Engineers in the silicon space aren't placed by resume matching. They're placed by someone who speaks the domain and treats candidates like peers.
I create teams that build custom silicon. I'm at Arm now, and before that I spent five years at AWS Annapurna Labs hiring for Trainium and Inferentia, the chips that power Bedrock, EC2, and the AI infrastructure most of the industry now runs on.
Silicon hiring isn't resume matching. It's understanding the difference between a verification engineer and a physical-design engineer. It's knowing which Principal-level candidate has actually taped out, and which has watched it happen.
The best engineers have options. They choose the process that respects them — from first contact to welcoming them on their first day. That's the work.
First conversation is a deep-dive on the role's actual scope. RTL vs. design verification vs. physical design. Tape-out history. Team chemistry. Comp band. Whether the must-haves are actually must-haves — or just inherited from the last req.
In-house AI tooling lets me search by silicon vocabulary at scale — but every outbound is human-written. No mass email. No bait-and-switch JDs. Engineers can tell within two sentences whether the recruiter on the other end speaks the domain.
White-glove from first call to first day: candid comp conversations, real prep for every loop, structured offer negotiation, and a warm handoff to the team. The best engineers have options. They choose the process that respects them.
"Sam is a great recruiter, and an asset to anyone building a silicon team. He's always fun to talk to, very sharp on identifying good talent, and great at placing folks on the right teams."
"Sam had a strong understanding of the role and the team he was recruiting for … always clear, responsive, and helpful throughout the interview and onboarding process, which made the entire experience very smooth."
"He was always responsive, transparent, and incredibly helpful. He provided clear and accurate information before each interview, which helped me feel prepared and confident … Sam made the entire process smooth and seamless."
"He is one of the best candidate managers I have had the privilege to work with. He is an asset and will be for any firm. People just gravitate to him."
"I can say with a high degree of confidence that Sam is the best recruiter I have had the pleasure of working with — an invaluable asset on any team."
"Sharp, magnetic, energetic. He puts the human before the role — taking his recruits' interests and concerns with sincerity."