Axiōma Search

Axiōma Search is the recruitment partner for the most ambitious AI and deep tech startups building the future – from LLMs and agentic systems to AI infrastructure and applied ML.

We work with Seed to Series A companies to help them scale high-performing engineering and research teams – fast, precisely, and without the noise.

Founders trust us to run hiring processes that are personal, high-signal, and outcome-driven – so your team can focus on shipping product and securing the next round.

We exist to create lasting value through every hire – for the careers we support and the companies we help grow.

alex@axiomasearch.com | axiomasearch.com

Co-Founder

DURLSTON PARTNERS

Placed 135 professionals in engineering and research roles at leading hedge funds, HFT firms and AI start-ups.

- Partner (April 2019 - August 2024)
- Principal Consultant (April 2018 - March 2019)
- Senior Consultant (August 2016 - March 2018)
- Consultant (January 2016 - July 2016)
- Associate Consultant (September 2015 - December 2015)

Partner

I connect top engineering and research talent with VC-backed AI and Deep Tech startups.

Over the past decade, I've placed hundreds of engineers and researchers. I understand what's at stake for both sides.

For founders: 
You need to scale fast, hit product milestones, meet investor expectations… and do it while competing with Big Tech/AI labs and well-funded competitors for the same talent. You're drowning in irrelevant/subpar CVs, and now AI has made it even noisier.

For talent: 
You want opportunities that actually match your skills and ambitions, not generic outreach from recruiters who don't understand your work.

I build relationships over years – most of the talent I work with are passive, but trust me to keep them informed with the right opportunities over time.

I care deeply about the recruitment experience because how you hire reflects your brand. I work with you to craft compelling narratives that attract mission-aligned talent and manage the full process end-to-end.

This means founders get relevant talent fast. 
Engineers and researchers get opportunities worth their time.

If you’re looking to scale your team, or quietly exploring your next challenge – DM me.

alex@axiomasearch.com | axiomasearch.com

Joining an early-stage startup means:

Long hours. 
Constant change. 
High chance of failure. 
Ambiguity everywhere. 
Things breaking all the time.

It also means:

Owning problems end-to-end.
Shipping fast and getting feedback instantly.
Learning more in a year than most do in three.
Autonomy you won’t find anywhere else.
Direct impact on whether the company makes it.

It's a trade-off.

If you want work-life balance and predictability, that's fine. Then Big Tech, Hedge Fund, or a later-stage company probably makes more sense.

Don't join a startup expecting both the upside and the stability.

You get one or the other.

Startups aren't for everyone. And that's completely okay.

Just be honest about what you're optimising for at this stage of your life/career.

Alex Jouatte

Co-Founder | Scaling Tech teams in GenAI & Deep Tech

"How's the market?"

We get asked this constantly as recruiters. 
And the honest answer is: it depends who you are.

The AI/ML hiring market has split into two completely different realities.

If you're in the top 1%,:

Track records at leading labs. Published at top conferences. Real contributions to major models. 
You're getting contacted multiple times a day. Every well-funded GenAI startup wants you. Comp is top of market.
The market is great.

If you're everyone else:

Good engineer/researcher with solid fundamentals and some ML experience, but without the obvious “buying signals” that make you stand out…
The market is hard.


There's a lot of noise. 
Everyone's hiring, but everyone wants the same top 1% of people.

Good engineers/researchers get filtered out - sometimes fairly (lack of specific experience), sometimes unfairly (capable but profile doesn't scream "elite").

The reality:

There's tons of capital flowing into AI. But it's not creating opportunities for everyone equally.
Top VCs back top startups. Top startups compete for the same tiny pool of elite talent. Everyone else fights through the noise.

If you're in the second group, be strategic:

1. Target companies that value potential over pedigree
2. Build in public (side projects, GitHub, blogs)
3. Network directly, not just apply online
4. Don’t ignore smaller or less-hyped startups where you can actually stand out

The market is what it is. Just know which market you're actually in.

Feel free to reach out if you've got questions. I'll help where I can.

"We struggle to find good engineers"

Most startups blame the market when they can't hire.
But often the problem is the process.

If you're struggling to hire, ask yourself 👇

✗ Are we getting enough candidates? 
If not, your outreach or positioning is off.

✗ Are we getting the right candidates? 
If not, your targeting or role description needs work.

✗ Will our process identify the right person? 
Or are you testing for things that don't matter?

✗ Where are people dropping off? and why? 
Long delays? Too many rounds? Poor communication?

✗ Are we moving fast enough? 
Good engineers have multiple offers. Speed wins.

✗ Would I want to go through this process? 
If not, fix it ASAP.

✗ Are we showing candidates what the job actually looks like? 
Or are you just grilling them for 4 hours?

✗ Are we giving them enough reasons to say yes?
Vision, challenge, team, growth – not just comp.

If you can't answer yes to most of these, your process is costing you talent.

Most hiring problems aren't talent problems.
They're process problems.

Snapshot of the live roles we're working on right now at Axiōma Search:

London
→ Full-Stack Engineers (React/Java or Kotlin) - GenAI
→ Software Engineers (Python/React optional) - GenAI
→ Frontend Engineers (React) - GenAI 
→ Research Engineer (PyTorch expert) - Quant Trading
→ Founding AI Engineer (VLA/RL) - Robotics
→ Kernel Engineer - AI Hardware

London/SF/Austin
→ Engineering Managers (custom silicon background) - AI Hardware

Paris/SF/London
→ Research Engineers (Training/Inference) - Robotics
→ Research Scientists (track record working on leading models) - Robotics

DM for details or to chat about the market ahead of the new year.

(P.S. Apologies for the cliché image... just testing out Nano Banana 3!)

Final sprint of the year.

If you're thinking about a move in Q1, now's a good time to start informal conversations.

Not necessarily applying yet, but exploring to get a sense on how the market is shaping up for 2026.

Happy to share what I'm seeing – who's hiring, what's being built, what comp looks like.

DM me for a confidential chat.

taplio

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