Your job is to find them anyway, understand what motivates them, and build the relationships that bring them in. Think of this less like traditional recruiting and more like talent intelligence and specialized headhunting applied to deep technical domains. You will work directly with hiring managers to understand exactly what each role requires at a technical level, develop sourcing strategies that go beyond standard channels, and own the candidate experience from first contact through offer. Responsibilities Specialized Technical Sourcing Develop and execute deep sourcing strategies for hard-to-find technical and research talent. Go beyond job boards — identify candidates through research publications, conference attendance, open source contributions, patent filings, and direct network cultivation. Candidate Relationship Building Build long-term relationships with exceptional candidates even when there is no immediate role. Maintain a living pipeline of world-class talent across ai&'s core technical domains. Hiring Manager Partnership Work closely with hiring managers to develop a precise understanding of what each role requires technically. Translate that understanding into sourcing strategy and candidate evaluation criteria. Full Cycle Recruiting Own the full recruiting cycle from sourcing and outreach through screening, interview coordination, and offer. Ensure every candidate has a high-quality, respectful experience regardless of outcome. Talent Intelligence Track the talent landscape across AI research, inference engineering, kernel development, and data center infrastructure. Know who the best people are, where they are, and what it would take to get them interested. Process & Tools Build and maintain the recruiting infrastructure — ATS hygiene, pipeline tracking, reporting, and the processes that keep hiring moving at the pace the business requires. You may be a fit if you have the following skills Deep Technical Recruiting Experience You have recruited for genuinely hard-to-fill technical roles — AI researchers, systems engineers, hardware specialists, or similar. You understand the technical landscape well enough to evaluate candidates and have credible conversations with hiring managers. Specialized Sourcing Ability You know how to find people who are not on LinkedIn looking for jobs. You have sourced through academic networks, conference circuits, open source communities, and direct outreach. You are creative and persistent. Relationship-First Approach You build genuine long-term relationships with candidates. You are known for treating people well regardless of where they are in the hiring process. Technical Curiosity You are genuinely interested in the technology. You read enough to understand what makes an exceptional kernel engineer different from a good one, or what distinguishes frontier AI research from applied ML. Global Recruiting Experience Experience recruiting across multiple markets including Japan, the US, and internationally. Bilingual fluency in Japanese and English is a strong signal. Great Team Spirit A mission-driven approach to recruiting, valuing honesty, candidate respect, and collective success.