Why senior tech hiring is slow and costly

In-house recruiters are generalists. They know how to run a process, not evaluate a senior Go engineer against a microservices architecture problem. The result: first-round interviews clogged with candidates who looked right on paper and were not.

Large agency networks optimise for volume. A junior resourcer runs a keyword search across a database, sends five CVs within 48 hours, and moves on to the next brief. You spend your time filtering, not interviewing.

Senior tech roles that stay open past 90 days cost far more than a recruitment fee. Delayed product milestones, team bandwidth diverted to interviewing, manager time lost to screening calls - the real cost is in the opportunity, not the salary.

Two engagement models

Permanent hires or senior contractors — both run through the same quality bar.

🎯

Permanent Placement — shortlist in 5 days

01

Intake call (30 min)

We cover the role requirements, team context, tech stack, salary range, and what a strong candidate looks like technically. We do not start searching until we understand the problem.

02

Targeted headhunt

Direct outreach to relevant engineers in our network and beyond. No job board posts. Candidates not actively looking are often the strongest.

03

Shortlist delivery

Three to five candidates, each interviewed by Filip. You receive a brief on each — technical depth, communication, salary, notice period.

04

Placement + 12-month guarantee

We manage the process through to offer. The 12-month replacement guarantee starts on day one.

IT Labour Hire — contractor proposed in 3–5 days

01

Brief call (30 min)

We map the engagement: what needs to ship, by when, with what skills, at what day rate band. We're direct about what's realistic in the current market.

02

Contractor sourcing (3–5 days)

We propose one to three vetted contractors with the technical depth and project experience your engagement needs. Day rate, availability, and fit stated upfront.

03

Introduction and selection (2–3 days)

You meet the contractors you want to meet. We brief them properly before introductions. You choose — we handle the paperwork.

04

Engagement start (within the week)

Contractor onboards. Weekly timesheets, weekly invoicing, transparent margin. Extensions handled in days.

Pre-screened candidates you actually want to interview

Every candidate we submit has been interviewed by Filip, validated against your technical requirements, and assessed for cultural fit and realistic salary expectations. By the time a CV reaches you, it has passed three filters that a typical recruiter skips entirely.

  • Shortlist delivered within five business days of intake call

  • Each candidate interviewed by Filip directly - not keyword-screened

  • Technical depth validated against your specific stack and seniority

  • Salary expectations and notice period confirmed upfront

  • Reference checks completed before submission on request

  • 12-month replacement guarantee on every placement

Pricing transparency

Fee structure

Our fee is a percentage of the placed candidate's first-year base salary, invoiced on their start date. We are direct about this from the first conversation.

For senior individual contributors and managers, we work on a retained basis. A partial retainer covers the search costs; the remainder is due on placement.

Full fee terms and guarantee details

Recent placements

Senior Go/Python Engineer

19 days to placement

Series B fintech, Melbourne

Placed in 19 days from brief to signed offer. Candidate was not on any job board - direct network introduction.

Engineering Manager

23 days to placement

Series A SaaS, remote-first

Filled a role that had been open four months with two previous agencies. Placed in 23 days.

Staff Platform Engineer

28 days to placement

Series B healthtech, Melbourne

Senior AWS/Kubernetes specialist with healthcare compliance experience. Placed in 28 days.

Employer FAQ

What types of roles do you fill?

Senior individual contributors (typically 5+ years), tech leads, principal and staff engineers, and engineering managers through heads of engineering. We do not fill graduate or junior roles.

How does your fee structure work?

A percentage of the placed candidate's first-year base salary, invoiced on their start date. We discuss this directly during the intake call. Visit our Guarantee page for the full breakdown.

What if the hire does not work out?

Our 12-month replacement guarantee covers you. If the placed candidate leaves or is let go for performance reasons within 12 months, we run the full replacement search at no additional fee.

Do you work on retained or contingency basis?

We work on a retained basis for senior and leadership roles to ensure we can dedicate the headhunt time these searches require. We discuss the appropriate arrangement during the intake call.

How do you find candidates who are not actively looking?

Direct outreach and sustained network relationships. The majority of placements we make are candidates who were not on job boards. We identify, approach, and qualify - not post and pray.

Can we work with you for multiple roles simultaneously?

Yes, though we are selective about the number of active searches we carry at once to maintain quality. We will be direct if we do not have capacity to do your search justice at that point in time.