Scott Stucky in Rick’s Room
In this episode of Rick’s Room, Rick Grant sits down with Scott Stucky of Global Recruiters Network to discuss one of the biggest challenges facing mortgage technology companies today: finding qualified AI talent. The conversation explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping the mortgage industry, why truly qualified AI professionals are exceptionally rare, and what lenders should look for when building technology teams.
Scott, a longtime technology professional and recruiter, explains that the mortgage industry has historically been slow to adopt new technology. That has changed dramatically over the last two years with the emergence of AI, machine-generated code, and automation tools. Organizations are now facing a pace of change unlike anything the industry has experienced before.
The challenge is that AI has only recently become mainstream. Companies frequently ask recruiters to find candidates with five years of mortgage AI experience, but such professionals largely don’t exist because the technology wasn’t being deployed in that way five years ago.
Instead, recruiters must identify early adopters who developed mortgage expertise first and then embraced AI as the technology matured.
Transcript Highlights
Rick Grant: Welcome back to Rick’s Room. This is the podcast where we simulate the end of a busy conference day. You’ve been on your feet all day, and now you’re finally sitting down in a comfortable chair when someone you’ve wanted to talk to all day walks over.
Today’s guest is someone many of our viewers probably want to meet—a recruiter. But not just any recruiter. Scott Stucky specializes in finding technology talent for the mortgage industry.
Scott, thanks for being here.
Scott Stucky: Happy to be here, Rick. Thanks for having me.
Rick: I’ve covered technology for years, and I’ve never seen change happen as quickly as it has over the last few years. What are you seeing?
Scott: Historically, the mortgage industry has been relatively slow to adopt technology. That’s changed dramatically in the last year or two. Between AI and machine-generated code, the pace of change is blistering fast. Not only is the technology evolving quickly, but adoption rates are accelerating as well.
Rick: How is that changing what companies need from their employees?
Scott: AI can improve workflows, software development processes, and overall productivity. It can even generate code faster and, in some cases, at a higher quality than a human developer.
The challenge is governance.
The GSEs still purchase the majority of loans in our industry, and they’ve made it clear that if an AI-assisted loan creates a problem, the lender remains responsible. That means lenders need people who understand both how to leverage AI and how to manage the associated compliance and repurchase risks.
Rick: What does that mean from a recruiting standpoint?
Scott: The gold standard is someone who understands AI technologies such as RAG pipelines and also understands mortgage banking—whether that’s origination, servicing, or capital markets.
The problem is that many employers ask for five years of mortgage AI experience. That really doesn’t exist because AI wasn’t being used this way five years ago.
What we’re really looking for are early adopters who have mortgage domain expertise and understand where AI can be useful, where it’s risky, and where it simply doesn’t belong.
Rick: How many people can actually do that work?
Scott: Not many. We have clients constantly asking us for solution architects and AI leaders who can automate software development and business processes.
Done correctly, AI can allow a team of five or ten engineers to produce the output of twenty or twenty-five. But very few people have actually implemented those systems successfully.
I’d estimate that the talent pool we’re talking about represents 10 percent or less of the broader technical workforce.
Rick: So how do you find those people?
Scott: The best talent usually isn’t looking for a job. They’re busy doing one.
You have to build relationships, maintain data on where people are, understand how they prefer to communicate, and reach them through the channels they actually use.
Many software engineers don’t want a lengthy phone call. They may respond better to a direct message on GitHub or a text message introducing an opportunity.
Rick: A lot of people are adding AI to their resumes. How do you know who’s legitimate?
Scott: You have to understand the technology yourself.
We use AI internally, including our own RAG pipelines and resume-screening tools. This morning alone, I screened 65 resumes for a product manager role in about five minutes.
Because we use these technologies ourselves, we can ask detailed questions about AI workflows, intelligent document processing, vector databases, and implementation strategies. When candidates can answer those questions, you get a pretty good sense of whether they’ve actually done the work.
Rick: You sound more like a treasure hunter than a recruiter. How did you get into this business?
Scott: It’s actually a funny story.
I was consulting and traveling between Colorado and San Francisco. One evening, my wife mentioned she was considering returning to the workforce after spending more than 25 years as a stay-at-home mom.
She was interested in recruiting and thought we’d make a good team. She has a strong data background from her career as a bond trader, and she believed my relationships and industry experience would complement her strengths.
She convinced me to help launch the business, and we’ve been working together ever since.
Rick: What’s kept you in it?
Scott: The most rewarding part is seeing the impact years later.
When a hiring manager tells you that someone you placed has been promoted and is making a major contribution, that’s incredibly rewarding.
It’s equally fulfilling when a former candidate calls years later and says, “You helped me get here. Now I need your help building my team.”
Those long-term relationships are what make this work meaningful.
Rick: If someone wants to connect with you, what’s the best way?
Scott: They can visit our website at GRDTC.com and use the “Book an Appointment” link to schedule time directly on my calendar.
Whether you’re looking for a new opportunity or trying to find the right talent, we’re always happy to have a conversation.
Rick: Scott Stucky of Global Recruiters Network, thanks for joining me.
Scott: Thank you, Rick. I appreciate the opportunity.
Rick: And thank you for watching. We’ll see you next time in Rick’s Room.
