Map and engage the PhD and postdoc research talent landscape for AI/ML, build academic relationships, run PhD-focused programs (fellowships, travel grants), source and pipeline candidates, and partner with recruiters and regional teams to deliver qualified research hires.
As a PhD Sourcing Specialist, you will be focused on mapping the research talent landscape, building relationships with academics before they enter the job market, creating programs that strengthen IMC's presence in research communities, assessing candidates against our technical and cultural standards, and partnering with recruiters by delivering strong pipelines.
Your Core Responsibilities
Talent Landscape & Market Intelligence
Attraction & Community Building
Programs & Initiatives
Pipeline Development
Your Skills and Experience
Please note that immigration sponsorship is not offered for this specific opening.
Your Core Responsibilities
Talent Landscape & Market Intelligence
- Map the PhD and postdoc talent landscape across the technical disciplines relevant to IMC's business - understanding which programs, labs, and research communities are producing the talent that matters to us
- Track competitive hiring trends, fellowship programs, and academic community dynamics to keep IMC's strategy current and proactive
- Serve as an internal expert on the research talent market, regularly sharing insights with recruiting leadership and business stakeholders
Attraction & Community Building
- Develop and maintain relationships with faculty advisors, lab leads, and student researchers at target institutions - building IMC's presence and credibility in academic communities over time
- Represent IMC at key academic conferences and research events (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, and others) with a candidate-facing focus: building connections, identifying talent, and deepening relationships - not managing logistics
- Partner with our APAC and European recruiting teams on shared talent pools, ensuring a coordinated global approach to PhD-level attraction
Programs & Initiatives
- Own IMC's PhD-focused programs end-to-end: our PhD Fellowship, conference travel grants, and lab partnership initiatives - from strategy and design through execution and iteration
- Identify gaps in our current PhD engagement approach and develop new initiatives that strengthen our position with research communities
- Build and maintain a strong alumni and fellow network, cultivating ongoing relationships that generate referrals, advocacy, and re-engagement over time
Pipeline Development
- Source and pipeline PhD candidates across IMC's technical hiring areas, partnering with teams across the business as PhD recruitment continues to grow in scope and demand
- Develop and execute creative outreach strategies - direct engagement, conference follow-up, research community participation - to identify high-potential candidates at all career stages: PhD students, postdocs, and selectively, experienced researchers
- Hand off qualified, engaged candidates to recruiters with context, relationships, and momentum already built
Your Skills and Experience
- Bachelor's degree; 4-7 years of experience in university recruiting, talent strategy, research partnerships, or academic engagement programs, ideally within a technical, quantitative, or research-driven environment
- Strong understanding of AI/ML research ecosystems, leading research labs, academic conferences, and influential advisors
- Demonstrated ability to build authentic, long-term relationships within academic and research communities
- Experience identifying and engaging talent through channels such as arXiv, Hugging Face, GitHub, Discord, Twitter/X, and other research and developer communities
- Proven ability to develop and execute sourcing programs or strategic initiatives using data, feedback, and market insights
- Collaborative approach with experience partnering closely with recruiters, hiring managers, and regional stakeholders in fast-paced environments
- Strong communication, organizational, and stakeholder management skills, with a high degree of ownership and sound judgment
Please note that immigration sponsorship is not offered for this specific opening.
IMC Trading Chicago, Illinois, USA Office
IMC Chicago opened its doors in 2000, becoming our first overseas office. It now hosts more than 650 employees, making it the largest IMC location. Home to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), the city is at the centre of the global market.
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What you need to know about the Chicago Tech Scene
With vibrant neighborhoods, great food and more affordable housing than either coast, Chicago might be the most liveable major tech hub. It is the birthplace of modern commodities and futures trading, a national hub for logistics and commerce, and home to the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association. This diverse blend of industry influences has helped Chicago emerge as a major player in verticals like fintech, biotechnology, legal tech, e-commerce and logistics technology. It’s also a major hiring center for tech companies on both coasts.
Key Facts About Chicago Tech
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