Securing high-performance AI and bioinformatics teams across Europe.
How we helped Instadeep scale ML, computational biology and software teams across the UK, France and Germany to power flagship life-science projects.
20+
Key appointments made
3
Sites supported across Europe
$100m
Series B secured mid-partnership
Cubiq are great recruiters who actually understand customer needs. No generic CVs, and are able to source expertise from niche academic fields to meet business needs. Highly recommend.
Dr. Marek Barwinski
Head of Machine Learning
Instadeep
Instadeep is a global AI firm applying machine learning to real-world challenges in drug discovery, protein design and other areas of biology.
Industry
Industrial Intelligence, BioAI
Discipline(s)
AI Research, Bioinformatics, Software, DevOps, Go-to-Market, Operations
Company Size at Engagement
≈60 Employees
Growth Stage at Engagement
Series A
Brief
Instadeep partnered with us to build high-performing technical teams across the UK, France and Germany, after previous multi-agency efforts produced high-volume, low-quality CVs.
They wanted a targeted, expert-led search partner who could credibly engage PhD-level researchers and seasoned software engineers.
At the time of partnership they had just announced their Series A round, and had ambitious growth plans tied directly to headcount growth within research, ML and bioinformatics.
Challenges
InstaDeep’s hiring landscape was complex and highly specialised. The company was operating at the intersection of AI, computational biology and software engineering, fields with overlapping but distinct talent pools across multiple European locations. The market had also become fatigued after heavy agency activity, leaving candidates wary and brand engagement low.
At the same time, each region had different hiring needs and stakeholder groups, requiring a unified but flexible approach to delivery. The speed of growth, combined with the scientific depth of the roles, meant the partnership needed to balance technical requirements with urgency, ensuring hires were both credible and capable of contributing immediately to high-impact projects.
Approach
- We built a delivery team led by a director with a strong background in machine learning, ensuring domain-specialist credibility in every candidate interaction. This expertise allowed us to engage candidates on a peer level and represent InstaDeep’s work accurately.
- Operating as an embedded extension of InstaDeep’s hiring team, we worked closely with multiple stakeholders across Europe, maintaining pace through structured communication and adaptive delivery.
- Our team combined market mapping and competitor analysis to identify niche AI and bioinformatics talent across leading research groups, biotech start-ups and academic labs, surfacing candidates others had missed.
- To address earlier market fatigue, we focused on rebuilding candidate trust and repositioning InstaDeep’s brand, crafting outreach that emphasised its scientific mission, collaborative culture and the real-world impact of its BioAI work.
- Alongside technical delivery, we provided full-spectrum resourcing across scientific, engineering, operations, and commercial roles, which helped the business scale efficiently across both technical and organisational functions.
Instadeep is a global AI firm applying machine learning to real-world challenges in drug discovery, protein design and other areas of biology.
Industry
Industrial Intelligence, BioAI
Discipline(s)
AI Research, Bioinformatics, Software, DevOps, Go-to-Market, Operations
Company Size at Engagement
≈60 Employees
Growth Stage at Engagement
Series A
Brief
Instadeep partnered with us to build high-performing technical teams across the UK, France and Germany, after previous multi-agency efforts produced high-volume, low-quality CVs.
They wanted a targeted, expert-led search partner who could credibly engage PhD-level researchers and seasoned software engineers.
At the time of partnership they had just announced their Series A round, and had ambitious growth plans tied directly to headcount growth within research, ML and bioinformatics.
Challenges
InstaDeep’s hiring landscape was complex and highly specialised. The company was operating at the intersection of AI, computational biology and software engineering, fields with overlapping but distinct talent pools across multiple European locations. The market had also become fatigued after heavy agency activity, leaving candidates wary and brand engagement low.
At the same time, each region had different hiring needs and stakeholder groups, requiring a unified but flexible approach to delivery. The speed of growth, combined with the scientific depth of the roles, meant the partnership needed to balance technical requirements with urgency, ensuring hires were both credible and capable of contributing immediately to high-impact projects.
Approach
- We built a delivery team led by a director with a strong background in machine learning, ensuring domain-specialist credibility in every candidate interaction. This expertise allowed us to engage candidates on a peer level and represent InstaDeep’s work accurately.
- Operating as an embedded extension of InstaDeep’s hiring team, we worked closely with multiple stakeholders across Europe, maintaining pace through structured communication and adaptive delivery.
- Our team combined market mapping and competitor analysis to identify niche AI and bioinformatics talent across leading research groups, biotech start-ups and academic labs, surfacing candidates others had missed.
- To address earlier market fatigue, we focused on rebuilding candidate trust and repositioning InstaDeep’s brand, crafting outreach that emphasised its scientific mission, collaborative culture and the real-world impact of its BioAI work.
- Alongside technical delivery, we provided full-spectrum resourcing across scientific, engineering, operations, and commercial roles, which helped the business scale efficiently across both technical and organisational functions.
Placements made.
Research and Scientific
DevOps, Engineering and IT
Go-to-Market
Operations
- Senior Research Engineer, Berlin
- Research Engineer, London
- Research Engineer, London
- Research Engineer, Paris
- Research Engineer, Paris
- Computational Geneticist, London / Paris
- Bioinformatics & ML Engineer, London
- Big Data Engineer, London (Contract)
Impact.
Cross-border delivery across the UK, France, and Germany all successfully staffed through one consistent model.
Teams we built directly contributed to flagship BioAI projects and supported the company through Series B funding and beyond.
InstaDeep’s hiring brand strengthened, candidate engagement improved, and processes scaled sustainably through continued collaboration.
Following our partnership the firm went on to be acquired by German multinational, BioNTech.