Senior engineering and GTM hiring

That senior seat has been open for months. Your roadmap noticed.

I fill senior engineering and go-to-market roles for founders with no recruiter in the building. You make the hiring call. I do the rest.

Roles filled at

Docker Teleport Red Hat Dexcom H1 Tilt

Most senior searches stall in one of four places.

Which one sounds like yours?

1

You can't find anyone worth talking to

The people you want aren't applying. They're busy doing good work somewhere else.

2

The people you message don't reply

A cold note from a stranger gets ignored. Who it's from and what it says decide whether they answer.

3

You lose them during interviews

Good people drop out between steps when things move slowly or nobody keeps them warm.

4

You lose them at the offer

Counteroffers, competing offers, cold feet. This is where most senior searches really fall apart.

I work all four, but most of my time goes to the last two. That's the part founders tell me they couldn't crack.

You'll see work in week one, not silence.

Most searches go quiet after the kickoff call. Here's what lands on your desk instead.

I work your search like I'm on your team: your scorecard, your domain, a weekly update. You always know what's happening, because you can see the work.

  1. Week 1

    Kickoff call and a scorecard we both sign off on

    One call to get clear on who you actually need. I write it up as a scorecard: the must-haves, the nice-to-haves, and what would make you pass. Every candidate gets measured against it, so you only spend time on people who clear your bar.

  2. By end of week 1

    Five profiles you'd want to talk to

    Not a stack of resumes, and not names pulled off a list. Five people who clear the scorecard, each with a note on why they fit. You tell me who to go after first.

    If those five aren't in front of you by the end of week one, you can walk and owe nothing.

  3. The weeks after

    A calibrated pipeline and a weekly update

    Your reactions to those first five sharpen the search. Outreach goes out from your domain, I run first screens, and people move through your process. Every week you get who's in play, who passed and why, and what the market is saying about the role.

  4. Whenever you need it

    An interview process that holds up

    If you don't have a process yet, or good people keep dropping out of it, I'll help you build or tweak one: who interviews, what each step tests, and how fast it moves.

  5. Until they start

    I stay on it through the offer

    Comp, competing offers, counteroffers, resignation, and start date. The part where most senior searches actually fall apart.

How it works

Step 1

Share the role

Tell me who you're picturing: the work they've shipped, the stage they did it at, and what would make you pass.

Step 2

We agree on the bar

I turn our call into a scorecard and keep asking until your picture of the right person and mine are the same one. Every candidate gets measured against it.

Step 3

I run the search

Five profiles you'd want to talk to in week one, then a pipeline that gets sharper every week. Outreach from your domain, first screens, and notes on every person.

Step 4

I get them to yes

Offers, counteroffers, resignation, and start date. I stay on it until your hire starts. You make every hiring call.

Why this isn't an agency

If you've had recruiters who just sent resumes, here's what's different.

A typical agency
Working with me
Who you meet
A stack of resumes to sort through
Only people who make sense, each with notes on why
Whose name is on the outreach
The agency's
Yours. I recruit from your domain, like I'm on your team
How you know it's working
You chase them for an update
A scorecard and five profiles worth talking to in week one, a weekly update after that
Where the work stops
At the offer
When your hire starts
Your time
Interviews, plus managing the agency
Interviews and the decision. You won't have to manage me

What is your open seat costing you?

Every week it sits empty, your team covers the gap and the plan slips. Plug in a few numbers and see what it has cost so far, and what it will cost by the time someone starts. Nothing you enter is saved.

Run the numbers
500+hires across 17 years in engineering, product, and go-to-market150+ of them senior roles for startups under 100 people
“He just got it done. He even built us an interview process that surfaced the right people. The hires stuck.”
Alek Gilmore, founder
“One of the best recruiters I have ever worked with. High-quality talent every single time.”
Judson Smith, founder

Engineering

Senior and principal engineers, engineering leaders, data infrastructure and SRE, AI and ML, solutions engineers

Go-to-market

Senior account executives, sales leaders, customer success, product marketing, growth

Product and design

Directors of product, senior product managers, heads of design, senior product designers

How Founders Hire, Episode 1 with Todd Smith of TAHO Labs

The podcast

How Founders Hire

Founders tell the story of how they built their company: the early days, the first people they hired, and what they'd tell someone a few steps behind them.

Episode 1 “I would sacrifice talent for culture” Todd Smith, Co-Founder & CEO, TAHO Labs

Questions founders ask

How is this different from an agency?

I work one search like I'm on your team, from your domain. You only meet people who make sense, and I stay on it through the offer and the start date.

How does pricing work?

No long exclusive and no surprises. Most clients pay a fee when their hire starts, with a smaller amount up front that counts toward it. If you'd rather pay as we go, we can do that instead. I'll walk you through both on the call and we'll pick the one that fits how you run things.

What if you don't fill it?

You never pay more than the retainer. If I haven't shown you five profiles you'd want to talk to by the end of week one, I refund it. If the role pauses, the retainer carries over to your next search. And if I don't think I can fill it, I'll tell you on the first call.

What do I actually get in the first month?

A scorecard we both agree on, and five profiles you'd want to talk to, both in week one. These are people who clear the bar we set, not a list of names and not people who have simply said they're open. After that: a pipeline that gets sharper as you react to who you're seeing, candidates moving through your process, and a weekly update throughout. If I can help tighten your interview process along the way, I will. If the five don't show up in week one, you can walk and owe nothing.

How long does a search take?

Most senior searches take about 10 to 13 weeks from kickoff to a start date: roughly 6 to 9 weeks to an offer, then their notice period. It moves fastest when you can interview within a few days of meeting someone. I'll give you a number for your role on the call.

Do I stay in control of who we hire?

Always. We set the bar together, and you make every hiring call.

Is my role a fit?

Most senior engineering and go-to-market searches are. If yours isn't, I'll tell you so on the call.

Get the hire done without adding another thing to your plate.

Send me the role and the bar, or book a short call. I reply within one business day.