ABOUT AGENTIC ALPHA
Built for the AI Era
of Startup Hiring
We exist at the intersection of AI expertise and recruiting to help fast moving startups find the talent that defines their future.
AI Expertise
We understand the roles
we fill the models, the
methods, the talent
landscape. This isn't
surface knowledge, it's
how we find candidates
others can't.
WHY AGENTIC ALPHA
The AI talent market is unlike any other
AI and ML roles require a depth of technical understanding that generalist recruiters simply don't have. The difference between a good hire and a great one comes down to knowing the field the research, the tools, the teams, and the trajectory.
Agentic Alpha was built specifically for this. We speak the language of founders building AI products, and we have the relationships in the talent community to move fast without compromising on quality.
3.2×
Faster time-to-hire vs. generalist recruiters
97%
Candidate retention at 12 months
Five principles that shape every search we run and every relationship we build.
Precision Over Volume
We send you 3-5 exceptional candidates, not 30 average ones. Quality of shortlist is
the only metric that matters.
OUR VALUES
Founder Empathy
We know what it costs to
have a critical role unfilled
at a startup. We move with urgency because we
understand the stakes.
Relationships First
Our network is built on trust,
not transactions. The best AI talent comes through relationships and that takes years of genuine community investment.
Speed Without Shortcuts
Fast doesn't mean sloppy. Our process is built to move quickly at every step without ever compromising the rigor of our vetting.
OUR TEAM
The People Behind the Placements
A small, focused team with deep roots in AI and a genuine passion for getting the right people into the right roles.
Rich Altamura
Rich is a Principal AI & Technical Recruiter with 25+ years of experience and multiple Recruiter of the Year recognitions. He partners with venture-backed startups from Seed through Series C, working alongside founders, CTOs, and investors during the moments that matter most. He combines disciplined search fundamentals with modern AI-driven tools, always focused on long-term fit over quick fills.
When he's not placing game-changing talent, you'll find him proudly sitting in his PSL season tickets at MetLife Stadium, a die-hard Jets fan who holds his head high, record be damned.
Principal AI Startup Recruiter
Emanuel Castillo
Client Growth Lead
Emanuel is a founder-focused technical recruiter who loves helping startups find the people who can truly change a company's trajectory. He works closely with founders to make thoughtful, high-impact hires in fast-moving technical and AI-driven markets. Emanuel is the architect behind Agentic Alpha's proprietary automation tools, building the systems that power our candidate sourcing and pipeline at startup speed. He is fully bilingual in English and Spanish, bringing a global perspective to every search.
Outside of recruiting, he's usually watching soccer, experimenting with LLMs or lost in the woods somewhere.
Head of Ops
Ellie Ventura
Ellie is the Head of Operations at Agentic Alpha, bringing 20+ years of experience supporting people, teams, and the organizations they build. Her background gives her a uniquely human lens, she understands people deeply, which makes her exceptionally effective at building the systems and processes that support every search we run. She is deeply fluent in both English and Spanish. She believes that great recruiting is fundamentally about people, and that getting it right changes lives on both sides of the hire.
Outside of work, she loves traveling, painting, and getting outdoors.
1
Discovery Call
We get deep on your role, your team culture, your tech stack, and where you're headed. This isn't a checkbox call it's how we build the brief that drives every search decision.
HOW WE WORK
Our 3-Step Process
Simple, fast, and built around your startup's pace, not a slow agency timeline.
2
Candidate Sourcing
We tap our deep network of AI engineers, researchers, and leaders not just job boards. Every candidate is proactively sourced and personally vetted before you see a single name.
3
Vetting & Shortlist
You receive a tight shortlist of 3-5 pre-vetted candidates each with a detailed profile, our assessment, and a clear fit rationale. No noise, no padding, just the right people.
Ready to find your next AI hire?
Let's talk about the role, the team, and what great looks like for you.