Technical Sourcer: Robotics & AI Research Talent

Bonfirevc; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 35,000 - 60,000; Part time

Job summary

Orbifold AI is seeking a Technical Sourcer to own the pipeline for its hardest technical roles. You will research engineers across policy evaluation, 3D perception, world models, robot learning and data infrastructure, building precise sourcing criteria and advising hiring managers on market realities.

This high-ownership, part-time role requires translating research priorities into sourcing criteria and delivering end-to-end searches with a strong candidate experience.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of technical sourcing or recruiting experience.
• Track record engaging and closing passive, senior technical candidates in competitive markets.
• Experience sourcing top technical talent at premier tech companies or high-growth startups.
• Genuine curiosity about robotics, ML and infrastructure to speak credibly with engineers.
• Excellent written communication that gets replies from top candidates.
• Ability to drive multiple complex searches in parallel while maintaining quality.
• High ownership and self-direction, and comfort building process from scratch.
• Passion for research and mapping components of sourcing; it is a long game.

Responsibilities

• Build and run sourcing strategies for technical roles across research, ML, and data infra.
• Proactively identify and engage passive candidates via LinkedIn Recruiter, GitHub, conferences, author lists, labs, and universities.
• Partner with founders and hiring managers to translate role requirements into sourcing criteria and outreach; advise on market.
• Write and iterate outreach messaging that stands out to senior researchers and engineers.
• Own and improve the top-of-funnel pipeline: track metrics, experiment with new channels, optimize conversions.
• Maintain an organized, current pipeline with a high-quality candidate experience from first touch to interview handoff.
• Develop strategies to surface non-traditional, research-adjacent and early-career talent.
• Keep a live map of the field: labs, graduates, and active work.

Skills

Technical sourcing

Candidate engagement

Written communication

Search strategy

Ownership

Tools

Ashby

Gem

Job description

Orbifold AI is seeking a Technical Sourcer to own the pipeline for its hardest technical roles. You will research engineers across policy evaluation, 3D perception, world models, robot learning and data infrastructure, building precise sourcing criteria and advising hiring managers on market realities.

This high-ownership, part-time role requires translating research priorities into sourcing criteria and delivering end-to-end searches with a strong candidate experience.