Engineering & Product Recruiting

Hire smarter.
Hire faster.
Pay only when you do.

Contingency-based technical recruiting built exclusively for seed through Series B startups. No retainers. No risk. Just results.

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Average time-to-fill

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Offer close rate

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Candidate retention

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Startup recruiting

Marvel
DoorDash
Button
Method
Opal Security
Graphite
Base Power

A partner, not a vendor.

Most agencies hand you resumes. We hand you a hiring function.

01

Intake

A deep-dive call to align on your team, tech stack, culture, and exactly what "great" looks like for the role. No generic job specs.

02

Hand-Sourced Shortlist

Sourced by a human with a personal touch on every message. Not spray-and-pray. A vetted shortlist of passive candidates within 7 days, screened for technical fit, culture, and motivation.

03

Built-In Infrastructure

Structured interview loops, comp benchmarking, offer support, and ATS hygiene. You're not just filling a role. You're building a hiring function that scales.

I've sat in the chair you're hiring for.

I spent 10 years building the recruiting functions other agencies just promise. Inside MANTL (acquired by Alkami), Button, and Jobspring, I scaled teams through Series A, B, and into acquisition. Built the offer workflows, interview loops, and ATS systems from the inside.

Now I bring all of that to founders who don't have time to figure it out themselves.

  • Scaled MANTL from 20 to 150+ through Series A, B, and acquisition
  • Cut Button's time-to-fill from 40 days to 14. 95% close rate.
  • Sat in the same chair as your Head of Talent. I speak the language.

You're not hiring a recruiter who pivoted into agency work. You're hiring an operator who chose to.

Sr. Manager, Talent Acquisition

Alkami Technologies

Leading TA strategy across MANTL business unit. Managing 5 recruiters, 234+ headcount workforce planning, and executive reporting.

Head of Talent

MANTL (acq. by Alkami)

Scaled company from 20 to 150+ employees across Series A through Series B and into acquisition. Built recruiting infrastructure from scratch.

Lead Technical Recruiter

Button

40+ engineering and GTM hires. Reduced time-to-fill from 40 to 14 days. 95% close rate. Candidate NPS 5/5. Two company awards for recruiting excellence.

Lead Recruiter

Jobspring Partners

$300K+ monthly revenue. 190+ hiring manager partnerships. 40+ placements, 100% retention rate.

Numbers that speak louder than a pitch deck.

These aren't projections. These are results from a decade of building recruiting functions inside high-growth startups.

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Employees Scaled

Scale your team from early traction through Series B and acquisition.

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Hiring Manager Partnerships

Build trusted partnerships across engineering, product, and GTM teams.

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Days Time-to-Fill

Fill roles in days, not months, through process and pipeline discipline.

5/5

Candidate NPS

Deliver a candidate experience that protects your brand.

Before you hire a recruiter, do the math on the alternatives.

Most founders compare agencies to each other. The real comparison is what every option actually costs you before a single hire lands.

Hiring an In-House Recruiter
Cost before they make a single hire
$12K to $18K
burned during the 30 to 60 day ramp
  • Loaded base salary~$11K to $14K / mo
  • LinkedIn Recruiter seat~$1,000 / mo
  • Sourcing & scheduling tools~$500 / mo
  • Onboarding, equipment, taxes+ overhead
Hiring with a Traditional Agency
Cost on a typical $150K engineering hire
$30K to $37.5K
at the industry-standard 20 to 25% placement fee
  • Placement fee20 to 25% of base
  • Time-to-fill45 to 60 days
  • Interview design & ATSNot included
  • Resume volume20+ unscreened

What's your next hire actually going to cost?

Enter the comp you're targeting. See the math instantly.

Your Next Hire
What are you looking to spend on the role?
$150,000
Annual base salary
$80K $400K
Traditional Agency
20 to 25% placement fee
Industry-standard contingency rate, paid on hire
$30,000 to $37,500
In-House Recruiter
Ramp + monthly burn
$15K avg ramp + ~50 days at $14.5K/mo loaded cost
~$39,000
You Save
vs a traditional agency on this hire
$15,750

Estimates only. OneWay rates: 12% first IC hire, 8% subsequent IC hires, 15% Manager & above. All on starting base salary. In-house cost based on a fully loaded recruiter at ~$14.5K/mo (base, LinkedIn Recruiter seat, sourcing tools) and the deck's 30 to 60 day ramp average.

Simple, transparent pricing. Pay only when you hire.

Contingency only. No retainers, no upfront costs. The fee is due upon your new hire's first day of employment.

First IC Hire
0%
Of starting base salary. Your first hire with us, individual contributor level.
Manager & Above
0%
Of starting base salary. Director, VP, and leadership placements.

30-Day Replacement Guarantee

If a candidate exits voluntarily or is terminated for performance within 30 days, we replace them at no additional cost.

Net 30 Payment Terms

Invoice is due 30 days from your new hire's start date. Simple and predictable.

Non-Exclusive

Work with us alongside your internal team or other firms. No exclusivity required unless negotiated.

12-Month Candidate Protection

Any candidate we introduce is protected for 12 months. Fair and transparent ownership.

Looking for your next role at a high-growth startup?

We work with some of the most exciting seed through Series B companies building in engineering and product. Here's what working with us looks like.

Engineering Roles

Frontend, backend, full-stack, infrastructure, data, and machine learning engineers at companies solving hard problems. We know the technical bar and what teams are actually looking for.

Product Roles

Product managers, directors, and VPs who thrive in ambiguity. Early-stage companies need PMs who can operate without a playbook. We find them.

A Real Conversation

No resume blasting. We take the time to understand your career goals, comp expectations, and what kind of environment brings out your best work.

Transparency Throughout

You'll know what the role pays, what the team looks like, and what the interview process is before you commit your time. We don't waste yours.

Trusted by founders, operators, and engineering leaders.

★★★★★
"Chris built a large part of our technical team. He loves what he does, and leans into all stages of the hiring process. It's a treat to work with Chris."
MW
Mike Wakerly
Builder, Investor & Advisor
★★★★★
"One of the most attentive and proactive recruiters I've ever worked with. The right candidate matters more to him than the quantity of candidates."
MW
Mike Wright
Engineering Leader, Datadog
★★★★★
"Chris has been very thorough and diligent. He made the whole interview process very straightforward for me."
YG
Yakov Gaberman
Senior Software Engineer

Everything you need to know before we start.

Immediately. After a 30-minute intake call to align on the role, team, and what "great" looks like, I begin sourcing within 24 hours. Most clients see their first shortlist within the first week.

You're covered by a 30-day replacement guarantee. If the candidate leaves voluntarily or is terminated for performance within 30 days, I replace them at no additional cost. No questions, no hassle.

No. The default is non-exclusive. You can work with your internal team, other firms, or both alongside me. Exclusivity is only by mutual agreement, never required.

Engineering and Product roles at seed through Series B startups. That includes frontend, backend, full-stack, infrastructure, data, and ML engineers, plus product managers, directors, and VPs. I don't do generalist recruiting. This is the only thing I do.

I'm a solo operator with AI-driven workflows and zero overhead. No office, no layers of account managers, no bloat. I pass those savings directly to clients. The sliding scale (12% first hire, 8% subsequent) rewards the relationship, not the transaction.

Every engagement includes structured interview design, ATS hygiene (Greenhouse), intake frameworks, and workflow optimization. You're not just hiring for one role. You're building a process that scales. This is included in the placement fee, not an add-on.

Let's talk about what you're building.

Whether you have an open role today or want to think through your hiring strategy for the next quarter, the first conversation is always free.

or send a message directly

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Thanks for reaching out. Christopher will get back to you within 24 hours.

30-minute call · No commitment · No pitch

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