Recruiting Lead, Direct Hire

OP Recruiting; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Base salary + commission

Do What’s Right mentality

Career growth opportunities

Flexible environment

Medical & dental

401(k) matching

PTO

Onsite gym

Job summary

OP Recruiting is seeking an experienced direct-hire leader with a strong agency background to lead senior, highly technical searches for demanding clients in fintech, AI, and related fields. You will deliver end-to-end searches, manage and grow client relationships, and scale the direct-hire business while mentoring other recruiters.

A player-coach mindset and deep market knowledge are essential. You will stay hands-on, engaging elite technologists and expanding opportunities across AI, HPC,

Qualifications

• 10+ years of recruiting experience, primarily in an agency environment.
• Proven track record as a top producer with multiple years billing $750K+
• Experience placing tech talent across quantitative development, ML/AI, infrastructure, data engineering
• Strong client management and history of expanding relationships through delivery
• Experience winning business and developing new client relationships, even when BD isn’t sole focus
• Deep knowledge of technology talent markets; able to discuss architecture, infra, and AI systems in conversations
• Established relationships across trading, fintech, private equity, or adjacent tech markets
• Player-coach mentality with ability to mentor recruiters while maintaining high performance

Responsibilities

• Own and deliver senior, highly technical direct-hire searches for demanding clients.
• Develop deep client relationships and expand them through strong delivery.
• Stay hands-on in recruiting, engaging elite technologists and attracting them to opportunities.
• Identify opportunities to grow existing accounts and develop new client relationships.
• Recruit directly while coaching recruiters supporting your searches.
• Partner with private equity firms on leadership hires across funds and portfolio companies.
• Engage in conversations across AI engineering, HPC, quant development, HFT, DevOps, and data engineering.
• Help establish best practices and scale the direct-hire business over time.

Skills

Senior recruiter

Client management

Business development

Talent markets

Technical recruiting

PE/fintech partnerships

Job description

We’re a recruiting services firm based in Chicago, IL that provides creative solutions to companies that need to find, attract, hire, and retain talented people. For close to three decades we have recruited for some of the most progressive technology environments in fintech, and now across AI and where the two meet.

THE OPPORTUNITY:

OP Recruiting is looking for an experienced direct-hire leader who has spent their career in agency recruiting and has a proven track record as a top producer.. This is a hands‑on, player‑coach role for someone who loves recruiting, understands highly technical talent markets, and knows how to build trusted, long‑term client relationships.

You will step into an established book of innovative and technically demanding clients that hold a high bar for talent and are among our strongest fee producers. Your primary focus will be delivering on difficult searches, managing and growing client relationships, and helping us scale the direct‑hire business. Business development will be part of the role, but much of that growth will come through excellent delivery, expanding existing relationships, referrals, and partnership with our leadership team.

• Own and deliver senior and highly technical direct‑hire searches for some of our most demanding clients
• Develop deep client relationships, becoming a trusted recruiting partner and expanding those relationships through strong delivery
• Stay hands‑on in recruiting, building relationships with elite technologists and knowing how to approach them, earn their attention, and engage them in opportunities.
• Identify opportunities to grow existing accounts and develop new client relationships
• Recruit directly while providing direction and coaching to recruiters supporting your searches
• Partner with private equity firms on leadership hires at the fund and across portfolio companies
• Hold credible, current conversations across AI engineering, HPC,
• financial modeling, quant development, HFT and low‑latency systems, DevOps, data engineering, and how firms are putting AI into production
• Help establish best practices and scale the OP Recruiting direct‑hire business over time

YOUR CREDS:

• 10+ years of recruiting experience, primarily within an agency environment
• A proven track record as a top producer, including multiple years billing $750K+
• Experience placing technology talent across areas such as quantitative development, machine learning, AI, infrastructure, data engineering, and other high‑growth technology disciplines
• Strong client management skills and a history of expanding relationships through successful delivery
• Experience winning business and developing new client relationships, even if business development has not been your sole focus
• Deep knowledge of technology talent markets. You don't need to write code, but you need to hold your own in conversations about architecture, infrastructure, and how modern AI systems are built
• Established relationships across trading, fintech, private equity, or adjacent technology markets
• A player‑coach mentality and the ability to help other recruiters succeed while remaining a high‑performing individual contributor

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE:

Within 1 month, you’ll:

• Get fully integrated into our systems, tools, processes, and approach to search
• Build a deep understanding of our existing clients, relationships, and active searchesli>
• Begin working directly with current clients and candidates
• Partner with the team to understand where you can make the greatest immediate impact

Within 3 months, you’ll:

• Take ownership of searches and key client relationships
• Be actively delivering against some of our most challenging technical searches
• Build relationships across our existing network of clients, candidates, and industry contacts
• Identify opportunities to deepen existing accounts and generate new business through strong delivery and relationships

Within 6 months, you’ll:

• Operate autonomously across recruiting, search execution, and client management
• Be a trusted partner to key clients and a go‑to resource for complex technical searches
• Consistently leverage and expand our network to create new opportunities
• Help coach and direct recruiters supporting your searches
• Play an active role in shaping how we grow and scale the OP Recruiting direct‑hire business

OUR PERKS:

Competitive base salary + commission!

A company dedicated to a “Do What’s Right” mentality!

An opportunity to grow in your career with future management or leadership roles

We foster an environment of flexibility and work‑life balance!

Medical, dental, vision, 401(k) matching, PTO, onsite gym and more!

Our rockstar employees have significant tenure within the staffing industry!

We have an established client base with more jobs than we can fill with the current team!

Casual work environment - no suits required!

Leadership’s commitment to personal and professional growth is a top priority!

We strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ community, veterans and active‑duty military, parents, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from all cultural backgrounds to apply. We believe in the power of teams that draw from diverse backgrounds.

**We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, ethnic origin, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.**

OP Recruiting, a member of the Objective Partners family of specialized talent solution providers, uses AI‑assisted tools, including Alex by Apriora, to support our recruiting process. These tools may review application materials and analyze interview responses to provide insights about a candidate's experience and qualifications. AI output informs our recruiters; decisions about whether to advance or present a candidate are made by people. Learn more about our use of AI, including how to request an accommodation: https://www.oprecruiting.com/ai-in-our-hiring-process