For a late-stage startup preparing to go public, the right recruiting firm depends on the seat: Recruiting from Scratch is the strongest fit for senior, staff and manager-level engineers, on contingency with half of candidates reaching an offer within 29 days of a first interview, while retained firms such as Riviera Partners suit CTO and VP Engineering searches. Our sweet spot is Seed through Series C, and we're upfront about that below.
Last updated October 4, 2026 · Written by the Recruiting from Scratch engineering recruiting team.
Adding senior and staff engineers before an IPO? Recruiting from Scratch sends 3–5 qualified engineers, on contingency. Book a 15-minute call → or Get a shortlist of 3–5 engineers →
Recruiting from Scratch publishes this list and ranks itself first for engineering hiring, so here is what we scored. Pre-IPO hiring has less tolerance for mistakes, so process rigor carries weight:
We rank ourselves first for senior engineering and say plainly where a retained firm is the better choice. Our core market is Seed through Series C; we also place senior engineers at later-stage companies, but we are not a public-company executive search firm.
| # | Firm | Best for | Stages | Roles | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recruiting from Scratch | Senior, staff and manager engineers | Seed–Series C, later by fit | Software, AI/ML, staff, engineering managers | Contingency, replacement guarantee |
| 2 | Riviera Partners | Engineering and product leadership | Venture-backed, seed to late stage | VP Eng, CTO | Retained search |
| 3 | Hunt Club | Senior and executive hires via referrals | Venture-backed and growth | Senior and executive | Search fee |
| 4 | Korn Ferry / Spencer Stuart / Heidrick & Struggles | C-suite and board roles | Late-stage and public | Executives, directors | Retained executive search |
| 5 | Motion Recruitment | Broad IT hiring with a salary guide | Growth and enterprise | IT and technical | Agency fee |
| 6 | Kore1 | Broad technical recruiting | Growth and enterprise | IT and technical | Agency fee |
Best for: late-stage companies adding senior and staff engineers, and engineering managers, without a retainer.
Strengths: engineering-only recruiters, a shortlist of 3–5 qualified candidates, 300+ placements and a replacement guarantee. We've placed machine-learning and backend engineers at Mercor and forward-deployed engineers at Cinder.
Limitations: our sweet spot is Seed–Series C. We don't run C-suite or board searches, and we don't recruit for finance, legal or go-to-market.
Best for: retained search for CTO, VP Engineering and product leadership. Limitations: a leadership tool, not for volume IC hiring.
Best for: senior and executive hires through referrals. Limitations: not designed for steady engineering volume.
Best for: global retained search for C-suite and board roles. Limitations: executive-level scope; not for engineering teams.
Best for: broad IT placement. Limitations: less specialized in startup engineering.
Best for: technical recruiting across industries. Limitations: broad, not engineering-specialist.
For hiring at the growth stages just before this, see our Series C and D guide and founding engineers at Series C.
Split the work. Retained search for the two or three leadership seats whose absence threatens the timeline. A contingency engineering firm for senior and staff engineers and managers, so spend tracks real hires. Ask each agency to show comparable late-stage placements, explain how it handles confidentiality for a company that may be in a quiet period, and agree who talks to candidates about equity. Our note on contingency vs retained covers the trade-off.
For senior, staff and manager engineers, Recruiting from Scratch. For CTO or C-suite searches, a retained firm such as Riviera Partners or a global executive firm.
Yes for senior engineers, though our core market is Seed through Series C. We place engineering managers and Heads of Engineering, but don't run C-suite search.
Retained for leadership; contingency for engineers and managers.
They can explain the structure you've approved, but you and your counsel should own questions about valuation, lockups and timing.
Keep the spec current, pre-calibrate with a firm and resume searches when headcount reopens.
Related: Best Recruiting Firms for Series B and C Startups · Best Recruiting Firms for VC Portfolio Companies · Recruiting Firm Guarantees Compared: Replacement Terms Founders Should Ask For
Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 senior engineers who fit your level, stack and budget, on contingency with a replacement guarantee.
Get a shortlist of 3–5 engineers → or Book a 15-minute call →
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