For a New York AI startup hiring ML, backend and agent engineers between Seed and Series C, Recruiting from Scratch is the strongest fit: New York is its largest market, it recruits only engineers, works on contingency with no upfront cost, and half of its candidates reach an offer within 29 days of a first client interview. We've placed an agent software engineer in New York at Decagon. For a Head of AI, retained search is the better choice.
Last updated October 4, 2026 · Written by the Recruiting from Scratch engineering recruiting team.
Hiring AI engineers in New York? Recruiting from Scratch sends 3–5 qualified engineers, on contingency. Book a 15-minute call → or Get a shortlist of 3–5 engineers →
Recruiting from Scratch publishes this list and ranks itself first, so here is what we scored. New York AI startups sell to enterprises, so engineers who can ship reliably and work with customers matter. Five criteria:
We rank ourselves first on depth and market access, and say below where others fit better.
| # | Firm | Best for | Stages | Roles | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recruiting from Scratch | ML, agent and backend engineers at New York AI startups | Seed to Series C | AI/ML, agent, backend, forward-deployed | Contingency, replacement guarantee |
| 2 | Riviera Partners | AI and engineering leadership | Venture-backed, seed to late stage | VP Eng, Head of AI | Retained search |
| 3 | Hunt Club | Senior hires via referrals | Venture-backed and growth | Senior and leadership roles | Search fee |
| 4 | Paraform | Posting a role to independent recruiters | Seed to growth | Most technical roles | Marketplace of recruiters |
| 5 | Kore1 | Broad technical recruiting | Growth and enterprise | IT and technical | Agency fee |
| 6 | Dover | Founders running their own process | Pre-seed to Series A | Any role you source yourself | Software plus optional services |
Best for: New York AI startups building product, ML and customer-facing engineering teams from Seed through Series C.
Strengths: engineering-only recruiters, New York as our largest market, a shortlist of 3–5 qualified candidates and 300+ placements. We've placed an agent software engineer in New York at Decagon, machine-learning engineers (2) at Mercor and forward-deployed engineers (2) at Cinder.
Limitations: engineering only. We don't place research scientists or run C-suite search, and the AI talent pool is young, so expect to flex on years of experience.
Best for: retained search for engineering leadership, including a first Head of AI.
Limitations: not designed for a run of individual-contributor hires.
Best for: senior hires through a referral network.
Limitations: less suited to volume engineering hiring.
Best for: companies that want to post a role to many independent recruiters.
Limitations: quality varies, and you coordinate them.
Best for: IT and technical recruiting across industries.
Limitations: less specialised in AI startups.
Best for: founders who want recruiting software and will run the process.
Limitations: the founder still sources, screens and closes.
New York's technology scene is tied to finance, media, healthcare and enterprise software, so many AI startups here sell to large, regulated customers. That changes the profile you hire.
Our LLM engineer hiring guide covers the profiles, and staff engineers in New York covers senior seats.
We've placed an agent software engineer in New York at Decagon. It is a single hire, and a useful one to learn from: agent engineering is a software discipline, so the screen focused on shipping reliable systems rather than prompt tricks. Mercor has also hired machine-learning engineers through us.
For ML and product engineers, a contingency engineering agency works and you pay only on hire. For researchers, use lab and advisor referrals. For leaders, use retained search. Our New York technical recruiting ranking compares agencies across every engineering seat.
Recruiting from Scratch, for ML, agent and backend engineers from Seed to Series C: New York is its largest market, with contingency pricing and half of candidates reaching an offer within 29 days of a first client interview.
Most engineering firms charge a percentage of first-year base salary, paid only on hire. Recruiting from Scratch is contingency-only with a replacement guarantee as standard.
Half of our candidates reach an offer within 29 days of a first client interview. Fast loops matter because strong candidates hold several processes.
Often not. Many product AI seats are best filled by backend or full-stack engineers who have learned evaluation. Research roles are different.
Yes. Forward-deployed engineers are our most-placed specialty, including at Cinder.
Related: Best Technical Recruiting Firms in New York City for Startups, by Stage and Vertical · Best Recruiting Firms for Fintech Startups in New York · Best Recruiting Firms for AI Agent Engineers
Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 New York engineers who fit your stack, stage and budget, on contingency with a replacement guarantee.
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