# Principal Recruiter, Strategic AI Talent

**Company:** [OpenAI](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/openai)
**Location:** San Francisco, CA
**Role:** Recruiting
**Salary:** $216k – $240k/yr
**Skills:** Technical Recruiting, Executive Search, Talent Intelligence, Sourcing, Stakeholder Management, Confidential Search Management, Market Intelligence, Relationship Building, Compensation Strategy, Ai Research Talent
**Posted:** 2026-05-19

> Strategic recruiter focused on high-touch, bespoke searches for exceptional AI research talent, technical leaders, and special-interest candidates. Works closely with research leadership on confidential outreach and complex hiring strategies.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Partner directly with the Head of Research Recruiting and research leadership team to define priority talent targets and shape bespoke engagement strategies
- Build and maintain deep market intelligence across frontier AI, research, engineering, and adjacent talent ecosystems, including competitor movement, candidate motivations, and relationship context
- Proactively identify, map, and cultivate exceptional high-profile talent before there is a formal or standard hiring process attached
- Translate weak signals, network intelligence, and market gossip into concrete recruiting actions, outreach plans, and leadership recommendations
- Manage highly tailored candidate journeys that may involve confidential outreach, senior stakeholder alignment, custom evaluation paths, and complex closing strategy
- Coordinate with executive search firms, sourcers, recruiting coordinators, and internal networks to move priority searches forward with speed and discretion
- Serve as a trusted advisor on candidate positioning, timing, risk, compensation, and closing strategy for especially sensitive or high-impact hires

## Requirements
- Significant experience recruiting for highly technical, senior, executive, or otherwise specialized talent
- Strong judgment and discretion in handling sensitive candidate conversations and confidential searches
- Strong instinct for talent intelligence: ability to gather market context, read between the lines, and turn incomplete information into useful action
- Track record of building relationships with hard-to-reach candidates who are not actively looking or who require a highly personalized process
- Experience partnering closely with senior leaders and influencing recruiting strategy in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
- Comfort operating outside the standard process when needed, while still bringing structure, follow-through, and sound judgment
- Deep interest in AI research, technical talent markets, and the broader ecosystem of labs, companies, and people shaping the frontier

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