Search & talent intelligence · applied-AI engineering
Assay is a search practice for forward-deployed and applied-AI engineers — run by an engineer, tested with real work instead of résumés, and instrumented so every claim about the market is backed by an observation we’re allowed to keep.
The artifact behind every search
| Role family | Forward-deployed engineer |
| Base range (observed) | $185k – $240k |
| Observations behind range | 7 |
| Every figure traceable to | a consented observation |
Illustrative sample. Briefs contain only consent-cleared observations.
These engineers aren't on job boards. We map where they actually come from — deal by deal, team by team — and reach them with messages that prove we understand their work.
No résumé theatre. Candidates are evaluated against a hands-on task shaped like the job itself, read by an engineer who has done the job.
Every search compounds into consent-cleared market evidence — comp, movability, sourcing reality — with every figure traceable to an observation. No model touches a number we certify.
You’re hiring the engineer who makes your AI product real for customers — and every agency is sending you the same recycled profiles. We run a narrow practice in one hard market, tested by someone who can read the work. If your search is outside it, we’ll say so.
Start a searchNo spray-and-pray outreach. You’ll only hear from us about roles where we understand your work well enough to argue for it — and your data is never kept or shared without your explicit consent. That’s not a policy footnote; it’s enforced in our system’s schema.
Introduce yourself