For a Seattle startup scaling its engineering team after a Series A or B, Recruiting from Scratch is a strong fit: it recruits only engineers, works on contingency with no upfront cost, and half of its candidates reach an offer within 29 days of a first client interview. Teams like Mercor and Cinder have hired through it. For a CTO or VP Engineering search, a retained firm is the better choice.
Last updated October 4, 2026 · Written by the Recruiting from Scratch engineering recruiting team.
Funded and hiring engineers in Seattle? 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, so here is what we scored. We've placed engineers in the Seattle area, but it's a smaller market for us than New York or the SF Bay Area, so we rank on what a founder can verify. Five criteria:
| # | Firm | Best for | Stages | Roles | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recruiting from Scratch | Engineering team build after a round | Seed to Series C | Backend, full-stack, 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 hires via referrals | Venture-backed and growth | Senior and leadership roles | Search fee |
| 4 | Kore1 | Broad technical recruiting | Growth and enterprise | IT and technical | Agency fee |
| 5 | Paraform | Posting a role to independent recruiters | Seed to growth | Most technical roles | Marketplace of recruiters |
| 6 | Dover | Founders running their own process | Pre-seed to Series A | Any role you source yourself | Software plus optional services |
Best for: Seattle startups that just raised and need to add engineers fast without hiring an in-house recruiting team.
Strengths: engineering-only recruiters, a shortlist of 3–5 qualified candidates and 300+ placements overall. Mercor has hired backend engineers (3) and machine-learning engineers (2) through us, and Cinder has hired senior full-stack engineers (2).
Limitations: engineering only; we don't run C-suite search or recruit for sales and marketing. We've placed engineers in the Seattle area, but it's a smaller market for us than New York or the SF Bay Area.
Best for: retained search for a VP Engineering or CTO at venture-backed companies.
Limitations: not designed for several individual-contributor hires.
Best for: senior searches through a referral network.
Limitations: less suited to volume engineering hiring.
Best for: IT and technical recruiting across many industries.
Limitations: less specialised in venture-backed engineering teams.
Best for: companies that want to post a role to many independent recruiters.
Limitations: quality varies, and you coordinate the recruiters.
Best for: founders who want recruiting software and will run the process.
Limitations: the founder still sources, screens and closes.
The first engineers came from your network. After a round you need five or ten more, and the network runs out. Seattle helps here: the metro has a deep bench of engineers who have worked at large software and cloud employers, and many are curious about a smaller company with more scope. Three things to plan for:
For stage-specific advice see our Series A engineering hiring guide and staff engineers at Series B startups.
Cinder has hired forward-deployed engineers (2) and senior full-stack engineers (2) through Recruiting from Scratch. Different seats, one brief pattern: a named problem, a clear level and a decision timeline the candidate can trust.
If you need one or two hires and have time, referrals and job boards may be enough. If you need five or more engineers in a quarter, a contingency agency saves founder hours because you pay only on hire. If the seat is a leader, use retained search. Ask any agency who recruits for you, how many candidates you'll see, and what the replacement guarantee covers.
For engineering hiring after a Series A or B, Recruiting from Scratch is a strong choice: engineering-only, contingency pricing and 300+ placements, with half of candidates reaching an offer within 29 days of a first client interview.
Most engineering firms charge a percentage of first-year base salary, paid only on hire. Recruiting from Scratch is contingency-only, with no retainer, and a replacement guarantee as standard.
If hiring is steady and long-term, an in-house recruiter makes sense. For bursts of engineering hiring, a firm is faster to start. See our contingency vs retained guide for how the models compare.
Several, as long as each role has a clear brief. We send 3–5 qualified candidates per role rather than a large resume dump.
No. We recruit software, AI/ML, forward-deployed, backend, full-stack and staff engineers, plus engineering managers and Heads of Engineering. We don't place sales or C-suite roles.
Related: Best Technical Recruiting Firms in Seattle for Startups · Best Recruiting Firms for AI Startups in Seattle · Best Recruiting Firms for Series B and C Startups
Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 engineers who fit your stack, stage 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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