A
Research
- Research scientists (PhD)
- Research engineers
- LLM agents
- Reasoning systems
- Evals
- Multimodal research
People who can move from papers and experiments into working systems.
Driving precision
through search.
Specialist search for companies building what's next.
Fully subscribed / no new partnershipsMeet Aston
Request candidate profiles Research scientists (PhD)✦Research engineers✦AI / ML engineers✦Founding engineers✦Members of technical staff✦LLM inference✦Inference systems✦Pre-training✦Post-training / RL✦Evals✦AI infrastructure✦Research scientists (PhD)✦Research engineers✦AI / ML engineers✦Founding engineers✦Members of technical staff✦LLM inference✦Inference systems✦Pre-training✦Post-training / RL✦Evals✦AI infrastructure✦
How I search
The people you want
are rarely looking.
They're heads down shipping, not updating LinkedIn. I find them through publications, referrals, open-source work and the systems they've built, then reach out personally. No mass InMail.
Talent channels
Research papersarXivPhD networksResearch communitiesOpen-source workEvals and benchmarksConference talksReferralsTechnical writingSystems shippedPast relationshipsFounder networks
Read / assess
Call / qualify / introduce
AI profile patterns
- 01Research scientist
Agents + evals · research network
PhD networkEvals - 02Inference engineer
Model serving · open-source work
InferenceProduction - 03Founding AI engineer
Early team · founder referral
FoundingBuilder
I start with the work, not the job title.
- 01
Brief
One call to pin down what the person will actually build in their first year. Job specs rarely say.
- 02
Map
Every company and team where that experience exists.
- 03
Approach
Direct, personal outreach. No mass InMail.
- 04
Close
I manage the offer: comp benchmarking, counter-offers, notice periods. Most hires are lost here.
Expertise
Hiring
Veins
AI researchers and engineers for startups and labs.
Talent pathways
Where I look.
Four routes into the people closest to the work. Curated by hand. No live feed. No database theatre.
B
Engineering
- AI / ML engineers
- AI infrastructure
- Inference
- Model serving
- Training systems
- Applied ML
Production depth across training, serving, evaluation and the systems around them.
C
Senior roles
- Founding engineers
- Staff engineers
- Principal engineers
- Members of technical staff
- Research leads
- Heads of AI
Technical judgement, research taste and the ability to set direction.
D
Channels
- Publications
- Open-source work
- Referrals
- PhD networks
- Research communities
- Systems shipped
The places serious builders leave evidence of how they think and what they can do.
Proof
Our Numbers
Most client work is confidential. Published figures from Aston RS work.
146Placements since 2020
4:1Candidates introduced to hires
91%Submission-to-interview rate
84%Roles filled
No upfront costThree-month replacement guaranteeFull-time placements
“Aston helped me to raise the bar for the recruiters I work with.”
“Usually, if you get contacted by a recruiter there is little understanding of what you do or how you could fit a new challenge. Aston is proof that this does not have to be the standard.”
“Aston is a great recruiter, very engaging and caring about the candidate needs and the alignment with the recommended opportunity. Highly recommended.”
“Aston is a very talented senior recruiter with a strong knowledge of tech recruitment and market trends, which quickly gained my trust through his clear communication.”
About Aston
Founder-led
Search
I'm Aston. I've spent 9+ years recruiting AI researchers, research engineers and AI engineers.
Aston RS is founder-led search for AI teams. I run every search myself, from the brief to the signed offer.
Working with technical teams where research and judgement matter.
Engagement & contact
Three ways
to work together.
No upfront cost. Success fee only on a full-time placement. Retained work is agreed in three stages.
Meet AstonRetained
For leadership and research hires. Fee in three stages.
Contingent
For clearly defined roles. You pay on hire. Success fee: 25% of gross annual salary for a full-time placement.
Consultation
A focused review of the current market, with intelligence on talent availability, role scope, and likely routes to hire.
Three-month replacement guarantee on full-time placements.
Fully subscribed / no new partnerships
Fully subscribed.
I am fully subscribed and am not taking on new partnerships at this time.
Meet Aston For candidates
AI researchers and engineers: I'm always glad to hear from you, even if you're not looking. Everything is confidential. Your CV never goes anywhere without your say-so.
Introduce yourself