FoundingBench is becoming the default place to hire founding AI engineers. We verify production work, code, and references by hand so recruiters and founders talk to qualified humans instead of wading through AI-generated resumes.
Built by someone who has hired inside
FoundingBench is a partnership between a hands-on AI engineer and a recruiter with deep technical context.
Applied AI engineer with 25 years at the intersection of security, automation, and production systems. Built enterprise SOAR platforms at Phantom and Splunk for Uber, Visa, JP Morgan, and Nintendo. Earlier work spanned the White House Situation Room and JP Morgan cyber intelligence.
Today he works on agent orchestration, evaluation harnesses, and model routing. That practitioner lens is what makes FoundingBench different: every candidate is judged by someone who has shipped and fought non-deterministic AI logic in production.
20-year technical recruiter and startup operator who has worked with 50+ startups. Ran senior sourcing and recruiting for multiple clients, placing engineers at VC-backed companies backed by Greylock, Kleiner Perkins, Google Ventures, and Sierra Ventures. Also led recruiting for Alvaka, a top cybersecurity firm.
Got hands-on with AI in the last six months: LLM fine-tuning, orchestration, and inference engine building. Currently building the backend for a consumer legal-tech app and GTM plays for early-stage AI startups. Maintains open-source AI code-safety tooling and holds 36 patent-pending claims in AI reasoning, inference safety, and multi-agent verification. That mix—deep hiring experience plus recent practitioner work—is why FoundingBench focuses on candidate quality, not keyword density. He runs vetting and buyer relationships; Matt runs supply and community.
Three steps from a mandate to a qualified candidate in your inbox.
Share the level, stack, company stage, and what "founding AI engineer" actually means for this team.
We match the mandate against a private bench we have already vetted: production systems, code review, references, and communication fit.
Every candidate arrives with a verified profile, expected comp, and availability. You talk to humans, not résumés.
No percentage of salary. No hourly sourcing fees. Pay a fixed price for a verified lead, or subscribe for a steady pipeline.
First lead from a new buyer.
$1,000
$2,500 per lead after the first
Full contact access to hand-vetted candidates.
$1,500/mo
Credible leads without contact unlock.
Free
Paid early-access tier coming once value is proven
For candidates you already have in your pipeline.
$3,000
The Contact Sheet is free at launch to prove value. Once buyers ask for early access and full contacts, paid tiers unlock: first lead $1,000, Verified Bench $1,500/mo, paid Contact Sheet $250/mo. Discounts on lead fees for startups under 20 people and non-profits. Retained searches available for executive AI roles.
FoundingBench puts your work in front of recruiters and founders who actually understand AI engineering. We review your code, check your references, and only introduce you to roles that match your level.
• Senior ICs who have shipped AI/ML systems in production
• Founding or first AI hires comfortable with 0-to-1 ambiguity
• People who can still write, train, evaluate, or deploy models
• Strong communicators who can work with product and business
• US-based or US-time-zone preferred
Typical process: submit profile, 30-minute technical review, reference check, bench onboarding.
We only work with AI engineering roles at the founding, staff, or principal level. Every candidate on the bench is pre-vetted by a human with hands-on AI experience, not just keyword-matched. And we charge a flat fee per lead, not a percentage of salary.
We review production code or design docs, check references, and interview each candidate for technical depth and communication fit before adding them to the bench.
No. Joining the bench is free. Clients pay FoundingBench for verified leads.
You keep the lead. We do not take a success fee or placement percentage. The fee is for the verified introduction and profile.
Founding AI engineer, Head of AI, ML platform lead, AI safety/reliability engineer, applied scientist, AI infrastructure engineer, and similar senior IC or first-hire leadership roles.
Book a 20-minute intro call. We'll show you the current bench and match candidates to your open AI mandates.
Email hello@foundingbench.comOr connect on LinkedIn and mention FoundingBench.