Brent Stokes is Blue Signal’s Director of AI Strategy & Recruiting, specializing in executive search for high-impact artificial intelligence and emerging tech talent. With over a decade of experience in deep tech recruiting and hundreds of successful placements, Brent helps companies from pre-seed startups to Fortune 100 innovation labs build the leadership and engineering teams behind tomorrow’s breakthroughs.
Brent’s work centers on the most transformative areas of AI: Frontier Tech, Robotics, Physical AI, Multi-Modal and Multi-Agent Systems, LLM and vLLMs, Foundation Models, Neural Networks, DSP, MLOps, Applied AI, and more bleeding edge innovation. He connects organizations with visionary talent: leaders and experts who build generative agents, perception stacks, reinforcement learning pipelines, and scalable, domain-specific AI systems.
Brent doesn’t just fill roles, he acts as a strategic advisor. By aligning talent strategy with product roadmaps and funding stages, he helps clients scale smarter and faster. His approach is data-driven, confidential, and tailored to the urgency of hypergrowth tech hiring.
In addition, Brent has successfully delivered talent across IT infrastructure, software, wireless, IoT, cybersecurity, ERP, and engineering. This broader experience gives him the agility to support clients navigating digital transformation, rapid scaling, or new product launches in any vertical.
Innovating the way companies find and hire talent.
Are you hiring? I can help!
🔎 I help high-growth AI companies scale smarter and faster // 🎤 Industry Speaker // 🏅 Top Recruiter
I partner with VC and PE-backed founders to build the leadership, engineering, and go-to-market teams that take AI and deep tech startups from seed to IPO. I lead executive searches and full-team buildouts with startup speed, precision, and absolute discretion.
As Director of AI Recruiting & Strategy at Blue Signal, I specialize in assembling high-performing teams across the bleeding edge of AI: Robotics, Humanoid & Collaborative Robots, Physical AI, Agentic Systems, ML, NLP, DSP, Neural Networking, Deep Learning, LLMs, and frontier model innovation.
Whether you’re stealth, Series A, or scaling ahead of a raise, I help you reach the experts who don’t apply to job posts. These are the builders of foundation models, generative AI agents, real-time perception stacks, reinforcement learning pipelines, and domain-specific AI at scale. My searches span seed-stage ventures to IPO-bound innovators, placing leaders who drive breakthroughs in robotics, computer vision, generative AI, and beyond.
With over a decade in deep tech recruiting and hundreds of successful searches, I act as a strategic advisor, aligning talent strategy to roadmap milestones. My approach supports founders and hiring leaders as they move from intake to offer.
Key Focus Areas: Robotics | Physical AI | Autonomous Systems | Machine Learning | MLOps | Agentic AI | LLMs | Foundation Models
Client Stages: VC-Backed Startups | Hypergrowth Tech | Innovation Labs | PE Portfolio Firms
Services: Executive Search | Confidential Hiring | Team Buildouts | Market Mapping
If you need high-impact talent or want to streamline hiring, let’s connect for a confidential consultation.
bstokes@bluesignal.com | 864.641.1984
Blue Signal is a nationwide recruiting, executive search, and staffing firm built on a foundation of helping others, doing the right thing, and being excellent. This mindset helps us build deep relationships with our clients and candidates, allowing us to provide better career opportunities and growth for our clients.
With over 2,600 successful searches completed, Blue Signal has the experience, relationships, and tools to help your company grow. Our deep industry knowledge and streamlined processes will help you to secure high-caliber talent quickly. Best of all, we back our placements with up to a 12-month guarantee.
Award Winning Team
Here’s just a few of the awards Blue Signal has won:
Forbes Best Executive Search Firm, Professional Search Firm, and Staffing Firm 2020, 2023, 2024
3x Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies 2021, 2022, 2023
3x Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces 2021, 2022, 2023
2022 BBB Torch Awards for Ethics Finalist
2022 Inc. Inaugural Power Partner
Best and Brightest Company to Work For by NABR 2021
Brent Stokes
Frontier Technology Recruitment Expert
Fractional AI Consultant
bstokes@bluesignal.com / (864) 641-1984