Senior hires for teams that build and sell AI.
The people you need are employed and not applying. We build the target list, approach them directly, and send you a short list with our own written notes on fit and risk.
Four desks. Senior roles only.
We keep the number of open searches small on purpose. Each one is a role where the wrong hire costs a year.
AI & ML engineering
Engineers and architects who have put AI systems into production, and can tell you what broke when they did.
Platform & data
The distributed systems, data and platform people that AI products run on. Staff level and above.
Go-to-market
Sellers and revenue operators who can carry a number when every deal includes a security review and an AI policy review.
Executive search
Retained, confidential searches for the leaders who own revenue, a region or a business unit.
What we check before you see a name
A resume starts the conversation. It does not finish it. Every person on a RainesDev short list has been through the same three checks.
- A system they shippedEngineers walk us through something they built, what broke, and what they would do differently. For AI roles, a candidate who cannot name the eval they used does not go forward.
- A deal they ranRevenue candidates are screened by someone who carried a quota for 15 years. We ask how they ran a competitive deal, not how they interview.
- Fit and risk, in writingYou get our notes on why this person fits and where we think the risk is, before you spend an hour with them.
Why they fit
- Owned inference serving for a product with paying enterprise customers, from design through on-call.
- Built the eval suite their team still uses and can explain what it misses.
- Has presented architecture decisions to customers' security teams.
Where we see risk
- Has only worked in teams under 40 engineers. Ask how they handle slower decision cycles.
- Will need a reason to leave beyond compensation. The scope of the role is the pitch.
Illustrative format. Not a real candidate.
Built to work alongside your recruiters
Most of our clients have a talent team of their own. We take the searches where the people you need are senior, specific and already employed, and we run them inside your process.
- Your process, not oursCandidates go through your applicant tracking system, your interview loop and your compensation bands.
- One accountable leadThe person who takes your brief runs the search and writes the notes. You are not handed to a junior desk.
- Consent before submissionNo profile reaches you until the candidate has agreed to be presented for that role.
- A written update every weekWho we approached, who declined and why, and what the market is saying about the role.
- Off limits means off limitsWe do not recruit out of a client's teams.
Pick the model that fits the hire
Retained search
A single senior or leadership hire. We map the market, approach a defined target list and stay on it until the seat is filled.
Embedded partner
An ongoing relationship across several roles. The success profile is already calibrated, so each new search starts faster.
Contract & contract-to-hire
Senior engineers and go-to-market specialists for a defined period, with the option to convert.
Three steps, each one written down
Calibrate
We sit with the hiring manager and agree what success looks like in the first year, which companies to draw from, and what will make a strong person move.
Go to market
We approach the target list directly and screen on technical depth, behavioral signal and long-term fit. You see finalists, not applicants.
Short list and close
Most searches produce a vetted short list in two to three weeks. We manage the process through offer, and every placement carries a 90-day replacement guarantee.
What we are seeing in the market
What 18 open searches say about hiring
Nine go-to-market seats, eight AI engineering seats, one brand seat. What the live board says about the market.
Hiring AI talent when everyone wants the same fifty people
The market is not short on engineers. It is short on the specific ones everyone chases at once.
Why your best sales hire fails in the first ninety days
Most sales hires that fail did not fail at hiring. They failed at ramp.