“AI Engineer” might currently be one of the least useful job titles in tech recruitment.

Two candidates can both have AI Engineer on their CV and be doing completely different jobs.

→ One trains and fine-tunes models using Python, PyTorch and ML infrastructure.
→ Another builds production AI with RAG, LLMs, evaluation and agents.
→ Another is a strong software engineer focused on integrating LLMs into products.
→ And another has simply built a few AI API integrations.

They aren’t interchangeable.

We’re seeing more AI hiring across Sweden and Norway, but the first question we increasingly want companies to answer is:
What do you actually need this person to build?

Once you understand that, the profile normally becomes much clearer.
AI hiring is noisy enough already.

A precise technical brief cuts through a lot of it.

We’re hiring a Chief Technology Officer in Stockholm

A chance to take ownership of the full technology function at a fast-growing, profitable European fintech and have real influence over both technology and the wider business.

If you’ve scaled technology within fintech, lending or payments and are ready for your next challenge, we’d like to hear from you.

📍 Stockholm – Onsite
📩 owen.butler@ifindtech.com

#CTO #FinTech #Stockholm #TechLeadership #Hiring

Hiring software engineers in Sweden and Norway at the same time teaches you pretty quickly that they aren’t one single “Nordic talent market”.

Stockholm has a huge product and startup ecosystem, particularly across fintech, SaaS, gaming and consumer technology.

Oslo has its own strengths, with a lot of interesting engineering sitting across energy, industrial technology, marketplaces, finance, public infrastructure and increasingly AI.

Then you get into compensation.

A salary that gets someone’s attention in Stockholm doesn’t necessarily have the same impact in Oslo.

Add language requirements and the talent pool can change dramatically again.

Then there’s relocation.

Stockholm to Oslo might look like a relatively straightforward move on a map, but someone moving country still has a partner, children, housing, tax considerations and a life they’ve built around them.

The mistake is assuming Sweden and Norway operate as one single hiring market.

It isn’t.

The companies that hire well understand the small differences between each market.

Those small differences often determine whether a candidate says yes or no.

One thing we’ve learnt from recruiting software engineers across Sweden and Norway:

Some of the best candidates are surprisingly difficult to find.

Their LinkedIn profile might say:
“Software Engineer”

That’s it.

No 25 technologies listed. No “React, TypeScript, Node, AWS or Kubernetes” headline. Sometimes their profile hasn’t been updated in three years.

But dig a little deeper and you find someone who has spent the last five years designing distributed systems, working with Kafka at serious scale, deploying to Kubernetes and making architectural decisions that affect millions of users.

A keyword search can easily miss them.

It’s why we’ve never thought good technical recruitment is about finding the CV with the most matching words.

You need to understand the companies they’ve worked for, the products they’ve built, what their team actually owned and the level they were operating at.

Sometimes the strongest candidate in a search is the one who looks least obvious on paper.

We see this constantly across Sweden and Norway.

If you’re struggling to find a particular engineering profile, there’s a good chance the talent exists. You might just be searching for it in the wrong way.

Today we’re celebrating 5 years of Owen Butler at iFindTech! 🎉

Over the last five years, Owen has become a huge part of iFindTech and the journey we’ve been on. 💙 From building brilliant relationships with clients and candidates to securing some fantastic placements, there’s been plenty of hard work, deals, celebrations and great memories along the way! 🤝🚀

A massive thank you for everything you’ve brought to the team over the years, Owen. Happy 5 year anniversary.. here’s to many more! 🥂

#WorkAnniversary #5Years #Recruitment #TeamiFind #iFindTech

Incentive Winners! 🎯🏆

A well-earned afternoon out for Owen Butler, Charlie Dell, Andy MacKay and George Baines, who all smashed last month’s incentive and earned themselves an afternoon off at their pub of choice! 🍺👏

A great reward for some brilliant results and plenty of hard work throughout the month. 💪

Enjoy it lads.. you’ve earned it!

hashtag#TeamIncentive hashtag#TeamCulture hashtag#Winners hashtag#TeamiFind

💻 Happy Programmers’ Day!

Today’s a day to recognise the people behind the code – solving problems, building products and bringing ideas to life.

We’re lucky to work with some brilliant developers across Norway, Sweden and beyond.

Happy Programmers’ Day from all of us at iFindTech! 👏

hashtag#ProgrammersDay hashtag#SoftwareDevelopment hashtag#iFindTech

AI is changing recruitment.

But it hasn’t changed one of the biggest reasons great hires happen:

Timing.

AI can help us search bigger talent pools, understand profiles faster and make sourcing more efficient.

What it can’t manufacture is the relationship behind the conversation.

We might speak to an engineer today who has no intention of moving. Six months later, their situation changes. A year later, the right opportunity appears.

Because we already know what motivates them, that conversation can happen at exactly the right time.

Right person. Right opportunity. Right time.

Many of the best engineers in Sweden and Norway are never really “on the market”. They’re having conversations with people they already know and trust.

AI will make recruitment better. We’re using it ourselves.

But technology improves the search.

Relationships create the timing.

Sometimes the best placement starts with a search.

Quite often, it started with a conversation years earlier.