AI Talent Is So Scarce That Hiring Engineers Is Starting to Look Like Courtship

Hiring an AI engineer used to mean sending a CV, going through a few interviews, and waiting for an offer. But for top AI talent, that process is starting to change.

Cursor, the AI coding company behind the popular developer tool, is treating recruitment like a relationship rather than a transaction. Its talent team has used private Slack channels, personalised gifts, direct access to senior leaders, and even international trips to persuade highly sought-after engineers to join the company.

This goes to show that companies are no longer competing only on salary for the people building advanced AI systems. They are competing for attention, trust, purpose, and the feeling that a candidate is truly wanted. That matters because there are only so many engineers with the experience needed to build these systems.

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TechloyLouis Eriakha

Cursor Is Treating Recruitment as a Courtship

Cursor's parent company, Anysphere, has built a reputation for being unusually focused on talent. Its careers page says the company "obsess[es] over talent" and wants to create a workplace for self-motivated individual contributors.

Its Head of Talent, Matt Ward, recently explained that the company does not treat recruiting as a simple process of matching applicants to vacancies.

Cursor may identify only a small number of people for a particular role and then spend considerable effort getting to know them. Candidates can be given access to private Slack channels where they can speak directly with potential colleagues before deciding whether to join.