OpenAI Developers
Engineers who ship production apps on GPT-4. Navigate function calling, manage token budgets, design fallbacks for when the API breaks.
Hire NowAI Staffing Solutions: Vetted AI Talent
AI is the rare field where a decade of experience and a year of it can leave someone equally unprepared for what shipped last month. The half-life of a skill is short, and hiring against a moving target is its own kind of expertise. Tecla has spent a decade building a network of vetted technical talent, and extended it into AI as the field emerged, with the same team accountable long after the hire.
A talent pool built around AI and machine learning, across the US and Latin America.
- 3 to 5 days
- To first candidates
- Top 3%
- Acceptance rate
- 90-day
- Replacement guarantee
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Hear from our clients
Tecla is organized and provides a strong partnership experience. From hiring multiple engineers within weeks to maintaining consistent communication and feedback, they've shown real professionalism. Their follow-up and collaboration made the entire staffing process efficient and enjoyable.
Kristen MarcoeDirector @ Credo AI
I’m very happy with Tecla. Their support has improved our QA process, reduced bug reports by half, and made our onboarding process twice as fast. The team is responsive, cost-effective, and delivers high-quality candidates on time. Tecla has truly become a trusted extension of our internal hiring team.
Meit ShahPrincipal PM @ Stash
It was a pleasure working with Tecla. Their team quickly understood our hiring needs and found candidates that matched our technical requirements perfectly. Communication was seamless, and they were always quick to respond and deliver results. Tecla’s attention to quality made the entire experience smooth and efficient.
Mayya BozhilovaManager @ Three Space Lab
Tecla successfully found candidates for our team and handled the entire process from scheduling to interviews. They were timely, responsive, and always kept communication flowing through email and messaging apps. I was really impressed with Tecla’s follow-up and thoroughness throughout the process.
Jessica WarrenHead of People @ Chowly
Tecla's business model and team set our company up with engineers that we have the real possibility of working with long-term and can grow with our business. Tecla came in highly recommended, and their pace from introduction to engagement to presenting candidates was very fast.
David BradleyFounder @ QPilot
Internally, we're moving much faster than we were without the remote engineers Tecla recruited for us and we've been able to implement far more features. Once we brought on our first full-time designer in South America, it made the quality of our user interface, product, and marketing efforts increase substantially.
Drew BatshawCTO @ Waggl
When we started our recruiting initiatives for LATAM developers, it was crucial for us to rely on a company that could provide deep local expertise to help us identify the best software developers in Latin America. The teams at Tecla really go the extra mile to understand our needs, which is what has made our partnership so successful!
Douglas SantosLead Tech Recruiter @ HomeLight
Hiring for AI transformation
AI transformation is changing what work looks like inside companies. The shift shows up in two ways: the new roles building the AI systems, and the existing roles evolving around them. Both shape what the transformation actually becomes.
Our network reaches both ends. AI specialists working on LLM applications, MLOps, and agentic systems. AI-forward talent across engineering, product, design, and operations rethinking how the work gets done.
AI Specialists
Building the systems
LLM engineers, MLOps, prompt engineers, AI agent developers, and the AI scientists shaping foundation model work and agentic systems.
AI-Forward Talent
Reshaping the work
Engineers, product managers, designers, and operators who bring AI-first thinking into the roles they already hold, transforming how work actually moves.
The AI roles we cover
From foundation models to applied production work, our network covers the full range of AI talent. Each profile vetted against the actual stack the candidate would join.
LLM Engineers
Engineers who work across foundation models. Fine-tune Llama, prompt-engineer GPT-4, decide when each approach fits. Inference, training, and serving.
Hire NowDatabricks Developers
Engineers building data and AI pipelines on Databricks. From lakehouse architecture to MLflow workflows and the Spark layer underneath.
Hire NowNLP Developers
Engineers building language systems beyond LLMs. Classification, search, named entity recognition, sentiment analysis. The full NLP toolkit.
Hire NowOther AI roles we cover
Industries deploying AI
AI is no longer a vertical. The industries hiring the most AI talent now include AI-native startups and enterprises adopting AI across operations. Our network covers both ends.
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SaaS & Enterprise
Fintech
AI & Machine Learning
HealthTech
Cybersecurity
E-commerce & Retail
EdTech
Logistics & Supply Chain
Energy Tech
How the engagement runs
A Tecla fractional engagement runs as one continuous relationship from scoping through renewal. Six stages, with the last two designed to do what most fractional marketplaces leave to the client.
AI specialists path
AI-forward path
Define the technical core
Map the stack, models, production work.
1
Identify where AI fits
Find where AI reshapes the role.
Source AI-deep talent
Engineers shipping production AI.
2
Source AI-fluent generalists
Product, design, ops people.
Vet for production work
Frameworks, trade-offs, real systems.
3
Vet for AI-first thinking
How they reshape work around AI.
Both paths converge here
4
Integration
First 90 days covered. Replacement guarantee. Account Manager throughout.
5
Scaling the capability
Same network covers the squad, the adjacent stacks, the team that follows.
The team behind every AI hire
Most of what determines whether an AI hire works is who stays close to it over time. We assign two dedicated people to the engagement and keep them in place from briefing through ramp-up and beyond.
Account Manager
Owns the hiring process until the engineer signs. Understands the AI stack, presents the candidates, and stays the same person from briefing through offer.
Success Manager
Owns the relationship after the hire. HR, compliance, onboarding, and the day-to-day of the engagement past signing. Always available as your AI team grows.
Three ways to engage
AI work comes in different shapes. A team building from scratch needs something different from a team scaling an existing capability. Three engagement models, one network behind all of them.
Option 1
Full-time embedded
40 hrs/week, dedicated to your roadmap
Engineers fully embedded in your team, on your stand-ups, in your codebase. The default for roles you would have hired in-house.
Option 2
Project & on-demand
Hourly, no minimums, scoped to the project
Senior expertise booked for a defined scope. A fine-tuning sprint, an evaluation framework build, an LLM migration, then handoff.
Option 3
Dedicated AI squad
3 to 8 engineers working as a unit
For companies building a full AI capability or scaling an existing team. One Account Manager across the squad, one partner across the engagement.
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AI staffing solutions, built around the field
AI work draws different kinds of talent now: specialists inside the AI engine room and talent shaping how work gets done. We source across both, through one network.
Beyond AI staffing
AI staffing is one part of building an AI-driven team. The full network also delivers AI itself, end to end.
AI Transformation Services
We embed AI into how your business operates, from strategy to shipped systems. Agentic development, workflow automation, and custom AI builds, delivered by senior engineers.
LLM Training Services
Expert human data for frontier labs and AI teams. RLHF, red teaming, model evaluation, and specialized data collection from senior practitioners.
Nearshore Staff Augmentation
Pre-vetted senior engineers added to your team in 3 to 5 business days, fully managed by Tecla.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an AI staffing engagement take?
First candidates are presented within 3 to 5 business days. The full recruitment process timeline depends on role specialization, but the targeted shortlist is typically delivered within the first two weeks. The hiring process is run by a dedicated team for the duration of the engagement.
What AI roles do you cover?
OpenAI developers, LLM engineers, prompt engineers, NLP developers, computer vision developers, MLOps engineers, machine learning engineers, data scientists, AI agent developers, and specialists across LangChain, Databricks, OpenCV, and Pinecone. The AI and machine learning staffing practice covers the full stack.
Do you place AI specialists or AI-forward talent?
Both. AI specialists are the engineers building the technical core of AI products, from foundation model work to agentic systems. AI-forward talent are engineers, product managers, designers, and operators who bring AI-first thinking into roles that existed before AI reshaped them. Our network reaches both ends, vetted against different rubrics but integrated through the same engagement.
How is Tecla different from other AI staffing agencies?
Most AI staffing agencies built their networks for traditional engineering, then adapted to AI as it grew. Tecla's practice evolved alongside the field itself, from machine learning to LLMs to agentic systems. AI-fluent recruiters evaluate candidates against the cutting-edge tools your team actually uses, with the same team accountable from briefing through the months after the hire.
Does the 90-day guarantee apply to AI staffing placements?
Yes. If the hire does not work within the first 90 days, we replace the engineer at no additional cost from the same talent pool. The guarantee is standard across every AI staffing engagement, including specialist roles where finding the right replacement may take longer than the initial search.
Can Tecla scale our AI team as we grow?
Yes. The same network supports the long-term progression of your team, from individual AI professionals to dedicated AI squads or full AI engineering teams. One partner across the engagement, no vendor switching as the team grows. Many clients start with a single hire and expand into a dedicated AI squad of 3 to 8 engineers over time.
What does AI staffing cost compared to traditional staffing agencies?
Pricing is all-inclusive, with no upfront fees, no fees to start an engagement, and no charges for interviews. EOR, compliance, payroll, and HR are included. Clients are billed only for hours worked. Most staffing solutions agencies layer fees across placement, payroll, and ongoing management, leading to total costs 30 to 40 percent higher than a transparent all-inclusive model.
Where does Tecla source AI talent from?
One network across the US and 18+ Latin American countries. AI staffing experts cover both regions, sourcing AI engineers, data scientists, and machine learning engineers from a talent pool built up over more than a decade of senior tech recruiting. Same standards, same hiring process, regardless of location.
Do you cover both AI-native companies and enterprises adopting AI?
Yes. AI transformation is changing what work looks like inside companies, and our talent pool fits both ends of that shift. AI-native startups building from scratch need engineers comfortable with foundation models and prompt-first workflows. Enterprises adopting AI across operations need talent that can integrate AI into existing systems and reshape how work gets done. The network reaches both.
Does Tecla offer services beyond AI staffing?
Yes. The full network also delivers AI itself, end to end. AI Transformation Services covers agentic development, workflow automation, and custom AI builds. LLM Training Services covers expert human data for frontier labs, including RLHF, red teaming, and model evaluation. Nearshore Staff Augmentation covers senior tech roles beyond AI specialization.