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Key Takeaways
- Leading AI engineering staffing firms in 2025 include Near and HopHR (focusing on Latin American talent), Turing and Data Teams (offering global talent pools), and Scion Technology (specializing in US-based engineers)—each cater to different hiring needs and budget considerations.
- Working with specialized AI recruitment partners can cut hiring time by 50% or more while reducing the risk of bad hires, as these firms pre-vet candidates for technical skills, communication abilities, and cultural fit—saving you weeks of sourcing and screening.
- These companies offer diverse engagement models to fit various needs: some provide nearshore options with 30–70% cost savings over US salaries, others focus on contract or project-based hiring, and many handle compliance and payroll logistics for seamless international hiring.
Finding the right AI engineers is hard enough. Doing it quickly, within budget, and without sacrificing quality? That’s even tougher.
Staffing and recruitment partners can help streamline your hiring process, connect you with pre-vetted candidates, and reduce the risk of a bad hire, whether you’re hiring locally or looking abroad.
This article highlights ten AI engineering staffing companies you should consider in 2025. You’ll learn what they offer, where they source talent from, and what kind of pricing models to expect.
How Staffing and Recruitment Firms Help You Find Top Talent
Before we get into the top companies, it’s worth unpacking what staffing and recruitment firms actually do—and how they can support your AI hiring goals.
Recruitment firms focus on finding long-term hires. For each role, they handle sourcing, screening, and shortlisting candidates, then hand them off for you to interview and make the final decision.
Some firms also offer Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)—a more comprehensive model where they manage your entire recruitment function, not just one-off roles. In an RPO setup, the firm acts as an extension of your HR team, handling everything from workforce planning to employer branding.
Staffing firms, on the other hand, usually specialize in contract or project-based roles. If you’re looking to fill a temporary gap or bring on a machine learning expert for a short-term project, a staffing firm will help you do that quickly—often within days.
Many agencies offer both models to meet broader business needs.
Why use a staffing or recruitment company to hire AI engineers?
The demand for AI engineers continues to grow, with more companies competing for the same pool of specialized talent. As businesses rush to integrate AI capabilities, finding qualified engineers has become increasingly challenging—especially if you don’t have deep pockets or an established tech brand.
With more businesses launching AI initiatives every day, this talent crunch isn’t going away anytime soon.
This is exactly why more companies are turning to specialized staffing and recruitment partners. They’re not just another hiring expense—they’re a strategic advantage that helps you move faster, tap into hidden talent pools, and avoid the expensive mistake of a bad hire.
Let’s break down when bringing in a recruitment partner actually makes sense, especially for technically complex roles like AI engineering.
You need to hire fast
Top AI engineers aren’t on the market for long. Agencies have access to candidate pipelines and talent pools that would take you months to build on your own. If speed is a priority, using a recruiting partner can cut your hiring timeline in half or more.
You want access to pre-vetted talent
Sorting through dozens (or hundreds) of resumes takes time—especially for technical roles like AI engineers, where you can’t just rely on a list of keywords. You need candidates who not only have the right skills on paper (like experience with LLMs, neural networks, or data pipelines) but who can also demonstrate real-world problem-solving and strong communication.
Staffing and recruitment firms do that legwork for you. They filter out the noise, assess technical skills, soft skills, and cultural fit, and present you with a shortlist of candidates who meet your exact requirements—saving you weeks of sourcing and screening.
Instead of guessing who might be a good fit, you only interview top-tier engineers who’ve already been vetted for the role.
You don’t have in-house AI expertise
If you don’t have a technical founder or senior AI leader on your team, evaluating candidates can feel like flying blind. How do you know if someone’s experience with LLMs, reinforcement learning, or model deployment stacks up?
Staffing and recruitment firms bridge that gap.
They know which questions to ask, how to interpret technical assessments, and can spot red flags that non-technical hiring managers might miss.
This specialized screening ensures you’re not just hiring someone who talks a good game but can actually deliver the AI solutions your business needs.
You’re trying to cut costs
It may sound counterintuitive, but using a staffing or recruitment firm can be more cost-effective than running an in-house process, especially when you consider the cost of a bad hire. You’re paying for efficiency, accuracy, and access to talent that matches your business goals.
And if you’re exploring offshore or nearshore hiring, specialist firms can help you tap into markets with highly competitive salaries compared to US norms—further offsetting their fees.
You want hiring flexibility
Some roles don’t need a full-time headcount. Maybe you’re launching a one-off AI project. Maybe you’re in the early stages of product development. Staffing firms give you the option to bring in contract talent on your terms without long-term commitments or overhead.
You want support with international hiring
Hiring outside the US opens up a much larger talent pool and gives you access to AI engineers with salary expectations 30–70% below their US peers, especially in regions with a combination of strong technical education and lower living costs like Latin America or Eastern Europe.
But navigating international hiring comes with complexities that can quickly become overwhelming.
Specialized staffing firms eliminate these headaches entirely. They handle everything from legal compliance and contract creation to payroll setup and tax requirements. They understand local labor laws, know market-appropriate salaries, and manage all the paperwork that makes international hiring daunting.
The result? Hiring an AI engineer in Buenos Aires or Mexico City becomes as straightforward as hiring someone in Chicago or Seattle. You interview and select your ideal candidate, and your staffing partner manages all the behind-the-scenes logistics.
You get the talent you need without the administrative burden—helping you scale faster while maintaining complete peace of mind about compliance.
10 Top Staffing and Recruitment Companies for Hiring AI Engineers in 2025
With hundreds of staffing and recruitment companies out there, finding the right partner to help you hire AI engineers can feel overwhelming. Who specializes in technical roles? Are they sourcing locally or globally?
To save you hours of research, we’ve compiled a list of ten notable options for 2025. This list includes a diverse range of companies to help you evaluate different approaches based on your priorities:
- Some focus on US-based talent for teams wanting local hires
- Others specialize in international recruitment, helping you tap into global talent pools
- Many provide both staffing and recruitment services
Whether you’re looking for a quick contract hire to tackle a specific AI project or building out an entire team, this range of options should help you identify partners that align with your specific needs, timeline, and budget.
1. Near
We’re starting with a company we know best—ourselves. At Near, we help US companies hire top AI engineers in Latin America.
Our approach combines speed, quality, and cost efficiency—most clients hire in under 21 days while making significant savings compared to US salary rates. We offer two flexible models to match your needs: either we handle everything (sourcing, compliance, payroll, and ongoing support), or we find your ideal candidates, and you manage the employment relationship yourself.
What sets us apart is our deep connection to the Latin American tech community. Our recruitment team lives in the region, understands the local markets, and has built relationships that help us find exceptional talent that aligns with both your technical requirements and company culture.
Key features
- Sources talent from: Latin America
- Service provided: Recruitment, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), and staffing options
- Pricing: Interview candidates at no cost. Once you hire, choose a one-time fee (recruitment) or a monthly fee per hire (staffing). We offer a replacement guarantee and help most clients save 55–63% compared to US salaries while still offering competitive pay.
2. Insight Global
Insight Global is a staffing agency specializing in connecting US businesses with skilled AI engineers. With over 70 offices across the US, Canada, and the UK, it offers extensive reach.
Its dedicated tech recruiters can identify and screen candidates within 24–48 hours, facilitating onboarding in as little as 1–3 weeks. The firm offers contract, contract-to-permanent, and direct hire options, making it easier for businesses to scale teams based on project needs.
Key features
- Sources talent from: 50+ countries
- Service provided: Staffing and recruitment for AI professionals
- Pricing: For direct hires, a one-time payment fee is charged when a candidate starts. For contract roles, businesses pay an hourly or monthly rate during the assignment.
3. TECLA
TECLA connects US companies with a vetted network of 50,000+ developers and engineers across Latin America, including specialists in AI and machine learning. It screens candidates for technical skills, English fluency, and time zone alignment to ensure smooth collaboration with US teams.
TECLA offers flexible models, from staff augmentation to building dedicated nearshore teams, with an emphasis on fast integration and sustainable partnerships.
Key features
- Sources talent from: Latin America
- Service provided: Staff augmentation and nearshore team building
- Pricing: Pricing available upon initial consultation; rates may vary based on role, region, and engagement type.
4. Scion Technology
Scion Technology, a division of Scion Staffing, specializes in placing AI, machine learning, and data science professionals. Known for its personalized approach and tech-savvy recruiters, the firm works with startups and enterprise clients alike.
It offers both temporary and direct-hire placements, with an emphasis on quickly sourcing hard-to-find, highly specialized AI talent.
Key features
- Sources talent from: United States
- Service provided: Direct hire and contract staffing for AI and ML roles
- Pricing: Pricing available upon initial consultation; varies based on position and engagement length
5. HopHR
HopHR uses a proprietary AI-matching engine to connect US companies with top-tier AI, machine learning, and data science talent from Latin America. Its platform delivers pre-vetted candidates within 24-48 hours and supports both project-based and long-term hires.
Key features
- Sources talent from: Latin America
- Service provided: AI-powered recruitment for AI, ML, and data science roles
- Pricing: Pricing available upon initial consultation; flexible engagement models for contract and full-time hires.
6. LatamRecruit
LatamRecruit helps US and Canadian tech startups hire senior software and AI engineers from Latin America. The company emphasizes high-level talent—typically engineers with 7+ years of experience—who are fluent in English and work US standard hours.
Its recruiters deliver pre-vetted candidates within 48 hours and aim to complete hires in 4-6 weeks, streamlining the process for lean, fast-moving teams.
Key features
- Sources talent from: Latin America
- Service provided: Technical recruitment and IT staff augmentation
- Pricing: Pricing available upon initial consultation; tailored for startup budgets and team scale.
7. SolGuruz
SolGuruz helps businesses hire top AI engineers specializing in generative AI, machine learning, and natural language processing. Its team works with companies to define project needs and then matches them with engineers skilled in areas like model training, deployment, and integration.
Clients can hire engineers for full-time roles, short-term projects, or as part of a dedicated development team, with flexible engagement options to fit different timelines and budgets.
Key features
- Sources talent from: India
- Service provided: AI engineer hiring for generative AI, machine learning, and NLP projects
- Pricing: AI engineer hiring for generative AI, machine learning, and NLP projects
8. Data Teams
Data Teams connects organizations with highly skilled AI engineers, data scientists, and analytics professionals through a specialized recruitment approach, using AI and manual efforts to screen candidates for technical depth and project-specific experience.
Key features
- Sources talent from: Global talent pool
- Service provided: Contract and full-time recruitment services for AI, data science, and analytics roles
- Pricing: Pricing available upon initial consultation; based on role type, seniority, and project scope
9. Turing
Turing helps businesses hire pre-vetted AI engineers and machine learning specialists. Its platform matches companies with developers skilled in building machine learning models, natural language processing systems, recommendation engines, and generative AI applications.
The company handles sourcing, vetting, and onboarding, helping businesses hire remote AI engineers for full-time roles, short-term projects, or contract work, with flexible options based on project needs.
Key features
- Sources talent from: Global talent pool
- Service provided: Remote AI engineer and machine learning developer hiring
- Pricing: Available upon consultation; flexible models for contract, full-time, or project-based work
10. Teilur Talent
Teilur Talent helps US startups and growing tech companies hire AI engineers from Latin America. Its vetting process screens for technical skills, English proficiency, and cultural alignment, making integration with US-based teams smooth and fast.
With over 100,000 professionals in its network, Teilur offers flexible staffing models, including full-time and fractional hires, optimized for early-stage teams.
Key features
- Sources talent from: Latin America
- Service provided: Technical recruiting and nearshore staffing
- Pricing: Transparent pricing with a 20% commission
Final Thoughts
Hiring the right AI engineer is hard, but it doesn’t have to take months or stretch your budget—or patience. The staffing and recruitment companies we’ve highlighted can help you move faster, tap into pre-vetted talent, and avoid costly hiring mistakes.
And if you’re ready to combine those time-saving benefits with the cost efficiency of hiring outside the US, Near can help make that happen. We’ve helped over 700 US companies successfully hire top talent from Latin America—including AI engineers—professionals who work your hours, speak your language, and perform like your best US hires, all while delivering significant cost savings.
If you want to explore how Near can help you hire AI talent faster and smarter, let’s talk. Book a free no-commitment consultation call.
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