Kaz Hussain AI Talent

Managing Director KSA & Director – Executive Search (Global) -

Co-Founder -

I hire the people who build, deploy and lead AI in the Gulf.

AI and agentic engineers, forward deployed engineers, robotics and autonomy specialists, and the executives who run them. For founders, CTOs, hiring managers, AI leaders, CHROs and investors who need the right team in place, fast.

Kaz Hussain
Kaz Hussain
Saudi Arabia

AI, sovereign and Vision 2030 programmes.

United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi and Dubai AI companies, scale-ups and enterprise teams.

Companies entering the Gulf from North America and/or expanding from the Gulf internationally.

10+years in recruitment
200+placements made
48 hrsaverage time to shortlist
88%offer acceptance

Clients across the region

Sovereign funds, government entities, AI and cloud companies, banks, telcos, consultancies and investors.

Specialisms

Four markets, one network

Each of these talent pools is small in the Gulf. Most of the people worth hiring aren't applying for jobs.

AI, agentic and GenAI

Engineers and leaders who take models and agents from prototype into production.

Head of AIAI engineering leaderML engineerLLM / agent engineerAI use case leadAI platform engineer
Recent search

AI Engineering Leader and AI Use Case Development hires for the Public Investment Fund's A3 Hub, Riyadh.

What I screen for
  • Has shipped LLM or agent systems to production, not only demos
  • Evaluation, guardrails, and cost and latency trade-offs
  • Arabic-language and data-residency experience where the role needs it
  • Comfort with sovereign and regulated data
Market signal

PIF launched HUMAIN in May 2025 to build Saudi Arabia’s full AI stack, and the first phase of Stargate UAE with G42 and OpenAI was announced the same month. Both need senior AI engineers faster than the local market produces them.

Clients in this space

The Tactical Room for Forward
Deployed Talent That Build for
the millions

A community for the people turning AI into real-world impact.

200+the best Forward Deployed Engineers & Deployment Strategistshave joined within 2 weeks

The Qafila network

One room. Shared experience.

Chapters

  • Q / KSAQafila Saudi Arabia
  • Q / DXBQafila Dubai
  • Q / AUHQafila Abu Dhabi
  • Q / EUQafila Europe
  • Q / UK&IQafila UK & Ireland
  • Q / USAQafila USA

Founding speaker invitation

Join the founding panel.

Bring your deployment experience to Qafila's first panel discussion and networking gathering.

Apply to speak

Founding partner invitation

Host the room.

Help bring Qafila's first gathering to life. Partner with us on a panel discussion and networking event.

Become a partner

From the team behind

A track record of community building and event partnerships.

MENA Leaders Community, partners of AWS

Presented by

welovesalt.com

Selected member backgrounds

Private network · By invitation only
25.2048° N
55.2708° E
Saudi professional smiling in a meeting

Saudi Arabia

Built for the Kingdom

I lead Salt's go-to-market in Saudi Arabia, building partnerships with organisations hiring for Vision 2030.

  • Sovereign & government
  • AI & technology
  • SaudisationNationalisation built into every search

Team build

Suite of Solutions

One hire or a whole team, permanent or on demand. Each outcome maps to a Salt solution, and they all run on the same platforms.

Better decisionsWorkforce planning grounded in data

Salt: Advisory

Leadership advisory, C-suite consultancy

  • AI and emerging tech fluency
  • Executive coaching
  • Talent strategy
  • Workshop-first, project-based
  • Backed by executive search

Right skills, right talentSearch and delivery with the right pace

Salt: Recruitment

Permanent and contract

  • Permanent (retained and contingent)
  • Contract (short and long-term)
  • Investment, AI, marketing, commercial, tech
  • Scoping to placement, end to end
  • Diversity embedded in every search

Your next leaderExecutive talent. Business-critical impact.

Salt: Search Ventures

Leadership and C-level hiring

  • Permanent (retained)
  • Search strategy, market mapping, longlisting, shortlisting and finalisation
  • Nationalisation (Saudisation)
  • Global coverage with market intelligence
  • Access to the Salt Executive Network

A brand that attractsEmployer propositions and talent that converts

Salt: X

Embedded workforce strategy, RPO and EVP

  • Workforce planning: role scoping, data-backed decisions
  • Embedded HR and internal talent partners
  • RPO-led delivery: multi-hire, multi-location
  • DEI embedded across strategy
  • Employer branding and EVP

Capacity on demandScale delivery without fixed headcount

Salt: Fusion

On-demand project teams and delivery

  • On-demand teams: creative, social, UX, eCommerce, web, tech
  • Embedded, not outsourced
  • Globally compliant delivery
  • Project-ready, scales at speed
  • Cost-effective against an agency model

Future-ready modelsNearshore delivery ahead of the curve

Salt: Labs

Offshore and nearshore talent

  • Offshore and nearshore hiring
  • Europe, South Africa, Brazil, MENA
  • EOR, payroll and compliance
  • Office setup and infrastructure

The platforms

Salt Hub AI and IntelligenceProprietary client and candidate intelligence platforms
WorksomePartner: compliant contractor engagement, AOR/EOR and global payroll
Salesforce CRMOne source of truth for talent data
Reporting layerCross-platform compliance and data

Methodology

How our process runs

Five stages and about 20 days on the standard timeline, from search strategy to offer. Timelines can be adjusted to the urgency and complexity of the search.

  1. 1 day

    Search strategy

    • Discovery meeting with the hiring committee on the position, priorities, goals and challenges
    • Agree the project plan and timelines with stakeholders
    • Define search parameters and refine the job description, key competencies and criteria
    Deliverable
    Search strategy
    Alongside
    Qualification call with the hiring manager and search strategy approval
  2. 5 days

    Mapping

    • Systematic research and headhunting through our networks
    • Assess candidates' fit, interest and compensation expectations
    • Prioritise candidates from the market map with the hiring committee
    Deliverable
    Market map, plus 2 test profiles
    Alongside
    Weekly progress call and report, review call with the hiring manager
  3. 5 days

    Shortlisting

    • Multiple in-depth interviews, including competency-based techniques
    • Candidate reports evaluated against the role and search parameters
    • Psychometric assessments where relevant
    Deliverable
    Shortlist of candidates
    Alongside
    Weekly progress call and report, shortlist review with the hiring manager
  4. 5 days

    Interviews

    • NDA signature if requested
    • Coordinate meetings with the client and stakeholders, and share results with both sides
    • Build the offer strategy and select the successful candidate
    Deliverable
    Coordination of interviews and the overall process
    Alongside
    Weekly progress call and report
  5. 1 + 3 days

    Finalisation

    • Negotiation and offer management
    • Professional referencing
    • Onboarding support, post-hire communication and feedback to stakeholders
    Deliverable
    Documents, reference check and offer negotiation
    Timeline
    1 day for reference check, 3 days for offering
88%offer acceptance
100+senior-level appointments

References

What people say

“Kazim is the consummate professional and his ability to secure industry expertise is exceptional. I would absolutely recommend him especially for government entities.”
Mohammed Al KhayatMohammed Al KhayatExecutive Director, Digital Information Technology
“Kazim excelled in identifying and securing an exceptional career opportunity for me. Kazim offered invaluable support, expertly guiding me through resume optimization, candidate profile presentation, interview preparation, and offer negotiations.”
Yousif AlmuzayenYousif AlmuzayenData & Forensic Expert
“He approached me with a rare career opportunity, and during the recruitment process, Kazim provided an excellent and clear step-by-step guidance to me, which greatly helped me getting the job!”
Mohamed KamalMohamed KamalInfrastructure Delivery

Reach

Backed by Salt's global network

When a search needs candidates from outside the region, I draw on Salt's offices and recruiters worldwide.

23

Salt offices

5

continents

350+

recruiters

Next step

Set up a meeting

01A 30-minute call

We talk through the role, the team and the timeline.

02A written brief

I send back the role brief and a view of the market.

03A shortlist in 48 hours

Screened candidates in front of you, with notes.

Email
kaz@welovesalt.com
LinkedIn
linkedin.com/in/kazhussain
Message me on LinkedIn