Samwise High Tech Recruiting Newsletter
Saturday, June 20, 2026
OpenAI Brings On Transformer Co-Inventor Noam Shazeer and Trump-Era Policy Chief Ahead of IPO
OpenAI is bolstering its executive bench ahead of an anticipated IPO, landing two high-profile recruits. Noam Shazeer—co-author of the 2017 “Attention Is All You Need” paper that introduced the transformer architecture—is joining after a stint at Google following the $2.7 billion acquisition of his startup Character.AI. Alongside Shazeer, Dean Ball, a former Trump administration AI policy official, will join as Head of Strategic Futures, reporting to Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon, with a start date of July 6. For talent leaders, the hires signal OpenAI’s aggressive push to recruit the industry’s most recognized technical and policy talent before going public.
Sources: TechCrunch
Rivian Lays Off 300 in Service and Customer Organization, Its Fourth Round of Cuts Since 2024
Rivian has eliminated approximately 300 positions—roughly 2% of its 15,200-person workforce—in its service and customer organization, marking the company’s fourth round of layoffs since 2024. The cuts come as the electric vehicle maker has begun delivering its new R2 SUV, and a spokesperson framed the move as a restructuring of “a handful of teams” to help the company profitably scale. Despite fresh product momentum from the R2 launch, Rivian continues trimming headcount to manage costs. For recruiters, the round puts hundreds of customer experience and service operations professionals back on the market.
Sources: TechCrunch
PwC Study of One Billion Job Ads Finds AI Is Rapidly Seniorizing Entry-Level Tech Roles
A new PwC analysis of more than one billion job advertisements across 27 countries reveals a striking shift in the entry-level labor market: AI is “seniorizing” junior roles. Entry-level positions in AI-exposed occupations are now seven times more likely to require skills previously expected only of senior workers, while overall entry-level job volume in those fields has grown 35% since 2019, against a 10% decline in non-AI-exposed entry-level roles. More than half the new skills appearing in these roles were historically senior-level. Those “professionalized” entry-level roles are also growing twice as fast and commanding 42% faster salary growth.
Sources: Fortune
WEC Q2 2026 Labour Market Report: GDP Growth Cut, Clients Delaying Permanent Hires, Staffing Firms Told to Pivot
The World Employment Confederation’s Q2 2026 Labour Market Intelligence report paints a cautious picture for global staffing. GDP growth projections have been revised down from 3.4% to 2.6% for 2026, driven by geopolitical tensions and renewed inflationary pressure from energy markets. In response, clients are delaying permanent hiring decisions—creating a window for flexible workforce solutions. The report also flags accelerating self-employment globally, driven by platform work and post-pandemic labor market shifts. WEC advises staffing firms to reposition as “labour market intermediaries” rather than transactional suppliers, and to develop multi-country operating models to serve multinational clients navigating an uncertain macro environment.
Sources: World Employment Confederation
Dayos Releases Athena, Agentic AI Platform Positioned to Replace Workday and Oracle Support Contracts
HR tech buyers relying on Workday or Oracle now have an AI-native alternative to weigh. Dayos announced the general availability of Athena—the latest release of its Hero platform—on June 18, positioning it as a direct replacement for traditional Application Managed Services contracts rather than a tool layered on top of existing systems. The agentic platform handles support, optimization, and operations for enterprise HR and ERP systems without traditional consulting overhead. For HR and talent leaders, Athena represents a growing category of agentic infrastructure that could reshape how organizations staff and pay for the ongoing management of their core people platforms.
Sources: Business Day Ghana
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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