Case studies

Results from founder-led hiring for US-based startups building technical teams.

Full Stack AI Engineers

SEED · SAN FRANCISCO AI STARTUP
Challenge

The company needed engineers who could build AI products end to end, but strong candidates often came from ML, data science or research backgrounds rather than carrying a “Full Stack AI Engineer” title.

What mattered

We looked beyond job titles, assessing genuine ML and data foundations alongside software engineering depth and the ability to build in an early-stage startup environment.

Outcome

2 hires in 3 months

Retention

Both have now been with the company for more than a year.

Forward Deployed Engineering Team

SEED · SAN FRANCISCO AI STARTUP
Challenge

The role required strong engineering depth alongside client-facing communication, regular travel to San Francisco and the ability to operate in a 0→1 environment.

What mattered

We looked beyond engineering background alone, assessing communication, customer-facing judgment and startup ownership.

Outcome

5 hires in 2 months

Retention

All five are still with the company around a year after joining.

Global Engineering Scale-up

SERIES B · GLOBAL SAAS STARTUP
Challenge

The company was scaling its engineering organization globally from around 30 to 200 people, hiring across multiple countries while maintaining a high technical bar for large-scale distributed systems and strong company fit.

What mattered

We combined market-specific sourcing with consistent assessment across locations, focusing on technical depth, distributed-systems experience and the ability to succeed in the company’s operating environment.

Outcome

Time-to-hire reduced from 3 months to 1 month

Retention

100% offer acceptance maintained for nearly two years.

We limit concurrent client partnerships so every search receives the attention and market depth it requires.

Eugenia Filipovich, Founder, 4RecruitingEugenia FilipovichFounder, 4Recruiting

Hiring someone you need to get right?

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