AI Engineering
Engineers who ship production systems on top of models — and know how to make them reliable.
AI-native talent recruiting Hire the people who carry fire.
Prometheus is a recruiting firm for AI-native talent — the engineers, operators, marketers, designers and leaders who already work in AI as a native language. They don’t just use AI. They think in it. We find them, prove them on real work, and place them where they’ll change how your company runs.
- Proof-of-work vetting
- Every discipline, not just engineering
- AI allowed. AI expected.
- Agent Engineers
- Forward-Deployed Engineers
- AI Product Managers
- GTM Engineers
- Heads of AI
- Evals Engineers
- AI Automation Leads
- Design Engineers
- AI-Native Marketers
- Chief AI Officers
- AI Enablement Leads
- Applied AI Engineers
- AI-Native Operators
01 — The shift
Every company now has the same models. The advantage is the people who know what to do with them.
Legacy recruiting was built for a world where skills were stable and output scaled with headcount. It matches keywords to job descriptions and calls it a search.
That world is gone. One AI-native operator can now do what used to take a team — and a company with a dozen of them moves like a different species.
The gap between AI-native talent and everyone else is the defining talent gap of this decade. It doesn’t show up on a résumé, so most recruiters can’t see it.
Prometheus exists to find it — and to put it to work inside the companies that move first.
Definition
What is AI-native talent?
AI-native talent are professionals who treat AI as the default layer of how they work. Instead of using AI to speed up old tasks, they rebuild workflows around models and agents, verify the output with strong judgment, and produce at a multiple of conventional output. AI-native is a working style, not a job title — it shows up in engineering, product, marketing, sales, operations, finance and leadership.
Also called: AI-first talent · AI-fluent talent · AI-empowered talent
- AI-curious
- Has tried the tools. Uses them occasionally, mostly for drafts and search.
- AI-enabled
- Uses AI daily to speed up existing tasks. Same workflow, done faster.
- AI-native
- Has rebuilt the workflow around AI. Different process, different output curve. This is who we recruit.
02 — How we measure
The Spark Index
Résumés show where someone has been. The Spark Index measures what they can do now. Every Prometheus finalist is assessed on five signals through live, AI-allowed work — never a keyword scan.
- S/01
Leverage
Output, multiplied. We compare what they ship with AI against what a strong conventional peer ships without it.
- S/02
Orchestration
They design systems, not prompts — agents, tools, data and people wired into workflows that keep running without them.
- S/03
Judgment
They know when the model is wrong. Verification, evals and healthy skepticism are built into how they work.
- S/04
Velocity
Their toolkit gets rebuilt every quarter. We measure how fast they absorb new models and drop old habits.
- S/05
Taste
Speed without taste is slop. They know what great looks like, and they won’t ship anything less.
03 — Who we place
AI-native talent in every discipline
AI-native isn’t an engineering trait. It shows up in every function — and the companies that hire it everywhere compound fastest.
AI Product & Design
Product people who prototype with AI before they write a spec, and design for software that thinks.
AI-Native Go-to-Market
Marketers and sellers who run on automated systems — one person with the output of a department.
Operations & Automation
Operators who turn manual processes into agentic workflows that run while everyone else sleeps.
AI Leadership
Leaders who can set an AI strategy — and personally build the first version of it.
AI-Native Generalists
The rare people who make one seat feel like five — in finance, legal, people ops and the founder’s office.
04 — For companies
Build an AI-native team. Without guessing.
Most hiring processes can’t tell an AI-native candidate from someone who’s fluent in talking about AI. Ours is built to tell the difference — and to find the people other recruiters can’t see.
Retained search
Torch Search
One critical hire, fully owned. We run the search end to end — from defining the leverage the role must create to closing the candidate.
Best forHeads of AI, founding engineers, senior AI-native operators.
Team build
Team Ignition
A founding AI team or AI-native pod of three to ten people, hired in the right sequence so each hire makes the next one stronger.
Best forNew AI product lines, transformation programs, post-raise scale-ups.
Assessment
Spark Audit
Measure your current team against the Spark Index. Learn who’s already AI-native, who’s close, and where one hire would change everything.
Best forLeaders planning an AI transformation before they hire.
Brief us on a role
Every engagement starts with a brief — no fee, no obligation.
05 — The method
How a Prometheus search works
Four stages. One rule: nobody reaches your calendar until they’ve proven it on real work.
- 01
The brief
We map the leverage you need, not a job description. The first question is always: what should this person make possible that isn’t possible today?
- 02
The hunt
We search where AI-native people actually show up — open-source repos, shipped side projects, builder communities, demo days and the work itself. Not keyword filters on job boards.
- 03
The proof
Finalists complete a paid, real-world work sample with full AI access. We assess how they work — orchestration, judgment, taste — not just what they hand in.
- 04
The placement
You meet a short list of people who have already proven it. We stay through onboarding, because the goal isn’t a filled seat — it’s a team that moves differently.
Legacy recruiting vs. Prometheus
| Dimension | Legacy recruiting | Prometheus |
|---|---|---|
| Screens for | Keywords and job titles | Leverage and proof of work |
| Evaluates with | Résumés and recall-based interviews | Paid, AI-allowed work samples |
| AI in interviews | Treated as cheating | Treated as the point |
| Sources from | Job boards and inbound applicants | Builder communities, open source, shipped work |
| Covers | “AI roles” in engineering | AI-native talent in every discipline |
| Success means | A seat filled | A team that moves differently |
06 — For talent
You’re not a résumé. You’re a multiplier.
If you’ve rebuilt how you work around AI — and you can show it — you’re who we’re looking for. Join the Torchbearers: our private network of AI-native talent across every discipline.
- Roles at companies that want AI-native work — not ones that ban it.
- Proof over pedigree. No degree filters, no keyword games.
- Compensation conversations anchored to your leverage, not your title history.
- One conversation, many doors. We only reach out when it’s a real fit.
07 — FAQ
Questions, answered.
Straight answers about AI-native talent, how we assess it, and how we work.
What is AI-native talent?
AI-native talent are professionals who treat AI as the default layer of how they work. Instead of using AI to speed up old tasks, they rebuild workflows around models and agents, verify the output with strong judgment, and produce at a multiple of conventional output. AI-native is a working style, not a job title — it shows up in engineering, product, marketing, sales, operations, finance and leadership.
How is Prometheus different from a traditional recruiting agency?
Traditional agencies match keywords on résumés to job descriptions. Prometheus measures what candidates can actually do with AI. We source from builder communities, open source and shipped work rather than job boards, and every finalist completes a paid, AI-allowed work sample scored on the Spark Index — our five-signal framework for leverage, orchestration, judgment, velocity and taste.
What roles does Prometheus recruit for?
We recruit AI-native talent across six disciplines: AI engineering (agent, applied AI, forward-deployed and evals engineers), AI product and design, AI-native go-to-market (including GTM engineers), operations and automation, AI leadership (Head of AI, Chief AI Officer, VP of AI transformation), and AI-native generalists such as chiefs of staff and finance, legal and people operators.
How do you assess whether a candidate is truly AI-native?
Through proof of work, not interviews alone. Finalists complete a paid work sample drawn from the real role, with full access to AI tools. We evaluate both the output and the process — how they break down the problem, which tools and agents they orchestrate, how they verify results, and whether the finished work shows taste. Scores map to the five signals of the Spark Index.
Do candidates use AI during your assessments?
Yes — we expect it. Banning AI in an assessment measures how someone works in a world that no longer exists. We want to see exactly how a candidate uses AI under realistic conditions, because that is the job.
What is the difference between AI-native and AI-enabled employees?
An AI-enabled employee uses AI to do existing tasks faster; the workflow stays the same. An AI-native employee redesigns the workflow around AI — delegating to agents, automating whole processes and verifying outputs — which changes the output curve, not just the speed. AI-enabled is an upgrade. AI-native is a different way of working.
How long does a Prometheus search take?
It depends on seniority and specialization. We agree on a target timeline in the brief, and you see candidate activity every week rather than waiting for a reveal at the end. Because finalists are vetted through work samples before you meet them, your interview time goes to people who have already proven it.
How much does Prometheus cost?
Fees are scoped to the engagement. Torch Search is a retained search for a single critical hire, Team Ignition is priced per team build, and the Spark Audit is a fixed-scope assessment. You receive a written proposal after the brief. Candidates never pay us anything.
I’m AI-native. How do I work with Prometheus?
Join the Torchbearers, our private network of AI-native talent. Send us the work you’re proudest of — repos, products, automations, campaigns, anything you shipped — and a note on how AI changed the way you work. We reach out when a role is a genuine fit.
Why is the firm called Prometheus?
In Greek myth, Prometheus brought fire to humanity, and everything changed. AI-native talent plays the same role inside an organization: the spark that changes what a team is capable of. Our job is to find the people who carry that fire and put them where it will spread.
Bring fire
to your team.
Tell us about the role — or the team — you can’t afford to get wrong. We’ll reply with how we’d find them.