The vendor facts, on one page.
For the security, legal, procurement and finance teams who review Awana. Forward this link.
At a glance
- Legal entity: Hire Llama Inc., Florida
- Founded in 2020, led from the United States
- Leadership holds an active US security clearance
- Engineers work inside your environment, under your access rules
- NDA and a standard DPA before any data is shared
The company.
- Legal name
- Hire Llama Inc., a Florida company. Awana is its trade name.
- Earlier names
- Hire Llama and Recruiting LM.
- Headquarters
- Melbourne, Florida. Recruiting operations office in Quito, Ecuador.
- Founded
- 2020, by Calvin Sedao and Javier Dutan.
- Leadership
- Calvin Sedao, CEO, Seattle. Javier Dutan, COO, New York, former White House US Digital Service.
- Clearance
- Leadership holds an active US security clearance.
- Where the team works
- Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru and Uruguay, in US time zones.
- Contact
- letsgrow@awana.io
How our people get access.
The access model for AI evaluation, red-teaming and human-data work.
Your environment, your rules
- Your platform, tools and virtual desktops
- Your SSO or OAuth, least privilege, logged sessions
- Your access tiers and redaction rules
- Access removed the day someone rolls off
Awana's side
- NDA and a standard DPA signed before any data is shared
- A background check on every engineer and evaluator before they touch your systems
- PII masked before a person reviews a sample
- One accountable lead for each pod
Staff-augmentation engineers work in your repos and tools under your access rules, and each signs your NDA before getting access. Staff-augmentation terms.
What you sign.
- Direct hire
- A one-time fee of 15 to 25% of first-year compensation. You contract with and pay the engineer. Direct hire.
- Staff augmentation
- Your contract is with Hire Llama Inc. as contractor of record, for a monthly fee set by team size. No local entity is needed. Staff augmentation.
- AI engagements
- An NDA and a standard DPA before any data is shared. Work is hourly or a fixed-price project, and starts with a paid pilot or trial. AI-training teams.
- Private equity
- One master agreement for the fund. Each portfolio company joins with a short order form. Portfolio program.
- Guarantee
- Every hire carries a three-month replacement guarantee.
- Invoices
- In US dollars, from a US company.
- Ownership
- For AI development and freelance teams, NDAs and IP-assignment agreements are signed before work starts. You own the code, models and deliverables.
- Site terms
- Terms of Service · Privacy Policy
What we do not hold or claim.
So your reviewers do not have to ask.
- No SOC 2 report or ISO 27001 certificate. Work happens inside your environment, under your controls.
- Not an employer of record. Awana is a contractor of record.
- Not a certification or an audit opinion. An evaluation report is evidence for your auditors.
- No bio, chemical or nuclear risk testing.
- No affiliation with any model provider.
- No datasets of our own. Awana does not build or sell training data.
- Sample reports are samples. The reports shown on the AI pages show the format, not a client.
The numbers, and what each one means.
- 500+
- Engineers placed with US companies since 2020.
- 98%
- Of hires stay past the three-month guarantee. This is what "placement success" means on this site. It is not a twelve-month retention figure.
- 200+
- US companies served.
- 5 business days
- From the scoping call to a vetted shortlist.
- About 3 weeks
- From the scoping call to a signed offer.
- Roughly 1 in 40
- Engineers make it through vetting.
- About 50%
- Below US compensation for the same seniority. Ranges are in the Compensation Report.
- 4.7 out of 5
- On Trustpilot, from recruiting clients.
The same figures, for citation: Awana facts card.
Who answers.
Calvin Sedao
CEO and Co-Founder, Seattle
Founded Awana in 2020 after building a point-of-sale company with a Venezuelan engineering team.
Javier Dutan
Co-Founder and COO, New York
Former White House US Digital Service.
Send a vendor questionnaire to letsgrow@awana.io. Calls book on Calvin's calendar.
Questions reviewers ask.
Is Awana a US company?
Yes. The legal entity is Hire Llama Inc., a Florida company with headquarters in Melbourne, Florida. Awana is United States-led, and its leadership holds an active US security clearance. The engineers and recruiters work in Latin America, in US time zones.
Does Awana hold SOC 2 or ISO 27001?
No. Awana holds neither today. Its engineers and evaluators work inside your environment, through your identity provider and under your access rules, so your data stays in systems you already control.
How do Awana engineers get access to our systems?
Through your SSO or OAuth, with least-privilege access that is removed when someone rolls off. For AI evaluation, red-teaming and human-data work, Awana signs an NDA and a standard DPA before any data is shared.
Do you run background checks?
Yes, on every engineer and evaluator in AI evaluation, red-teaming and human-data work, before they touch your systems.
Who owns the work?
You do. For AI development and freelance teams, NDAs and IP-assignment agreements are signed before work starts, and you own the code, models and deliverables.
Can Awana work with government and public-sector programs?
Yes. Awana is United States-led, and its leadership holds an active US security clearance. For public-sector work, Awana scopes staffing to the program's requirements, including US-based personnel where required.
Is an Awana evaluation report a certification?
No. Awana provides independent test results and evidence. Certification and conformity decisions stay with you and your accredited auditors.
Something missing from this page?
Insurance, subprocessors and notice periods are not published here. Ask us for them, or for anything else your review needs.
Related: Staff augmentation · Private equity · AI-training teams · About Awana