A Talent Advisory & Search firm for AI and technology startups
AurumWorks
Hiring, refined.
About AurumWorks
We help founders hire the people who matter most.
We're AurumWorks, a Talent Advisory and Executive Search firm helping Al and technology startups make their key hires, including the roles that are hardest to fill, across India, Canada, and the US, and helping North American companies build their teams in India.
Founded by Pranjali Priya, who's spent years building teams inside startups and knows what hiring really looks like, the wins, the challenges, and everything in between.
We work on a retained basis, with clear scope and honest conversations from the start.
There’s no pressure, just thoughtful help where it makes a real difference, delivered with honesty, care, and a real commitment to doing the work exceptionally well.
Hello, I'm Pranjali
I never planned on spending my career in hiring. But once I saw how much one great hire could change a company, I was hooked.
I started out in consulting, wide-eyed, hungry, and honestly a little lucky. That's where I learned technical recruiting, working with big names like Microsoft and Amazon as clients, and I was lucky to get the kind of exposure that shaped the professional I am today.
Later, I joined the startup world, and twice I became the very first talent hire, building the whole team from scratch, back when "the hiring process" was just me and a very long to-do list. I've hired across AI and technology, from India to Canada, celebrated the hires that changed everything, and learned a few lessons the hard way too.
A couple of people I've worked with were kind enough to share their thoughts, you can read them here.
AurumWorks grew out of all of that. It's the kind of company I would've loved to have in my corner back when I was inside a startup myself.
And honestly, the part I've never gotten tired of is the human side of it all. Seeing someone light up when they land the right role, watching a founder finally breathe after making an important hire, and knowing I had a small part in both. That's why I still love what I do.
There's more to the story, if you're curious!
Why we exist
Building a company is already hard. Hiring shouldn't make it harder.
Most startups aren't ready for a full-time Head of Talent, but the hiring still needs to be done thoughtfully. The right people can change the direction of a company. The wrong hire can slow it down in ways you don't expect.
That's why I started AurumWorks. To work alongside founders, help them make better hiring decisions, and build teams that grow with the business.
Vision, Mission & Values
We envision a world where founders build their teams with craft, confidence, and care. We hope to help them get there, with hiring that actually works.
To help founders worry less about hiring. We build the systems that make good hiring repeatable, and we help find the rare people who can change what a company becomes.
We'll always tell you what we genuinely believe, even when it's not the easiest conversation to have.
We're open about how we work because that's how lasting partnerships are built.
Behind every hire is a person making a big decision and a company betting on its future, so we treat it with the care and respect it deserves, never as a transaction.
How we help
Start wherever feels right. Each one stands on its own, and they grow with you.
Find out what's actually going on with your hiring, in two weeks.
Most founders kind of know something's off with their hiring, they just can't point to what. That's what this is for.
Over two weeks, we dig into how you actually hire, talk to the people involved, and hand you a straight, no-fluff read on what's working, what's not, and what it's quietly costing you.
Here's what you walk away with:
Want to see what it actually looks like?
This is an illustrative example using a fictional company. Every real diagnostic is fully confidential, and your report is tailored to your business.
Hiring starting to take over your calendar?
Here's the tricky spot: you're not ready to hire a full-time Head of Talent, but the hiring still has to get done, and done right. That's where we come in.
A few days a month, we work alongside you, building the hiring foundations your team keeps, running the roles that matter, and getting your people confident enough to do this without us.
Here's what we'll work on together:
Bringing someone into your hiring is a matter of trust, so it's fair to want to know how it will actually go before you begin. Here's what the first 90 days usually look like. Every company is different, but this will give you a pretty good idea of how we work and what you can expect.
Fractional Head of Talent
What the relationship looks like, month by month
Bringing someone into your hiring is a matter of trust, so it's fair to want to know how it will actually go before you begin. This is the honest shape of a typical engagement. Every company is different, and we'll shape ours around yours, but this is the arc you can expect: steady, practical, and built so your team ends up more capable than it started.
From here, many founders keep us on lightly, for the senior hires that really count and a steady hand as the team grows. Others take the reins entirely, which is exactly what we hope for. Our aim is always to leave you more capable than we found you. The best sign we've done our job is that you need us less.
For the one hire you really can't afford to get wrong.
Your first engineering leader. A Head of Product. The sales leader who'll build your go-to-market team.
These aren't just open roles. They're the people who'll shape what your company becomes.
That's why we take them seriously.
We work closely with you to understand what the business really needs, then run the search from beginning to end, thoughtfully, carefully, and without rushing the process.
Here's how we work.
We focus on the senior and specialist hires that shape a company's direction, the ones worth getting right. Across four areas:
ML, NLP & LLM Engineers · Applied & Research Scientists · Data Scientists · MLOps & Data Engineers · Heads of AI & Data
Backend, Frontend & Full-Stack Engineers · Platform, Infrastructure, DevOps & SRE · Security Engineers · Technical Architects · Engineering Leadership (Staff, Principal, VP & CTO)
Product Managers · Heads of Product · Product & UX Designers · Design Leadership
Sales Leadership · Marketing Leadership · Growth & Revenue Leaders · Operations & Business Leadership
Typically senior, staff, principal, and leadership hires, the roles where getting the right person matters most.
If you're hiring for a critical role that's not listed here, we'd still be happy to have a conversation.
Get in touch
Big hire on the horizon? Hiring process driving you a little crazy? Or maybe you just want to talk something through with someone who's seen it before. Either way, we'd love to hear from you.
Tell us what's on your mind, and we'll come back with honest advice and a clear next step. No pitch, no pressure. Just a good conversation.
Clear answers to everything you need to know about our services, pricing, timelines, and guarantees.
All fees are agreed in writing before we begin.
We’ll share the exact pricing based on your needs.
Choose the service that best fits your needs: Talent Diagnostic for a review of your hiring process, Fractional Head of Talent for ongoing leadership support, or Key Hire Search for a critical role. Not sure which is right? We’re happy to talk it through.
We focus on senior and hard-to-fill roles in AI and tech startups, including:
• US and Canadian AI and tech startups, hiring locally or building their teams in India
• Indian startups hiring senior, specialized, and hard-to-find talent
• Founders anywhere struggling to fill a critical role
Many traditional agencies work on a contingency basis, earning a fee only when a candidate is hired, typically as a percentage of their salary. At AurumWorks, we work on a retained, fixed-fee model that allows us to focus on a thoughtful, targeted search rather than simply filling a role quickly. We take the time to understand your needs, assess candidates carefully, and offer honest guidance throughout. Think of us as a partner in helping you make the right hire, not just fill a position.
Most searches take around 4–8 weeks to reach a signed offer, with strong candidates typically presented within the first two weeks. Timelines depend on the role and market, and we’ll flag challenges upfront.
We need your input at the start, timely feedback on candidates, and your time for final interviews. We handle the rest.
Yes. We support remote, hybrid, and in-office hiring across different locations and time zones.
We work across India, Canada, and the US. We also help North American companies build their teams in India.
We’ve built teams in India while working remotely for companies abroad. We bring firsthand knowledge of the local talent market and the practical realities of hiring across borders.
We work on a retained model. A small engagement fee starts the search, with the balance tied to delivery and the candidate’s start date. This allows us to dedicate focused attention to your role.
We only take on searches we believe we can deliver. If we genuinely cannot deliver against the agreed brief, the engagement fee is refunded under the terms of our agreement.
It happens, and we stand behind our work. If the person we place leaves within the agreed period, we rerun the search and find a replacement at no additional professional fee. Our standard guarantee is 180 days, extended to 12 months for C-suite roles, subject to the terms we agree with you.
We treat client and candidate information with care and discretion. We can also conduct confidential searches for sensitive hires, including leadership replacements, with controlled information sharing.