Refolk / Blog
Sourcing notes from people who actually hire engineers.
Opinionated writing on finding, evaluating, and hiring technical talent. Grounded in real data, named tools, and recruiting math that pencils out.
The Founding AI Engineer Isn't an ML Engineer. Source Differently.
Founding AI Engineer listings cleared 4,000/month with comp past $300K. Here's why ML-engineer sourcing fails and what GitHub signals to chase instead.
More posts
9 articles- May 7, 2026·9 min read
Juicebox's $99 Sticker, $400 Reality: 6 Alternatives Worth a Look
Juicebox's $99 plan balloons to $400+ with AI Agents and phone numbers. Here are 6 Juicebox alternatives compared on price, data freshness, and outreach.
Juicebox alternativeswhy is Juicebox so expensive - May 6, 2026·9 min read
Only 82 Engineers List "Cursor" as a Skill. Screen Differently.
Coinbase made Cursor and Copilot fluency a firing-grade bar. Here is how to source AI-native engineers from artifacts, not resume keywords.
sourcing AI-native engineersCursor proficiency hiring - May 6, 2026·9 min read
Sourcing the Player-Coach EM: What Coinbase's 15:1 Memo Means for Hiring
Coinbase killed pure-manager roles. Here's how to source engineering managers who still ship code, using GitHub, LinkedIn, and reference signals.
player-coach engineering managerhands-on engineering manager hiring - May 6, 2026·9 min read
The 72-Hour Playbook for Sourcing 700 Ex-Coinbase Engineers
Coinbase just cut 700 engineers and revoked access the same day. Here is how to source the cohort without losing to the LinkedIn InMail flood.
coinbase layoffs hiringsourcing ex-coinbase engineers - May 6, 2026·9 min read
Why Engineers Ignore Your Cold Email (and How to Fix It)
Cold email developers who actually reply. A senior practitioner's guide to recruiting outreach that beats 4.1% response rates and the InMail tax.
cold email developersrecruiting outreach - May 6, 2026·9 min read
The Comp Conversation Playbook for Senior Engineer Offers
How to run engineer salary negotiation with senior candidates without losing the hire or poisoning your pipeline. Specific moves, real numbers, named tools.
engineer salary negotiationcomp conversation - May 6, 2026·10 min read
How to Negotiate With Senior Engineers Without Burning the Hire
A practical playbook for the offer call with senior engineers: levers, counter-offers, pay transparency, and the mistakes that quietly kill hires.
engineer salary negotiationcomp conversation - May 6, 2026·8 min read
Where Senior Rust Engineers Actually Are in 2026
Rust tops every developer wishlist but the hireable pool is tiny. Here's where senior Rust talent actually congregates and how to separate signal from noise.
hire rust engineersrust developer sourcing - May 6, 2026·8 min read
Sourcing TypeScript Engineers: Quality Signals That Actually Matter
Star counts and follower totals tell you almost nothing about TypeScript quality. Here are the real signals to look for when sourcing TS engineers.
typescript engineer hiringfrontend sourcing