Bullseye search · Research Engineer
Research engineers build the benchmarks, environments, and data pipelines that tell an AI company what's actually working. I run a bullseye search for engineers with research taste and the rigor to ship it.
The short answer
Chasen Talent is a founder-led recruiting firm that finds research engineers for early-stage to growth startups. Founder Chasen Nick runs every search personally as a bullseye search: one specific profile, recruited directly from teams where that work is happening now, and verified before a client ever sees them. In 2026 he has worked 6 research engineer searches, with base salaries from $200K to $400K.
2026 market read, from my desk
Most requested: Python, Docker and Linux. Figures come from real searches on my desk this year. Client names stay confidential.
The target
Has designed benchmarks, eval harnesses, or RL environments that others use.
Knows which experiment is worth running and how to read the result.
Ships reliable pipelines in Python, Docker, and Linux, not notebooks.
Many AI teams screen on output, not years of experience.
Where I find them: Eval and benchmark teams at AI labs, research engineers publishing open benchmarks and tooling, and ML engineers who have built the environments and data systems behind a model.
How a bullseye search works
We pin down the exact profile together: what they've shipped, the stack, the stage, and the dealbreakers. No keyword lists.
I map who's doing this work right now and recruit them directly with your specific role. Most of them are not applying anywhere.
I check real track record and current role before anyone reaches you, so you meet finalists, not a stack of resumes.
Every step is run by me, Chasen Nick. No handoffs to junior recruiters. How that compares to a big agency →
Questions founders ask
Across the 6 research engineer searches I've worked in 2026, base salary ran from $200K to $400K, with a typical midpoint around $200K. 6 of the 6 were based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and 6 were in-person roles.
A research scientist mainly sets the research direction. A research engineer builds the systems that make the research real: benchmarks, environments, data pipelines, and training infrastructure. At most startups the research engineer is the harder hire.
The research engineer searches on my desk this year centered on benchmarks, evals, synthetic data pipelines, data quality systems, and environments that turn real workflows into tasks models can learn from.
California, New York, and remote across the United States. Most searches on my desk right now are in-person roles in San Francisco.
Other bullseye searches
Tell me about the role. If I'm not the right fit for it, I'll tell you that too.
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