Experience behind the search.
Our founder brings more than seven years in technical recruitment and more than 150 placements made before founding Corellia Talent. His previous placement markets include London, New York and San Francisco. These are personal career facts, not the new company’s placement totals.
What we recruit for in London
We recruit across engineering, AI, research and technical leadership. Start with the outcome and responsibilities, then choose the title and level that describe the work.
Explore the roles in detail
- Software engineering
- Product, full-stack, frontend, backend, forward deployed, platform, infrastructure and site reliability engineers, from junior through principal.
- Founding engineers
- Founding engineers, founding product engineers, founding full-stack engineers, founding AI engineers and technical leads.
- AI and machine learning
- AI engineers, machine learning engineers, applied AI specialists, ML infrastructure engineers, MLOps engineers and data engineers.
- Research
- Research engineers, research scientists and applied scientists within technology businesses.
- Technical leadership
- Technical leads, engineering managers, Heads and Directors of Engineering, VPs of Engineering, CTOs, Heads of AI or ML and Heads of Research.
For several hires, we help plan the mix and order of recruitment so that responsibilities and support are clear. Explore engineering team builds.
First hires and teams taking shape.
Our founder’s London placement experience includes an ICPC World Finalist joining as a founding engineer, a YC founder moving into a pre-seed startup, and an exclusive AI team build of 5+ hires. These are personal career placements made before Corellia Talent.
These accounts describe our founder’s personal placement experience before Corellia Talent. Names are kept confidential; no Corellia client endorsement is implied.
Explore our founder’s placement experienceBuilding a London team, not filling a list of titles
A London team build starts with the work that is missing and the support already available. A founder who can set technical direction may need a different first hire from a founder looking for someone to establish it. Write down the product, infrastructure and research responsibilities before deciding whether they belong in one role or several.
Sequence the hires around dependencies. A specialist should know who can review their work, who owns product decisions and what they can change. Explain the office pattern and location early rather than leaving commuting expectations until an offer. These details help a candidate assess whether the role fits their life as well as their experience.
Research beyond a familiar background
Relevant evidence can come from a delivered product, a research project, open-source work or experience building a company. We ask what the person owned, what changed because of their decisions and how they worked with the people around them. A familiar university or company name is context, not proof that someone fits the brief.
We use AI-assisted research to uncover relevant people in less obvious places, then speak with candidates to understand their work and motivation. In our founder’s London AI team build before Corellia Talent, those conversations explored startup and scaleup experience alongside the environment the founder wanted to build. Shared interests could open a conversation, but the assessment remained connected to the work.
Plan the first hires and the team around them
The order of hiring should follow the product and team needs. Decide which work needs an owner now, what can wait and where the existing team can provide support. A founding engineer, research specialist and engineering manager solve different problems, even when a small team needs elements of all three.
Our founder made 5+ hires exclusively for a seed-stage London AI startup before Corellia Talent. The company later raised a Series A; that is a subsequent company milestone, not an outcome we attribute to recruitment. The example informs the questions we ask about technical ability, motivation and how several people will work together.
Make the brief specific.
For an early London team, we start by clarifying the balance of product ownership, hands-on engineering and research. We discuss the actual working location, office expectations, compensation and any work-authorisation requirements with the company rather than assuming that every candidate can work under the same arrangement.
- Is the role based in London, hybrid or remote, and how often is in-person work required?
- Which responsibilities sit with the founders and which transfer to this hire?
- What can the company offer in cash compensation, equity and support?
Agree the first six months’ outcomes, the decisions this person can make and the support they will receive. Set assessment criteria before interviews begin so each conversation explores relevant evidence rather than repeating the same questions.
Local context without assumptions
London’s technology ecosystem spans different clusters and working locations. London & Partners describes clusters including King’s Cross and White City. For hiring, the useful question is the actual workplace and the people the hire will work with.
Read London & Partners’ ecosystem overview. We do not assume that a cluster name, university or previous employer establishes a candidate’s fit.
Salary, equity and bonus in London
Compare the actual role, seniority and company context in GBP. Our salary guide brings together selected public employer advertisements and links to the sources behind them.
How to interpret salary, equity and bonus evidence
Advertised ranges are not market averages, accepted offers or recommended packages. Some listings span different responsibilities or levels. An undisclosed bonus or equity amount is not zero, and the overall spread across a city is not a typical salary for one role.
Separate cash salary, any bonus conditions and equity terms. For equity, ask about the grant percentage, vesting and the basis of any valuation. Use the compensation planner to explore your own assumptions; its scenarios are not forecasts or guaranteed proceeds. Do not transfer US benchmarks to London.
Open the compensation planner · Inspect the employer sources
How a search works
Every search is led by a senior specialist, from brief to start date. You have one accountable contact for introductions, feedback and offer discussions.
- Agree the brief. Define outcomes, technical expectations, working arrangements, compensation and trade-offs.
- Research and speak with candidates. Explore relevant work, motivation and the questions that still need answering.
- Make considered introductions. Explain the evidence and context behind the match. A candidate’s CV is never sent without naming the company and getting their agreement.
- Support interviews and the decision. Share feedback, clarify expectations and keep unresolved questions visible through the offer.
Choose the engagement
Contingent, exclusive and retained search are available for permanent, contract and interim recruitment. We agree scope, fees and responsibilities before work begins.
- Contingent: a success-based search, with a fee payable when you hire an introduced candidate under the agreed terms.
- Exclusive: one recruitment relationship for an agreed period and a clear point of accountability.
- Retained: a committed engagement with agreed scope, milestones and staged payments.
Questions about hiring in London
How should we brief a founding engineer search in London?
Start with the product decisions and delivery outcomes the engineer will own, then agree the office pattern, salary budget and equity terms. Be explicit about how much technical support the founders can provide. our founder’s earlier London placements include a founding engineer and a YC founder joining a pre-seed startup; those are career examples from before Corellia Talent.
What did the London AI team build teach our founder about hiring?
The challenge was distinguishing exceptional technical ability from a fit for the environment the founder was building. Our founder explored startup and scale-up experience, the founder’s desired background, motivations and ways of working through detailed conversations. He made at least five hires exclusively for that business before Corellia Talent. Shared interests can start a conversation, but the assessment needs to stay connected to the work and team.
How should we set an engineering salary budget in London?
Compare GBP base-salary examples for the actual role and level, then examine the funding stage and responsibilities behind each advert. Assess equity and bonus separately: an undisclosed figure is not zero. Our salary guide identifies its sources and gaps, so you can distinguish observed adverts from planning estimates before discussing a live brief.
Do you recruit founding engineers in London?
Yes. We recruit founding engineers, founding product and full-stack engineers, founding AI engineers and technical leads. We define the outcomes, decisions and support attached to the role before approaching candidates.
Do you recruit researchers and AI specialists in London?
Yes. We cover AI and machine learning engineers, applied AI specialists, research engineers, research scientists and applied scientists. Research recruitment focuses on technology businesses, not laboratory or pharmaceutical roles.
Can you help hire a Head of Engineering or CTO in London?
Yes. Technical leadership searches cover engineering managers, Heads and Directors of Engineering, VPs of Engineering and CTOs, as well as Heads of AI, ML and Research. We agree the decisions, team responsibilities and authority attached to the role.
Do you offer contract and interim recruitment in London?
Yes. We offer permanent, contract and interim recruitment. The engagement structure, scope, responsibilities and commercial terms are agreed before the search starts.
Do you only work with venture-backed companies?
No. Our founder’s recruitment experience is mainly with venture-backed technology businesses, but funding is not a requirement. We work with startups and scaleups from the first technical hire to established teams, including pre-seed through Series E.
Does Corellia Talent have an office in London?
London is a market we serve, not an office location we claim. Calls are available into US working hours, subject to the booking calendar.
A direct relationship with us.
You work with a senior specialist throughout the search. We usually reply within the hour, seven days a week, though this isn't guaranteed.
This page describes a market we serve. It does not represent a local office.
Read a practical hiring guide