Engineers who pick what to build, then build it
Product Engineer Recruiters for AI Startups in New York
A product engineer turns a user conversation into a shipped feature and checks the numbers after. We find them for New York City AI startups and test the calls they made, from the user problem to the result.
At a glance
The product engineers we find
Product engineers are good at two jobs, which makes them hard to find. Many of the best come from early startups, growth teams or their own company.
Roles we recruit for
Product engineers, growth engineers and engineers who own a product area end to end
Stages
Seed to Series B
Where
New York City. In office, hybrid or remote
Who we look for
Engineers who have owned a product area, from user calls to the metrics after launch
Speed
Our last 3 hires averaged 17 days
How you pay
Retained, success-based or embedded. Terms agreed upfront
How we assess
Product engineers judged by the calls they made
We ask product engineers for three decisions from recent work: something they built, something they dropped and what the numbers said after.
01
Talks to users
Product engineers should hear from users without a PM in the room. We ask how often that happened and for one conversation that changed what they shipped.
02
Chose what to build
We look for engineers who shaped the spec as well as the code, and we ask which requests they turned down and why.
03
Measured the outcome
Which metric they watched after a release, what it did and what they tried next when it didn't move.
04
Pulls their own numbers
Product engineers shouldn't wait on a data team to learn whether a feature worked. We check they can query usage data and set up a basic experiment on their own.
User contact
Product decisions
Outcome metrics
Motivation to move
Code depth
Product sense
System design
Who runs your search
Liam, Founder of StellarSearch
Our team brings 20+ years of search experience across engineering, AI/ML, product and GTM.
LinkedIn ↗
Client feedback
Feedback from founders and the engineers we placed
I'm not really sure how he does it, but he continues to find us top tier talent that fits exactly what we're looking for."
I'm very grateful they reached out."
Would highly recommend."
They did a great job explaining roles, companies, and interview processes and was friendly + supportive throughout."
Where our hires come from
We've placed people from teams like these
We look past titles to the work: ex-founders, early employees and people doing their best work outside the day job.
How we work
How we run your search
From the first call to an accepted offer. What we handle, and the few places we need you.
Learn what you're building, what the hire owns in the first 90 days, and the comp, equity and location you can offer.
One call with the founders.
Map the market from day one. If the problem is sourcing, pay, location, process or the profile, we tell you early.
Agree any changes to the brief.
Approach people who aren't applying anywhere, and assess each one on evidence before they reach you.
Nothing. This part is ours.
Send each candidate with our write-up, then schedule and keep the process moving.
Run your interviews.
Advise on the offer, handle the back and forth, and close.
Make the final call.
If the search isn't working, we tell you fast. We use market data to recalibrate instead of sending weaker candidates for weeks.
Ways to work with us
Three ways to work with us
Pick the model that fits the hire. All terms are agreed upfront, with no hidden fees.
Best for a priority hire
Retained
A dedicated search for the one hire that can't wait. We commit time to your role from day one.
Dedicated search from the first call
Market map shared with you
Fee agreed upfront
Best for a single hire
Success-based
We run the search and you pay when the hire is made.
No fee until you hire
Same assessment on every candidate
Terms agreed before we start
Best for several roles
Embedded
We work as part of your team across several hires, for a monthly fee plus a reduced success fee.
Monthly fee plus reduced success fee
One hiring standard across roles
Works alongside your in-house team
Start a search
Tell us what your product engineer will own
Tell us what you're building. We'll come back with how we'd run the search.
Looking for a role? See open jobs
What is a product engineer?
Should we hire a product engineer or a product manager first?
How do you test product judgment before an interview?
Isn't a product engineer just a full-stack engineer?
Our product runs on AI. What should a product engineer have done before?
What does a product engineer need from us in the first month?
How quickly will we see candidates?
We already have an in-house recruiter. Why use you?
How much of the process do you own?
What if the search isn't working?
How do you charge?
Hiring your founding team?
Tell us what you're building. We'll find the experts who can build and ship it.
Start Hiring
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