The decision system
behind high‑conviction
executive hires.

Operator-led executive search for life sciences companies hiring AI, data, and technical leadership into roles where success is still being defined.

We structure the decision before the search begins—so you can hire with total clarity and conviction.

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The Problem

Executive hiring has become a decision‑quality problem.

Most executive searches fail because the organization is still defining the role while interviewing candidates. Life sciences companies are hiring AI and data leaders into roles that did not exist a few years ago. Success profiles are still forming. Teams are evaluating candidates with expertise no one internally shares. Traditional search firms respond by sending more profiles and asking the organization to sort it out.

The result is predictable: slow searches, internal misalignment, and hires made on pattern-matching rather than evidence.

Our Approach

We front-load the decision,
then engage the market.

Before contacting candidates, we work with you to define what actually determines whether the hire succeeds: success outcomes, constraints, decision authority, evaluation criteria, and interview architecture. Only then do we go to market.

The result is a decision-ready slate—a small set of candidates you can confidently hire from, supported by structured evidence and explicit tradeoffs.

If the bar is not met, a disciplined no-hire is a successful outcome.

Success Outcomes

Defined up front with you, including the constraints that shape the role.

Structured Evidence

Normalized across candidates so you compare signal, not anecdote.

Clear Tradeoffs

Downside exposure examined openly so risk is understood before a decision.

Decision Packet

Scorecard, calibrated interview structure, and synthesis—everything required to make and defend the call.

Where AI Meets the Science

Many of these roles have existed forever.
But AI just rewrote the job description.

We work with life sciences companies building AI-enabled platforms, computational biology capabilities, and data-driven discovery engines. These companies are often hiring leaders and strategic technical contributors into roles that did not exist inside the organization before.

Many of these roles sit at the intersection of scientific discovery, machine learning, and software engineering—requiring leaders and individual contributors who can operate across disciplines from day one.

Chief AI Officer (CAIO) Head of AI or Machine Learning Chief Technology Officer (CTO) VP, AI/ML Engineering VP, Computational Biology Head of Bioinformatics VP, Clinical Data Science Principal Machine Learning Engineer Principal Applied Scientist

When You Call Us

The hires that shape
your company.

We work with life sciences companies hiring AI, data, and computational leadership where the decision will materially shape the company's direction.

Your first AI or data leadership hire The role has never existed inside your company. There is no calibration, no internal comp, no institutional memory of what good looks like.
Your next critical AI hire as the platform scales The first hire worked. Now the organization needs to deepen its technical leadership and the profile is different.
A strategic principal scientist or ML leader Not a management hire. A technical individual contributor who will define the foundation of what you build.
Replacing a failed executive hire The cost of the last decision is still visible. Your bar is higher and your tolerance for getting it wrong again is zero.
Transitioning from research to product Your technical leadership was built for discovery. Now you need someone who can deliver commercially.
Restarting a stalled search You need scaffolding around the decision, not more candidates. Structure first, then sourcing.

Mission

To bring clarity, discipline, and intellectual honesty to the leadership decisions that shape scientific and technological progress.

Why New Circle

Operators evaluating operators.

New Circle was founded by leaders who have run product, engineering, and AI organizations—and who have operated executive search firms ourselves.

We have built AI-driven products, scaled technical teams, and worked inside venture-backed and global technology companies. We have also experienced firsthand the cost of misaligned executive hires and unstructured evaluation processes.

That experience shapes how we run searches. We bring operator judgment, structured evaluation, and disciplined execution to the leadership decisions that shape scientific and technological progress.

Start a Conversation

Tell us what you're
working on.

Whether you have an active search, a role you're still defining, or a leadership decision you're thinking through—we'd welcome the conversation.

We typically respond within one business day.