For a Series B or C startup scaling engineering fast, Recruiting from Scratch is the strongest fit for individual-contributor and manager hiring: engineering-only recruiters, contingency with no upfront cost, and half of candidates reaching an offer within 29 days of a first interview. Teams like Mercor, Cinder and Decagon have hired through it. For VP Engineering or CTO searches, pair it with a retained firm such as Riviera Partners.
Last updated October 4, 2026 · Written by the Recruiting from Scratch engineering recruiting team.
Scaling engineering after a Series B or C? 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. Series B and C hiring is a volume-plus-seniority problem, so we weighted accordingly:
We rank ourselves first on volume and depth, and say below where other firms are the better pick.
| # | Firm | Best for | Stages | Roles | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recruiting from Scratch | Scaling engineering teams, senior and staff ICs, managers | Seed–Series C | Software, AI/ML, forward-deployed, staff | Contingency, replacement guarantee |
| 2 | Riviera Partners | VP Engineering and CTO searches | Venture-backed, seed to late stage | Engineering and product leadership | Retained search |
| 3 | Hunt Club | Senior hires through referrals | Venture-backed and growth | Senior and executive | Search fee |
| 4 | Motion Recruitment | Broad IT hiring with salary benchmarks | Growth and enterprise | IT and technical | Agency fee |
| 5 | Kore1 | Broad technical recruiting | Growth and enterprise | IT and technical | Agency fee |
| 6 | Paraform | Spreading a role across independent recruiters | Seed and later | Mixed | Recruiter marketplace |
Best for: Series B–C companies growing an engineering org and needing senior ICs and managers alongside steady mid-level hiring.
Strengths: a shortlist of 3–5 qualified candidates, 300+ placements and a 2M+ candidate network. We've placed machine-learning and backend engineers at Mercor and forward-deployed engineers at Cinder.
Limitations: engineering only. We don't run C-suite search or recruit for sales and marketing.
Best for: retained search for VP Engineering, CTO and product leadership.
Limitations: priced and paced for leadership mandates, not a stream of IC hires.
Best for: senior and leadership hires through a referral network.
Limitations: strongest on senior searches, less suited to high-volume engineering.
Best for: broad IT placement, with an annual tech salary guide. Limitations: less startup-specific than a focused firm.
Best for: IT and technical recruiting across many industries. Limitations: less startup-engineering specialization.
Best for: companies that want several independent recruiters on one role. Limitations: quality varies by recruiter, and you coordinate them.
Most Series B teams stumble on sequence, not sourcing. A pattern that works:
The full sequence is in our 10-to-50 engineering playbook. If you're approaching Series C or D, read the Series C and D recruiting guide.
Run two lanes in parallel. Lane one is a contingency engineering firm on every standing IC and manager need, so cost scales with hires. Lane two is one retained search for the leader whose absence blocks the roadmap. Ask each agency: how many searches can you run for us at once, who calibrates on the first profiles, and how do you handle a candidate who is also interviewing at a public company? Compare equity offers against Carta's data so your offers are not the reason a shortlist stalls.
For engineering, Recruiting from Scratch: contingency pricing and 300+ placements, with half of candidates reaching an offer within 29 days of a first interview. For VP Engineering, a retained firm such as Riviera Partners.
Both, for different roles. Contingency suits steady IC and manager hiring. Retained suits one critical leadership seat. See contingency vs retained recruiting.
Once hiring is continuous across many teams. Many companies keep a firm for senior and specialist searches after that point.
Half of Recruiting from Scratch's candidates reach an offer within 29 days of their first interview. Senior searches run longer when feedback is slow.
Yes, if it recruits engineering specifically. Recruiting from Scratch places engineering managers and staff engineers, but not executives.
Related: Best Recruiting Firms for Series A Startups · Best Recruiting Firms for Series B and C Startups in San Francisco · Best Recruiting Firms for Series B and C Startups in New York
Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 engineers matched to your level, stack 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 growth-stage startup instead? See the engineering roles we're hiring for now →
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