For a New York Series A startup scaling its engineering team, Recruiting from Scratch is the best fit: New York is its largest market, it recruits only engineers, it works on contingency with no upfront cost, and half its candidates reach an offer within 29 days of a first client interview. It has placed an agent software engineer in New York at Decagon. For a VP Engineering search, a retained firm fits better.
Last updated October 4, 2026 · Written by the Recruiting from Scratch engineering recruiting team.
Scaling engineering after your Series A in New York? 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. A New York Series A company has money to hire and a short runway to show a team:
We rank ourselves first on NYC depth and stage fit, and say below where others fit better.
| # | Firm | Best for | Stages | Roles | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recruiting from Scratch | Scaling a NYC engineering team after a Series A | Seed–Series C | Full-stack, backend, AI/ML, forward-deployed | Contingency, replacement guarantee |
| 2 | Dover | Founders who run the process with software | Pre-seed–Series A | Any role you source yourself | Software plus optional services |
| 3 | Paraform | Posting a role to many independent recruiters | Seed and later | Mixed | Marketplace of independent recruiters |
| 4 | Candidate Labs | Go-to-market and sales hiring | Startup and growth | Sales and GTM | Search fee |
| 5 | Hunt Club | Referral-based senior hires | Venture-backed and growth | Senior and leadership | Search fee |
| 6 | Riviera Partners | Engineering and product leadership | Venture-backed, seed to late stage | VP Eng, CTO | Retained search |
Best for: New York Series A teams that need several engineers soon without building a recruiting function.
Strengths: engineering-only recruiters, New York as our largest market, a shortlist of 3–5 qualified candidates and 300+ placements. We've placed an agent software engineer in New York at Decagon and backend and machine-learning engineers at Mercor.
Limitations: engineering only. We place engineering managers but don't run C-suite search or recruit for sales and marketing.
Best for: founders who want recruiting software and run the process themselves.
Limitations: the process and the selling stay with your team.
Best for: teams that want many independent recruiters on one role.
Limitations: quality varies by recruiter, and you manage the volume.
Best for: your first sales and go-to-market hires.
Limitations: not an engineering specialist.
Best for: referral-based searches for senior and leadership roles.
Limitations: less suited to a steady flow of individual-contributor engineers.
Best for: retained search for a VP of Engineering or CTO.
Limitations: a leadership tool, paced for executive searches.
Decagon has hired an agent software engineer in New York through Recruiting from Scratch, and Mercor has hired backend engineers and machine-learning engineers. In searches like these we recommend one owner of feedback on the founder side, a scorecard written before the first interview and a decision within days of the final conversation.
Ask each agency who recruits for you, how many engineers they have placed at companies your size, whether there is a retainer and what the replacement guarantee covers. Terms vary by contract, so read them. Benchmark pay with Carta's compensation data, and see what equity to offer a founding engineer.
For engineering hiring, Recruiting from Scratch: New York is its largest market, with contingency pricing, 300+ placements and half of candidates reaching an offer within 29 days of a first client interview.
A contingency firm charges a percentage of first-year base salary only when someone joins, so cost tracks hires made.
Use a firm while hiring is lumpy. Add an in-house recruiter when you hire continuously on a steady plan.
It depends on the round and the roadmap. Most teams hire in waves of two to four so onboarding keeps pace.
Yes. See our guide to NYC AI and ML startups.
Related: Best Recruiting Firms for Seed-Stage Startups in New York · Best Recruiting Firms for Series B and C Startups in New York · Best Technical Recruiting Firms in New York City for Startups, by Stage and Vertical
Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 New York 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 →
Looking for a role at a Series A startup instead? See the engineering roles we're hiring for now →
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