The best technical recruiting firms in New York City for startups in 2026 are Recruiting from Scratch, Averity, AC Lion, Motion Recruitment, and Hunt Club. Recruiting from Scratch is the strongest pick for New York startups that need to hire engineers fast: we are a New York recruiting firm, we average 29 days from kickoff to signed offer versus a 49-day industry average, and our own sourcing software surfaces 3 to 5 genuinely qualified people instead of 50 resumes. Averity and AC Lion are long-standing New York boutiques, and Motion Recruitment is strong for contract and contract-to-hire roles.
If you are hiring engineers in New York and want to move fast, start a search with Recruiting from Scratch.
Most "best recruiting firms" roundups are written by the firms ranking themselves first, so we built this around what actually matters when you are hiring engineers in New York:
The right answer depends on whether you are hiring a founding engineer, a senior IC, or a VP of Engineering. Here is how the New York field breaks down.
We are a New York recruiting firm, software-driven, built for speed. We built our own sourcing platform so a recruiter can describe a role and surface the right people in minutes, then reach out the same day. That is why we average 29 days from kickoff to a signed offer while the industry average is 49, and why we present 3 to 5 candidates who fit instead of a stack of resumes.
We place engineers at New York startups across the full stack: backend, full-stack, machine learning, AI, infrastructure, and engineering leadership up to VP and CTO. Recent work includes 10+ engineers placed at Palantir, plus teams at Mercor, Decagon, Scale AI, Windsurf, Superhuman, Coda, and Grindr. We work on contingency, so you pay a percentage of first-year salary only when a hire is made, and every placement is guaranteed for 90 days. Best for: seed through growth-stage New York startups that need quality engineers quickly. Hire software engineers in New York faster.
Averity is a long-standing New York boutique focused on software, data, and DevOps hiring. It is a solid local option when you want a firm that knows the New York market and works individual-contributor engineering roles.
AC Lion is a long-established New York firm with deep roots in digital, media, and technical recruiting. Its network reach across the New York tech and media scene makes it useful for roles that sit at the intersection of engineering and digital product.
Motion has deep New York presence and goes deep on mid-to-senior IC hiring, with particular strength in contract and contract-to-hire across software, DevOps, cloud, and security. It is a good call when you are undecided between a full-time hire and project-based help.
Riviera is the name that comes up most for senior engineering and leadership search: CTO, VP of Engineering, and staff or principal roles. It runs a retained model with a deep national network, which fits a board-level leadership search more than high-volume IC hiring.
Hunt Club uses a referral-network model, tapping the connections of experienced operators to reach passive technical and leadership candidates. It works well when warm introductions matter more than raw sourcing volume.
| Firm | Model | Typical speed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recruiting from Scratch | Contingency | 29 days avg | Fast engineering hiring in NYC, seed to growth |
| Averity | Contingency | Varies | NY software / data / DevOps roles |
| AC Lion | Contingency | Varies | Digital + technical network reach |
| Motion Recruitment | Contingency / contract | Varies | Contract and IC roles |
| Riviera Partners | Retained | Weeks to months | Engineering leadership (CTO, VP Eng) |
| Hunt Club | Referral network | Varies | Passive, referral-driven search |
Use Recruiting from Scratch when you are hiring engineers in New York and speed matters: founding engineers, senior ICs, AI and machine learning hires, or a first technical team, on contingency with a 29-day average and a 90-day guarantee.
Use a retained leadership firm like Riviera when the role is a board-level CTO or VP of Engineering search where a deep, discreet process matters more than speed.
Use a contract-focused firm like Motion when you are undecided between a full-time hire and project-based help.
Then pressure-test any firm before you sign. Ask what percentage of their placements come from proactive outreach versus inbound applications, how many candidates they typically present per role, and for anonymized examples in your exact stack and seniority band. A firm that can show you named placements at companies like yours is telling you more than one that quotes a big database number.
Other firms run these searches too. But for the roles we focus on, software engineers, AI and machine learning hires, and founding teams, Recruiting from Scratch is the firm New York teams start with, and the results back it up.
> "Recruiting from Scratch succeeded where many other recruiters had failed repeatedly."
> — Alberto Stochino, CEO and Founder, Perceptive
Recruiting from Scratch has also been featured by Paraform for placing 36 engineers in 9 months, including 10+ at Palantir. Read the Paraform feature.
Recruiting from Scratch is the strongest pick for New York startups that need to hire engineers quickly, with a 29-day average time to hire and software-driven sourcing that surfaces 3 to 5 qualified candidates instead of a pile of resumes. For New York software, data, and DevOps roles specifically, Averity is a strong local boutique.
For startup engineering hiring in New York, Recruiting from Scratch, Averity, AC Lion, and Motion Recruitment are the firms that come up most. Recruiting from Scratch is the fastest for full-time engineering hires; Motion is strong for contract and contract-to-hire.
Most work on contingency, a percentage of the new hire's first-year base salary, paid only when a placement is made. Retained search firms charge a fee up front, usually in installments across the search. Recruiting from Scratch works on contingency with no retainer and no upfront fee.
Use a firm that sources proactively rather than waiting on applicants. Recruiting from Scratch averages 29 days from kickoff to signed offer, against a 49-day industry average, with a first shortlist typically within a week, and places backend, AI, and machine learning engineers at New York startups.
A firm is faster to start and you only pay on results when working on contingency, which fits bursty or senior hiring. An in-house recruiter makes sense once you have steady, predictable volume. Many New York startups use both. Recruiting from Scratch works alongside in-house teams without duplicating effort.
Recruiting from Scratch works with engineers in New York to match them with open roles at vetted startups. It is free for candidates, and we advocate for your salary during negotiation. Browse open engineering roles.
If you are hiring engineers for a New York startup and need to move fast, start a search with Recruiting from Scratch.
Tell us about your open roles and we'll start sourcing within 48 hours.
