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Proven hires for AI teams building at the frontier

Speed matters. Quality sticks. We deliver both for AI startups across New York and San Francisco.

Recent Success Stories...
From submission to hire in
7 Days
How we moved fast on a critical engineering hire without trading speed for quality.
AI EdTech Startup
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From identified layoffs to new hire in
9 days
What happens when you spot the layoff before the market reacts, a senior AI hire signed in 9 working days.
LLM Startup for Consultants
Read story
From cold candidate outreach to offer acceptance in
13 Days
What happens when we pair the right engineer with decisive founders, a third hire signed in under two weeks.
AI EdTech Startup
Read story

What Founders & Hiring Leaders say about working with us...

Hear from the founders and hiring leaders we’ve helped make critical technical hires across NYC and SF.

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Co-Founder @ HealthTech Startup  | San Francisco

"Working with StellarSearch to find our first founding engineers was awesome. They quickly honed in exactly on what we're looking for and was tireless in finding us incredible talent; Good communication, high hustle and all around a pleasure to work with. Thank you Liam!"

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Co-Founder & CEO @ FinTech AI Startup | New York City

"It’s honestly night and day compared to where we were before, after working with 4–5 other firms. My Co-Founder is very happy, and we’re happy to serve as a reference for other customers. We’re growing quickly and expect to hire at least 10 engineers this year.

Even though we’re bootstrapped and careful with hiring, the trajectory is very strong. Thanks for the effort, there will be more roles for you to help us with"

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Co-Founder & CPO @ Agentic AI Startup | San Francisco

You’ve been sending us great candidates and tracking everything well. Thanks, Liam.

CTO @ EdTech Startup | New York City

"Liam, and the StellarSearch team have been amazing at sourcing us extremely high quality product engineers. We've hired 4 engineers through them so far, and will no doubt continue relying on them for our engineering pipeline for the considerable future. Liam really took the time to understand our company and the type of engineer we're looking for.

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. He's extremely open to feedback, and together we've developed a really strong pipeline process. I'd say we probably hire 1 in 10 engineers Liam sends us, which is an insane hit rate.Really can't recommend him enough!"

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VP of Sales @ AI Startup | New York City

"Liam, Founder of StellarSearch, was a pleasure to have in my organization and a true leader on the team. He has an exceptional ability to quickly understand client needs, both their immediate priorities and long-term goals, and translate that understanding into results.

They consistently deliver on their commitments, often going above and beyond to ensure successful outcomes for his clients. Their reliability, follow-through, and focus on delivering real results made them one of the most trusted partners for the team."

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Head of Talent @ Raspberry AI

"StellarSearch's ability to build lasting relationships that result in successes are unmatched. In sales, and in recruiting, one of the hardest skills to master is to be able to see the potential in clients before they sign on the dotted line. In other words, to see the value beyond the data.

Liam has mastered this skill, and it was a pleasure to be able to watch him work. I'd be hard-pressed to find a more consistent and compassionate person than Liam."

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Co-Founder & CTO @ FinTech AI Startup | New York City

"Team, thanks for the great push. I am properly drowning in calls, and a lot are very high calibre. Continue giving me more"

What engineers say about working with StellarSearch...

Hear from engineers we’ve helped navigate and land roles at leading AI startups.

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Senior Full Stack Engineer @  AI Startup | New York City

"I had a great experience working with StellarSearch. He was extremely responsive throughout the entire process, even late at night, and always made time to answer questions or check in. What really stood out was that he felt genuinely invested in my success. This really wasn't a typical recruiter relationship at all. He wasn’t relying on automation or generic messages, and it never felt transactional.

They were supportive, encouraging, and honestly felt more like a friend who were rooting for me to land the role. Now that we’re working closely together to help accelerate our hiring process, that same level of care and responsiveness has carried over. They're a great partner to work with and someone I genuinely enjoy collaborating with. I’d strongly recommend them."

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Software Engineer @ EdTech AI Startup | New York City

"StellarSearch are excellent recruiters. Super punctual, amazing with follow ups, super insightful and helpful. They were motivating, kind and really went above and beyond to make me feel taken care of. Super informational and intelligent.

Definitely the kind of recruiters we need on the field."

Senior Backend Engineer @ AI Startup | New York City

"Some of the best recruiting I've ever experienced; exceptionally responsive and communicative with regards to any questions I had and was very proactive in providing relevant information.

They did a great job explaining roles, companies, and interview processes and was friendly + supportive throughout."

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Member of Technical Staff @ AI Startup | San Francisco

"The team reached out to me with some opportunities when they started StellarSearch. Everything they found was very relevant to my skill set and after our first conversation, Liam reverted with plenty of opportunities, all perfectly aligned with everything I was looking for.

He is extremely smart, has great hustle, very professional and highly empathetic. I would definitely recommend working with him. Fantastic experience, fantastic relationship."

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Senior Software Engineer @  PayPal

"As a candidate, I am very happy to write this recommendation for StellarSearch. Their clear and concise communications, timely follow-ups, and ability to bring relevant opportunities based on my Al skill set have been outstanding. Their professionalism and dedication ensure a smooth and efficient recruitment process. They possesses excellent communication skills, promptly responds to inquiries, and consistently matches candidates with suitable opportunities. The team are exceptional recruiters who understands the Al industry well, and I have been thoroughly impressed by their professionalism and dedication to both candidates and employers."

Full Stack Engineer @ AI Startup | New York City

"StellarSearch were extremely helpful and attentive during the entire hiring and interview process, checking in and going above and beyond when trying to resolve any issues that came up.

Would highly recommend."

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Founding ML Engineer @ FinTech AI Startup | New York City

"StellarSearch was wonderful to work with. I owe my current job to them. They first reached out to me about this role while I was on holiday and was extremely patient with me and respectful with my time. Never failed to follow up, and never did so in a way that made me feel pestered.

One of the most effective recruiters I've ever worked with."

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Founding Engineer @ HealthTech AI Startup | San Francisco

"StellarSearch reached out about a founding engineer role and did exactly what a good recruiter should do: asked thoughtful questions, communicated clearly, and actually understood what both sides were looking for.

They were persistent without being pushy, followed up consistently and thoughtfully, and ultimately connected me with a role that's a great fit. I'm very grateful they reached out."

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Software Engineer @ EdTech AI Startup | New York City

"Working with StellarSearch was great; the entire process was smoother and quicker than I anticipated. Thanks to the guys, I had a chance to talk to various companies, found one I really liked almost immediately, and secured a role with them within the week. Liam’s a sharp and genuine guy, I gladly recommend him."

Hiring your founding team?

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FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why would we work with StellarSearch, instead of recruiting ourselves?
3. How do you know if someone is actually good?
5. How quickly will I see candidates?
7. What happens if the search isn't working?
2. What type of candidates are you great at finding?
4. How do you find people we can't?
6. How much of the process do you own?
8. What are your pricing models?