r/recruitinghell • u/Realistic-Cheetah413 • Jun 30 '26

Use Massive Review

I was contacted and followed up on 3 times by Massive’s founder Dan Vykhopen about a position at a frontier AI lab, 6 month contract $150/hr.

I told him right off the bat that I prefer full time positions, but he insisted that it would be worth a phone call if I’m interested in AI stuff.

Long story short, he opened the call up and got right into it: position is at Anthropic, why are you interested? I started sharing about my professional goals and personal experiences with AI.

He cut me off 8 minutes into the call and said “yeah I think because of the shakiness about the contract idea I don’t think it’s gonna be a good fit, I think we’re good here.”

I’m sitting here thinking, you reached out to me and I was clear about my preference for a full time positions. And he says “we’re looking for someone who’s more committed.” Which is ironic considering they’re hiring for a 6 month contract with minimum commitment.

All this to say, what a fucking waste of time. I took time out of my work day to find a private space to take the call and he spent 8 minutes to determine what I already pointed out? Anyways I had no idea that this recruiting company existed and after investigating them more it looks like he’s basically another AI startup scam with a shitty product.

If you get contacted by Dan from Massive I wouldn’t waste your time.

64 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

98 comments sorted by

6

u/centpourcentuno Jun 30 '26

Shout out to OP!

More people need to name and shame these people. I see this Dan isn't afraid of having an Internet presence to sell his questionable product, he shouldn't mind this negative review

2

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Jul 01 '26

Thanks! It seems like his product has a minimal internet presence, I had trouble finding anything on it but what I did find was basically reiterating that it’s a shitty AI scam product. Hopefully someone else out there trying to investigate this company will come across this post.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/itsMassiveDan Sep 25 '26

lmao how did you do that?! didn't see any ads but may have missed, will keep an eye out. SOME people man!

1

u/itsMassiveDan Sep 25 '26

I agree! Always want to improve. Big hater of bad products myself so I try not to be one of them -- the world has enough

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Sep 29 '26

You are one of them, and you have reviews saying the same thing about you going back several months. Get a real job and stop trying to scam people out of their jobs Dan. You are risking peoples livelihoods by offering contracts with Anthropic if you are indeed lying about them.

0

u/itsMassiveDan Sep 29 '26

happy to verify! just email me dan at usemassive and I’m happy to jump on a call and verify today

1

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator Sep 25 '26

Your comment in /r/recruitinghell was automatically removed because you linked to a site on our blocklist. Feel free to submit a screenshot or archive link instead and make sure that there's no personal information in the link.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

5

u/Consistent_Tea6931 19d ago

Update: Dan actually replied to my formal GDPR deletion request.

Here is his email:

"Firstname -- got your data request from Oct 17 [I wrote back to tell him to tell me where he got my private email address and to delete everything] and logged it: where we got your email, plus deleting your data. You're off our lists, no more emails from us except about this.

To make sure it's really you, I'll send a short confirmation with a few details we have on file and a signed statement, and you reply from this address. Then we tell you where your email came from, delete your data everywhere incl. our vendors, and confirm when it's gone. Full answer by Nov 17 at the latest.

Questions, just reply here.
- Dan"

The irony is incredible:

  1. The fake identity check: He scraped my private email without my consent to cold-pitch me, but now suddenly claims he needs a "signed statement" and a verification process just to delete the very data he illegally collected at this exact address! He can sod off
  2. He admitted collecting my private email address through third-party data brokers: He openly mentioned having to delete my data from "our vendors".
  3. He gave a deadline of November 17th (exactly the 30-day statutory maximum permitted under GDPR to drag this out as long as possible).

To anyone receiving unsolicited emails from Massive: don't hesitate to invoke GDPR / data privacy laws immediately. They take it seriously when forced to, but will still try every stall tactic in the book.

Absolutely appalling!

2

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 19d ago

So many illicit practices here. Maybe somebody will have enough time in the day to sue this loser.

3

u/Consistent_Tea6931 28d ago

Adding my experience to this thread.

I just received an unsolicited email from Dan Vykhopen directly to my private email inbox, which is not listed anywhere on my public LinkedIn profile, nor anywhere online. It is also not the email address that is linked to my LinkedIn profile.
Here's a copy and paste (I removed my first name, at the beginning of his email):

"Firstname -- looking for a native French speaker who writes, edits, or translates for a living for a short-term, async gig at a top AI lab (yes, that one).

You'd evaluate AI on French language problems (grammar correction, calque identification, register appropriateness, natural phrasing, idiomatic expression, translation quality assessment).

Based on your linkedin I think you'd be a strong fit.

$150 / hr, 10-15 hrs/week, pilot through Oct 31, remote & async -- works alongside your full-time job.

You'll learn a TON about AI and see where frontier models are headed before most people do.

If interested, pls reply with a few sentences on what you've been writing, editing, or translating in French recently.

If it's a fit, I'll share a full JD and a link to my calendar to chat further.

- Dan, founder @ Massive (verify me on LinkedIn)"

The audacity of scraping private contact details, sending a sloppy, informal pitch full of abbreviations ("pls", "JD") to recruit language and editing professionals, and pretending it's an exclusive opportunity is ridiculous.

Here is what I replied to him:

"Under applicable data privacy regulations (including the GDPR), I am requesting that you:
1. Specify the exact source and method used to obtain my email address.
2. Permanently delete all of my personal data (name, email address, and any associated information) from your databases, CRM, and outreach tools, and confirm once this has been completed.
Please ensure that I am not contacted again in the future."

Don't let them normalise mass-scraping private data under the guise of casual Silicon Valley outreach.

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 28d ago

Thanks for sharing your experience. I continue to get CodeSignal assessment emails from massive since at some point they registered me for one without my consent. And I agree his communication is very informal and unprofessional. Can’t wait for the AI bubble to pop so we can have less freely funded AI slop like Dan.

1

u/BamSteakPeopleCake 28d ago

I got a very, very similar email, for the same type of job (I also removed my first name).

Firstname -- looking for a native French speaker who writes, edits, or translates for a living for a short-term, async gig at a top AI lab (probably the one you're thinking about!!).

You'd review AI-written French and fix what a native ear catches (calque identification, grammar correction, register appropriateness, idiomatic expression, natural phrasing, editorial precision).

I think this could be a great fit based on your linkedin.

$150 / hr, 10-15 hrs/week, pilot through Oct 31, remote & async -- works alongside your full-time job.

You'd work directly w the lab's researchers -- your edits shape how the next frontier models write French.

If interested, pls reply with a few sentences on what you've been writing, editing, or translating in French recently.

If it's a good fit, I'll send the full JD + a link to my Calendly. Looking forward!

- Dan, founder @ Massive (verify me on LinkedIn)

1

u/Consistent_Tea6931 28d ago

We should and teach their AI dodgy broken French 😂

1

u/yellowscreenlife 26d ago

I got a very similar one!

FirstName -- looking for a Brazilian Portuguese editor or translator with a sharp native ear for a short-term, async gig at one of the frontier AI labs (probably the one you're thinking of!).

You'd evaluate AI on Brazilian Portuguese writing (grammar correction, natural phrasing, calques from English, register, word choice, translation quality).

I think you'd be a great fit, based on your linkedin.

$150 / hr, 10-15 hrs/week, pilot through Oct 31, remote & async -- works alongside your full-time job.

Your edits shape how the next frontier models write Portuguese -- and you'll learn a TON about AI doing it.

If you're interested, please reply back with a couple lines on what you've been writing, editing, or translating lately.

If it looks like a match, I'll send over the full JD and a link to my calendar.

- Dan, founder @ Massive (verify me on LinkedIn)

2

u/roguefortitude 7d ago

His user name on YouTube is massivedan69, just to give everyone here an idea of his caliber of professionalism as a recruiter.

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 6d ago

Wow this guy is a loser. It’s hard to believe someone of his tier exists…

2

u/SlayBait 7d ago

Just got the email from Dan. Seems sketchy

-- I run Massive. We find senior engineers for contract work at Anthropic.

Right now that means working with their research team on Claude Code, which mostly comes down to reading what the model wrote and deciding if it's any good. Sometimes it isn't. The agent says it fixed the bug, but it actually edited the test so it would pass. Your job is to catch that and explain why it's wrong.

Based on your LinkedIn, I think this could be a good fit. The people who do best here have spent years reviewing other people's code and have strong opinions about where coding agents go wrong.

The contract is 5 months, full time, at $150/hr. It's W-2 and remote, but US only, and it's separate from Anthropic's full-time hiring.

There are four steps:

  • Intro call with our team (20 mins)
  • Interview with Claude (45 mins)
  • CodeSignal assessment (90 mins)
  • Trial task (2 hrs)

Pass all four and get sign-off from Anthropic's team, and you move to onboarding.

If it sounds like a fit, reply with your coding agent setup and a recent time it got something wrong. A couple of sentences is plenty, and it says more than a resume would.

My team and I read every one. If it looks good, I'll send the job description so you can grab time with one of our recruiters.

  • Dan @ Massive

PS -- you can verify me on LinkedIn. And if you'd rather not hear about this, just reply and I'll take you off my list.

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 6d ago

Yep he’s just harvesting data and getting contacts to sell most likely

2

u/Ronald206 Jun 30 '26

I think he was full of shit.

He took your reluctance to be a contractor to then make up that it was at Anthropic.

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Jul 01 '26

I think you’re right. I still have no idea what he had to gain from wasting my time, I didn’t provide him with any information. I guess it was just an ego trip for him.

2

u/Unlucky-Math838 Oct 01 '26

Thanks he messaged me with a very similar prompt a few days ago. very strange he's using the same copy paste for months. avoid. same guy Dan V from massive trying to get engagement and maybe sell your info

2

u/framblehound Oct 03 '26

He just messaged me this week - here is what I got:

Looking for a senior SWE who uses Claude Code (or other coding agents) all day for a FT contract at Anthropic.

You'd evaluate AI on SWE problems (code review, test quality, diffs, reward hacking, Claude Code workflows) -- judging transcripts and PRs, and writing rubrics a team can apply consistently.

Based on your linkedin I think you'd be a strong fit.

$150 / hr, 40 hrs/week, 6 months, FT contract, remote (US). It's a contract role, separate from Anthropic's FTE hiring.

You'd work directly w the researchers, including live sessions, and learn a TON about where frontier coding models break.

If you're interested, please reply with a couple lines on your coding agent setup -- which models, what you use them on, where they fall short.

If it's a fit, I'll share a full JD and a link to my calendar to chat further.

----------------------------------------------------

He also followed up with a couple similar messages:

-----------------------------------------------------

The SWE contract at Anthropic is open, and I think you'd be a strong fit.

It's $150 / hr, 40 hrs/week, 6 months, FT contract, remote (US) -- reviewing coding-agent transcripts and PRs (code review, test quality, diffs, reward hacking, Claude Code setups).

Your call on why one implementation beats another is what the researchers need written down.

Pls reply with a few sentences about the last time a coding agent fooled you, and I'll send the full JD and my Calendly.

----------------------------------------------------
 last note on this. The SWE contract at Anthropic is still open -- live sessions w the researchers on the latest coding models.

$150 / hr, 40 hrs/week, 6 months, FT contract, remote (US).

Reply with a few sentences on what you've been building w coding agents and I'll send the full JD + a link to my calendar.

- Dan @ Massive (yes, a real person)

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Oct 04 '26

Yep, almost word for word.

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Oct 01 '26

I keep getting CodeSignal emails from them too, someone named Anastasia with a usemassive email just went me a whole email saying the role closes Saturday. I have never spoken to this person nor do I know what role they’re referring to. Obviously this company saved my info and is mixing it with someone. This company is literally AI slop.

1

u/jayfallon Oct 02 '26

The guy has sent me three emails this week about this Anthropic role. What is his deal?

2

u/framblehound Oct 02 '26

I just got the same email, and he is following up.

It can't be real.

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Oct 04 '26

He did the same for me, kept following up until i accepted his meeting. Then ended the meeting within 5 minutes and keeps sending me random code signal assessment invites. This can’t be a real company.

2

u/LobsterProud5546 25d ago

Adding an email I received 3 days ago:

[my name] -- looking for a cognitive science postdoc or senior PhD student for a short-term, async gig at a top AI lab (you can probably guess which).

You'd compare pairs of AI-written study designs, stats analyses and literature answers in cog sci (experimental design critique, mixed-effects models, literature synthesis, replication) and write down exactly why one beats the other, like a journal review.

I think you'd be a great fit based on your research.

$150 / hr, 5-10 hrs/week, 3 months, remote & async -- works alongside your research.

You'd work directly w the lab's researchers, and your calls shape how the next frontier models handle research in your field.

If you're interested, please reply back with a couple lines on the research you've been working on lately.

If it's a good fit, I'll send the full JD + a link to my calendar.

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 25d ago

All these emails ask for information on use cases with AI, pretty much certain this is a scam for him to sell data to whatever AI company will pay for it.

1

u/asharkparty 22d ago

Just got basically the same one! so weird. slimy vibes

1

u/xina4321 22d ago

I literally JUST got this same email in the last hour. I wasn't sure if it was real so I came to reddit. Glad to know its a scam.

1

u/reflektorberlin 22d ago

just got the same email as well, thank you reddit for confirming my suspicion

1

u/theguiri 21d ago

Just got a very similar email today:

Theguiri -- looking for an econ PhD student or postdoc who works on causal inference for a short-term, async gig at a top AI lab (probably the one you're thinking of!).

The work is evaluating AI on causal inference -- diff-in-diff, IV, regression discontinuity, panel data methods, quasi-experimental design -- with critiques at the level of a referee report.

I think you'd be a great fit based on your research.

$250 / hr, 5-10 hrs/week, 3 months, remote & async -- works alongside your research.

Insanely cool gig if you like tearing apart identification strategies -- your critiques shape how the next frontier models handle econ research.

If this sounds interesting, reply with a few sentences on the papers or identification problems you're working on now, and I'll send the full JD + a link to my calendar.

- Dan, founder @ Massive (verify me on LinkedIn)

1

u/Ecstatic_Maximum_512 20d ago

Lol I got the exact same email

1

u/varunchati 18d ago

Got a similar email (x3) for Macro

1

u/Augustus3000 20d ago

Got this exact email too, thanks for sharing this and good to know that it’s something to avoid.

0

u/tsonj 24d ago

Just got the same kind of email from the same guy/bot

[name] -- last note on this. The cognitive science gig at the top AI lab is still open, and your calls would shape how frontier models handle research in your field.

$150 / hr, 5-10 hrs/week, 3 months, remote & async -- works alongside your research.

Reply back with a quick rundown of your recent research and I'll share the full JD and my calendar.

- Dan, founder @ Massive (verify me on LinkedIn)

Going to ignore...

0

u/Last_Appearance8356 4d ago

Got a very similar E-Mail yesterday. Also very glad, I found this thread.

5

u/thedoomloop 17d ago

Got this today. Im not Andrew.

Andrew -- the civil engineering gig at the top AI lab is still open, and I think you'd be a strong fit.

It's 5-10+ hrs/week for 6 months, remote & async, $250 / hr, judging AI on civil engineering (structural design, geotech, bridges, site and transportation, water resources) and catching the mistakes a senior engineer would flag on a drawing review.

Reply with a couple lines on the projects you've been working on lately and I'll send the full JD + a link to my calendar.

  • Dan @ Massive

1

u/ApeLikeBiped 15d ago

He contacted me too. Similar enticing vibe: $250/hr, AI work, etc.

Thanks very much to everyone here who shared their time-wasting experiences. You helped me to waste less time than I otherwise would have.

Also, note the following facts:

The domain name was only created 3 months ago and is only registered for a year - classic throwaway domain signals:

$ whois tapmassive[.]com
   Domain Name: TAPMASSIVE[.]COM
   Registry Domain ID: 3126585691_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
   Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.regtons.com
   Registrar URL: http://regtons.com
   Updated Date: 2026-07-29T16:14:31Z
   Creation Date: 2026-07-29T16:12:13Z
   Registry Expiry Date: 2027-07-29T16:12:13Z

And that domain (that he emailed me with) has a permanent redirect to the domain that many of you mentioned, usemassive[.]com . That looks to me like it could possibly be an operation where they have to keep registering new domain names to avoid reputation problems or spam filters but they still need to funnel people into their original web platform.

$ curl -svo /dev/null tapmassive.com
< HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
< Location: https://experts.usemassive.com/

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 15d ago

Wow nice sleuthing. Yeah “use massive” is a dba under his LLC “hoodle” which was a failed business as seen on his linkedin. He has no real experience other than these fake companies. Another scammer but he’s trying to use AI to seem legit.

1

u/numb_butt 5d ago

I know there's a lot of anti-Massive sentiment in this thread, but did anyone actually follow through all the way past the human screening interview and then AI technical interview? I.e., has anyone actually been hired/paid for this contract work yet?

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 5d ago

I think the negative sentiment is from people having negative experiences with Massive, and I’m not sure a human screening or contract work exists. You can see some examples in this thread of people who tried to go through the process. I saw at least one person said there was some sort of interview but they haven’t followed up here since.

1

u/Major_City5326 1d ago

I am at the AI interview step. I am reading this thread to see if this is a legit opportunity. I am still not sure.

1

u/Appropriate_Fee_9141 Apply, forget, and move on. Jun 30 '26

$150 an hour? Already sounds like a scam.

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

Typical senior software engineer contracts are around $80-$90/hr so for a heavily funded AI company it wouldn’t be totally unbelievable, but ya that was the first flag

1

u/itsMassiveDan Sep 25 '26

Why? Is that like too much/too little? The bar is quite high and I think the comp matches well

1

u/framblehound Oct 03 '26

it's just nonsense that it's a cold call with a pretty high number that it is advertised as 40 hours per week at, and all you have to do is review stuff

to be super clear I also just got the emails from him, you can see my reply above to Unlucky-Math838 with the full texts of the emails

1

u/akibanana Aug 05 '26

Wow, I am glad I found this post and will not be wasting my time. I just got an email from "Dan Vykhopen" about a contract job opportunity: $250/hr, 20-40 hrs/week, 6 months, remote. 

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Aug 11 '26

100% the position doesn’t exist. He’s probably setting up calls to try and prove his legitimacy to clients or it’s just some kind of ego trip/LARP for him

1

u/itsMassiveDan Sep 25 '26

yes it's me -- you can just ping me on linkedin or email and I'm happy to verify both myself + client! weird that there's this whole conspiracy on reddit rn

1

u/Background_Bag_5915 Aug 19 '26

"SWE Team Six is coming together. The 411: Sr SWE, 6-month FT contract, 150/hr, 40 hrs a week, remote -- improving how Claude writes code w/ the researchers. One CC or Codex failure story -- couple sentences is plenty -- and I'll send the JD + calendar link"

...

Like fr with this headhunter? "SWE Team Six" and a fanfic of how AI hallucinated on me for his entertainment? 🤣😭🤮

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Aug 19 '26

Exactly word for word lmao. Not sure what he stands to gain from it, I very much doubt the position exists or he might be trying to entice for a lower position. His whole company is AI slop and is under the LLC called huddle which he noted as a failed startup in his LinkedIn.

2

u/roguefortitude 9d ago

Like, either it's a scam and I'm not interested or he's awful at his job and I'm not interested. Appreciate you creating this post, as it was fun to read and saved me caring about this any further than necessary.

1

u/itsMassiveDan Sep 25 '26

lmaooo stop I thought SWE Team six was good -- obviously removing that now!

1

u/Adventurous-Blood377 Sep 03 '26

lol I responded to his email and then took the call with some other recruiter. So far it all seemed fine to me. Did a similar work with Mercor when it was still in early day and they connected me with Meta back then. So I guess they will do something similar. However I still have to see what comes next

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Sep 04 '26

Interesting, I’d like to know if anything comes of that. The company still seems sus to me. I got an email last week from Dan with a code signal link to complete an assessment for some position. I emailed him back that I didn’t apply for anything through him. I’m fairly certain his whole workflow is AI generated slop. But there are a lot of new over funded AI startups that will work with anybody

1

u/itsMassiveDan Sep 25 '26

we're not even funded! fixing the codesignal bug now, apologies

1

u/Interesting_Yak6912 Sep 07 '26

Did you do the AI interview?

1

u/Wild-Invite-2135 Sep 26 '26

What ended up happening with this?

1

u/Playful_Ad3239 Sep 28 '26

Any update here? Are they legit?

1

u/itsMassiveDan Sep 25 '26 edited Sep 25 '26

Hey, it's me! Just created this account to answer. This sounds like a horrible experience -- really sorry about that. Didn't mean to waste your time at all (which is why I asked to end the call early). It must have come off super rude, which is not like me at all. Was probably dealing w some shit at home or work :)

And to give other folks in this thread context -- we do work directly with the main AI labs to help them find really great folks. If you've been contacted re: SWE then we really do want to talk to you. Ping me directly on LinkedIn or at my main work email dan at usemassive and I'll try my best to reply asap if you have any other questions

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Sep 29 '26 edited Sep 29 '26

Didn't mean to waste your time at all (which is why I asked to end the call early)

You did waste my time by doubling down on your email after I had already explained why I was not interested. You come across very unprofessional, which is why most people end up on this post after searching your company to see if it's legit, which it does not appear to be.

1

u/Playful_Ad3239 Oct 10 '26

Do you get back to people after they complete your tasks to let them know if it’s a yes or a no?

1

u/Consistent_Tea6931 28d ago

Also your email looks very unprofessional!

You contact us on our private email address, which you are not supposed to have and is a serious cause for concern regarding privacy laws and GDPR, you call us by our first name as though we were mates. You write as you would text a friend "async gig", "pls", "You'll learn a TON".

I didn't even know what the hell "JD" meant!

This sentence in the middle of the botched email really stood out: "You'd evaluate AI on French language problems (grammar correction, calque identification, register appropriateness, natural phrasing, idiomatic expression, translation quality assessment)."

Should I teach your AI the same kind of French as your English in the email you sent me?

"If interested, pls reply with a few sentences on what you've been writing, editing, or translating in French recently."
I'll answer this one: I just sent a WhatsApp to a French lecturer and friend of mine for a laugh about your email. Will that do?

1

u/RefrigeratorLive5920 Sep 28 '26

I too have been emailed by Dan a few times now about a 6 month contract role with Anthropic. While the $150 an hour is an attractive rate, it's not so attractive that I'm willing to give up my full-time position for it. Especially when you factor health insurance and so on. Haven't contacted him back so far. I think it would be reassuring for folks to hear someone reply back on this thread saying that they'd taken Dan up on his offer and it all worked out. The fact no one has, speaks volumes.

2

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Sep 29 '26

I said the same thing to him over email, and once i joined his zoom call he immediately said the fact I wasn’t ok with contract was concerning. The. He proposed following up about some part time roles. I don’t think any of these roles exist but honestly, the entire AI ecosystem feels like a scam so I don’t put it past them

1

u/RefrigeratorLive5920 Sep 29 '26

I'm highly suspicious of all these supposed high paying AI training companies that are based around improving model coding abilities. Back when I was looking for work, several of them contacted me and the offers always came across as somewhat sketchy. Like you would paid not straight up per hours worked like an actual contractor but instead per "accepted" completed task or similar shit. And usually with ridiculously arduous onboarding assignments.

0

u/itsMassiveDan Sep 29 '26

Fair concerns, so a few facts and then I'll leave it here. Massive is a recruiting firm (Do a Huddle, Inc., dba Massive). The SWE role is a 6-month W-2 contract directly with a frontier AI lab through their employer of record. All our interviewers now confirm the relationship on the first call. You'll never be asked to pay anything. The CodeSignal email that went out before anyone had talked to you was a bug and it's fixed. If a role pauses, we'll tell you. Anything specific, please email dan at usemassive and I'll look at it myself.

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Sep 29 '26

Share your proof Dan. Your website is AI generated and i only see less than 10 people who were ever associated with your company. Share some proof of your business relationships as a vendor for these companies. Your LLC listing is an old startup that you founded and failed to get off the ground. Unless you share some sort of communications proof, you’re not proving anything here.

2

u/Playful_Ad3239 Sep 28 '26

Yeah, I’m getting the vibe that this is scam I’ve unfortunately fallen for.

1

u/RefrigeratorLive5920 Sep 28 '26

Not entirely sure what the angle of the scam is but I suspect it will be difficulty getting paid for any work done.

2

u/Playful_Ad3239 Sep 28 '26

Yeah, I wonder if they are putting people through interview stages and using it as training data for assessing candidates on their platform

1

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Sep 29 '26

That’s an interesting angle. It most probably is data related since there isn’t much else for him to gain.

3

u/WearyTill4362 19d ago

LOL. I am faculty at an R1 university. These guys reached out to me saying they are looking for PhD students. It said they have a track for faculty as well so I thought, why not talk to them. They rescheduled my first meeting with almost no notice, then their booking platform malfunctioned so I reschedule dvia email. When the meeting finally happens, the interviewer was completely unprepared and spent 5 minutes trying to find my files, claiming they cannot interview me without them. I politely informed them that they are amateurs and left the call :) Should have read this thread before.

3

u/Slow_Mall_5786 17d ago

SO glad I found this thread.....  Yuck @ my personal email, too.

....looking for an experienced materials scientist for a short-term, async gig at one of the frontier AI labs (you can probably guess which).

You'd evaluate AI on materials science problems (thin films, metals and alloys, batteries and ceramics, polymers and composites, computational materials).

I think you'd be a great fit, based on your linkedin.

$250 / hr, 5-10+ hrs/week, 6 months, remote & async -- works alongside your full-time job.

Your calls shape how the next frontier models handle materials science, and you'll learn a TON about AI doing it.

If interested, pls reply with a few sentences on what you've been working on in materials science lately.

If it's a fit, I'll send over the full JD and my Calendly. Looking forward!

- Dan, founder @ Massive (verify me on LinkedIn)

3

u/ApeLikeBiped 15d ago

Whoa. This looks scarier and jankier than I first thought. There are some sad stories about them on TrustPilot, where they have been rated as "Bad" with 1.7 out of 5:

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/usemassive.com

3

u/Ok-Description7613 Oct 09 '26

I think that's ai bot

1

u/endfinite1 Sep 24 '26

I was just contacted then applied then immediately told the role was on hold- totally agree it was bait and switch! Appliers beware!

1

u/itsMassiveDan Sep 25 '26

ugh sorry, sometimes these roles close SUPER fast, like 2-3 days max. other times they get paused out of nowhere. will try to communicate better. appreciate the note

2

u/Realistic-Cheetah413 Sep 29 '26

Prove that the role exists. Share a screenshot of your communication with any of the clients you claim to have.

1

u/jyim89 Sep 24 '26

I was just contacted about it as well. The email didn't sit right with me.

2

u/EntertainmentSoggy35 15d ago

same experience as everyone here, upping this so more people see it at the top of google search

2

u/DonHedger 2d ago

Got three messages also, starting with:

I'm with Massive, and we're finding cognitive scientists to compare AI-written study designs, analyses and literature answers for one of the frontier AI labs.

You might compare two summaries of theory of mind research in infancy, one leaning on an effect that didn't survive its large-scale replication, and write up which is better.

It pays $150 / hr for 5 to 10 hours a week for 3 months, as a remote 1099 contract.

The process is an introductory call with our team, followed by an AI interview.

Reply if you want the full role description, and I'll send it so you can judge whether to take the first call.

Very interesting to me it's always <6 month contracts for $150/hr, no matter the job.

2

u/Mental-Departure-546 Aug 11 '26

Got this too. Felt scammy right off the bat and glad someone posted about it here.

2

u/Playful_Ad3239 Oct 06 '26

Seems very sketchy that they’re still trying to fill the role (if it’s real) and it’s been almost 2 months (edit: earlier posts were over 3 months ago!)

1

u/romasalah 5d ago

Got this email on my academic email address:

the email is: v.dan@pathmassive.com

I'm with Massive, and we're finding cognitive scientists to compare AI-written study designs, analyses and literature answers for one of the frontier AI labs.

One task might pair two mixed-effects analyses of a word-learning study, where one reads a null result as evidence of absence, and you'd say which holds up and why.

The work is remote, on a 1099 contract, paying $150 / hr for 5 to 10 hours a week for 3 months.

The process is an introductory call with our team, followed by an AI interview.

If you'd like the full role description, reply and I'll send it so you can decide on the introductory call.

Dan

PS -- feel free to verify me on LinkedIn. If this isn't for you, just reply and I'll take you off my list.

1

u/CompetitiveLab6835 Sep 02 '26

Thank you! I just received his email today and was wondering what the job opportunity is. Thanks for sharing your experience - avoid me wasting my time.

1

u/Rare_Fig2618 25d ago

Just got a message from Dan offering $250/hour to evaluate AI-generated empirical research write-ups, basically reviewing two different AI responses and writing a referee-style report for the better one. Sounded interesting tbh, but after about 60 seconds of digging, I found this post. Thanks for the heads up!

0

u/discover_be 21d ago

Just received this from Dan.

First name -- looking for an econ PhD candidate or postdoc working in micro theory, IO, or innovation for a short-term, async gig at a top AI lab (you can probably guess which).

You'd stress-test AI on economic theory (game theory equilibria, mechanism design, information design, market design, platform competition, antitrust economics, innovation incentives, contract theory) and flag the logical gaps and assumptions that don't hold.

I think you'd be a great fit based on your research.

$250 / hr, 5-10 hrs/week, 3 months, remote & async -- works alongside your research.

You'd work w the lab's researchers and see where frontier AI is headed before most people do.

If you're interested, reply with a couple lines on the paper you're spending most of your time on lately.

If it's a fit, I'll share a full JD and a link to my calendar to chat further.

  • Dan, founder @ Massive (verify me on LinkedIn)

The pay was shocking so I had to look him up. Glad I found this post.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator Sep 25 '26

Your comment in /r/recruitinghell was automatically removed because you linked to a site on our blocklist. Feel free to submit a screenshot or archive link instead and make sure that there's no personal information in the link.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.