About Us

We specialize in finding builders for intelligent systems.

What Makes Silicon Hills Different

  • Domain-first, always

    We don't run keyword searches. We learn your stack, your architecture, and your constraints, then match from a curated network tailored to your product needs. 

  • Builders over resumes

    Candidates are assessed on system design thinking, first-principles reasoning, and real-world tradeoffs, not just job titles or years of experience.

  • Fewer candidates, more signal

    Our process filters for technical fit upfront. You receive a shortlist of candidates who can actually do the job, not a pipeline of 25+ you have to filter yourself.

  • Built for early-stage reality

    Fast, flexible, and designed for teams with limited bandwidth. We work with your process or build one with you.

  • Partnership, not placement

    We act as an extension of your team, not a vendor. We're focused on the quality of the hire and the health of the team they join.

Roles & Capabilities

Targeted recruiting. Faster hires.

We focus on a set of technically demanding disciplines where domain expertise, not volume, drives results. Here's a few examples of where we specialize:

  • Computer Vision & Perception Engineers

    SLAM, 3D reconstruction, object detection, sensor fusion

    Start hiring

  • Optical Systems Engineers

    Computational imaging, wavefront sensing, photonics

    Start Hiring
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    Robotics Software Engineers

    Motion planning, autonomy stack, simulation

    Start hiring

  • Embedded Software & Firmware Engineers

    RTOS, bare-metal, MCU/FPGA, low-latency systems

    Start Hiring
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    AI Hardware & ML Infrastructure Engineers

    Model inference, distributed training, edge deployment

    Start hiring
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    Founding Engineers & Technical Co-founders

    Hardware/AI hybrid backgrounds, 0-to-1 builders

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  • Full stack Software Engineers

    React/Next.js, Node, Python, API design, cloud infrastructure, end-to-end product ownership

    Start hiring
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Adjacent Roles (we support these too):

  • VPs of Engineering / CTOs (see Offerings: Executive Search)

  • Applied ML Scientists

  • Product Engineers 

  • Forward Deployed Engineers

Meet The Founder

Most recruiters submit resumes. I submit engineers who understand your constraints.

A smiling woman with long wavy brown hair, wearing a light blue top, standing outdoors in front of a light-colored stone wall.

Kirsten Vessell

Spent 10+ years building recruiting organizations and supporting the most technically demanding roles in the industry: meta-optics, computer vision, embedded firmware, and AI inference systems. That depth is what Silicon Hills is built on.