Odyssey
Principal Recruiter, Research Talent
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Principal Recruiter, Research Talent
Principal Recruiter – Research
Who We Are
Odyssey is an AI lab pioneering general world models—causal, multimodal systems that enable prediction, interaction, and long-horizon reasoning about the world. This transformative technology has applications across robotics, science, healthcare, education, gaming, defense, and beyond.
Our founders developed the most complex physical AI systems: self-driving cars. Now, they’ve assembled a world-class research team from top institutions, including:
- DeepMind (Gemini, Veo)
- Tesla (Autonomous Driving)
- Waymo & Wayve (Generalised Autonomous Intelligence—GAIA)
- Meta, Apple, and more
Odyssey has raised substantial backing from: • Google Ventures, NVIDIA, Apple, Amazon, AMD, EQT • Venture capital leaders Elad Gil, Jeff Dean, Guillermo Rauch, Garry Tan, Kyle Vogt • Researchers from OpenAI, DeepMind, MSL, Recursive, Thinking Machines
We are now hiring our first Principal Recruiter for Research—a pivotal role to shape our talent strategy.
About the Role
This position focuses entirely on research talent. Unlike traditional recruiting—highlighted by volume and templated processes—Odyssey’s best candidates are those passionately deep in their work, prioritising intellectual alignment over structural convenience.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Core Responsibilities
- Define & Execute Recruiting Strategy: Partner with research leadership to identify needs, trends, and gaps in top-tier AI/ML talent.
- High-Impact Searches: Lead targeted searches for senior researchers, research leaders, and top emerging talent across AI labs, universities, and industry.
- Map the Market: Build and maintain an ongoing intelligence framework of global research ecosystems—individual contributors, research groups, and early-stage players.
- Relationship-Driven Engagement: Develop long-term bonds with world-class candidates, even if they’re not actively looking, and tailor approaches for inclusivity.
- Advise Leadership: Provide data-driven insights and strategic recommendations on urgency, timing, compensation, and closing approaches for high-stakes hires.
- Define Research Recruiting Standards: Establish OS norms, onboarding processes, and talent intelligence practices as the function scales.
Who You Are
Success in this role demands: ✅ A combination of recruiting expertise and deep technical fluency in AI research frontiers. ✅ Proven track record in sourcing senior/executive talent (especially those who don’t apply to job posts). ✅ Strong discretion and negotiating acumen—the backdrop for many searches here is highly confidential. ✅ Intuitive grasp of ODYSSEY’S scale—combining cutting-edge research with rapid-product-market dynamics. ✅ Ability to balance long-term networking with mission-critical urgency when hot candidates emerge. ✅ Collaborative but self-starter mentality, built in houses like demo teams, recruitment early-stage teams or leading boutique recruiters.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
What You’ll Bring
✔ 10+ Years of wide-ranging executive/talent recruitment experience (ideally in academia or startups). ✔ Low ego, high ownership—advanced stage recruiters thrive not on headline metrics but on shaping meaningful relationships. ✔ Self-directed but deeply collaborative; able to represent our arguments internally and bring candidates closer to vision than jargon. ✔ Niche expertise: persuade red-hot, non-usual suspects in AI/ML/robotics domains to explore multi-year horizon goals.
We are exceptionally deferential about expertise here—this is a place where purpose trumps policy. If you’re primed to contribute to building AI’s future recruit-by-recruit, send your CV today.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location