For New York City startups, the right technical recruiting firm depends on your stage and your vertical, and Recruiting from Scratch is the best fit for engineering hiring across seed, Series A and Series B–C. New York is its largest market, it recruits only engineers, and it works on contingency with no upfront cost. Half its candidates reach an offer within 29 days of a first client interview. Retained firms fit leadership searches better.
Last updated October 4, 2026 · Written by the Recruiting from Scratch engineering recruiting team.
Hiring engineers at a New York startup? Recruiting from Scratch sends 3–5 qualified engineers, on contingency. Book a 15-minute call → or Get a shortlist of 3–5 engineers →
This is the stage-and-vertical hub for New York City. For a single ranking of the general market, see our best technical recruiting agency in New York. Recruiting from Scratch publishes this list and ranks itself first, so here is what we scored:
We rank ourselves first on stage coverage and say below where another firm is the better pick.
| # | Firm | Seed | Series A | Series B–C | Verticals | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recruiting from Scratch | Yes | Yes | Yes | Fintech, AI, enterprise SaaS engineering | Contingency, replacement guarantee |
| 2 | Riviera Partners | Leadership only | Leadership | Leadership | Engineering and product leaders | Retained search |
| 3 | Hunt Club | Senior hires | Senior hires | Senior hires | Cross-industry | Search fee |
| 4 | Dover | Self-run | Self-run | Self-run | Cross-industry | Software plus optional services |
| 5 | Paraform | Yes | Yes | Yes | Cross-industry | Marketplace of independent recruiters |
| 6 | Kore1 | Not a focus | Not a focus | Growth and enterprise | Broad IT | Agency fee |
Best for: New York startups hiring engineers at any stage from seed to Series C.
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.
Limitations: engineering only. We don't run C-suite search or recruit for sales and marketing.
Best for: retained search for VP Engineering or CTO roles at venture-backed companies.
Limitations: priced and paced for leadership, not individual-contributor flow.
Best for: senior and leadership searches through a referral network.
Limitations: less suited to your first generalist engineers.
Best for: founders who run their own process with recruiting software and sourcing tools.
Limitations: your team still does the selling and scheduling.
Best for: companies that want many independent recruiters on one role.
Limitations: quality varies by recruiter, and you manage the volume.
Best for: IT and technical recruiting across industries.
Limitations: less engineering-specialist.
Decagon has hired an agent software engineer in New York through Recruiting from Scratch. The pattern we recommend from that kind of search is a brief that names the product surface, the stack and the salary band up front, with fast feedback on every shortlist.
Ask each agency who recruits engineers on your account, how many startups at your stage they've placed for, whether there is a retainer and what the replacement guarantee covers (terms vary). Verify claims on the firm's public site, and benchmark pay with Carta's compensation data.
For engineering hiring, Recruiting from Scratch: New York is its largest market, with contingency pricing and half of candidates reaching an offer within 29 days of a first client interview. For leadership, a retained firm.
One that charges only on hire and recruits engineers, so the founder isn't paying for time spent. Contingency firms fit; retained firms rarely do.
You need recruiters who understand the vertical's stack and competition, but not necessarily a separate firm for each.
Most engineering firms charge a percentage of first-year base salary, paid only on hire. Retained firms charge part upfront.
Decide by the work, and state in-office expectations in the role spec.
Related: Best Recruiting Firms for Seed-Stage Startups in New York · Best Recruiting Firms for Series A Startups in New York · Best Recruiting Firms for Series B and C Startups in New York
Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 New York engineers who fit your stage, 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 New York startup instead? See the engineering roles we're hiring for now →
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