Engineering Leadership Search
Retained search for VP and Head of Software Engineering hires.
A VP of software engineering executive search is a different engagement from filling an engineer seat. The market is small, the candidates are not applying anywhere, and a mis-hire costs a year of technical direction rather than a quarter of output. Human in the Loop Talent runs retained searches for VP of Engineering, Head of Software Engineering, CTO, and first engineering manager roles at startups across the US and Canada. Every shortlist is assessed by someone currently leading an engineering organisation, so the question of whether a candidate has genuinely run a team at your stage is answered before your first interview, not discovered after the offer.
Hiring companies pay the fee. Exclusive search from 17% · Retained search at 20%.
Roles and Teams
What We Know
Fifteen-plus years working with startup founders and HR professionals informs how we define, assess, and close technical talent.
A headhunter reading titles cannot tell a leader who built a team from one who inherited it. Candidates on our shortlist are assessed by a practitioner currently running an engineering org, who reads the history for scope that was genuinely owned, teams that were genuinely built, and decisions that were genuinely theirs.
Most failed engineering leadership hires were the wrong level, not the wrong person. We settle whether the constraint needs a hands-on head of engineering, a VP who builds managers, or a CTO who owns technical strategy before any outreach starts.
The people who can run engineering at a Series A or B company are employed, well paid, and not reading job boards. A retained search funds the sustained, direct approach that reaches them, and commits both sides to finishing.
A director from a two-thousand-person company has run a team with recruiters, platform groups, and budget. A Series A company has none of that. We test for range across ambiguity, willingness to still write and review code, and a record of building from small.
Leadership candidates weigh equity, reporting line, decision rights, and the founder relationship as much as base pay. We calibrate all of it against the market and manage the offer through to a signed acceptance.
Seed
Protect runway. Hire a hands-on builder with enough range to create the function, not merely occupy it.
Series A
Add repeatability without unnecessary layers. Prioritize people who build systems while continuing to execute.
Series B
Hire for scale and durable ownership. Decide whether leadership depth or a senior IC removes the constraint faster.
Avoidable Hiring Errors
Frequently Asked
In practice the terms overlap. A headhunter usually works contingency and is paid only on placement, which rewards speed over depth. An executive search firm works on a retained basis for senior roles, is paid to run the full search, and is accountable for finishing it. For VP and head of software engineering roles we work retained, because the market is small and the candidates have to be approached directly and repeatedly.
Our retained searches for leadership and other high-consequence hires use a 20% engagement, calculated on first-year base compensation and paid by the hiring company. Exclusive searches for individual contributor roles begin at 17%. Candidates are never charged.
Startups are the focus. Our retained searches are built for Seed through Series B companies making their first or second engineering leadership hire, where the role is still being defined and the cost of a mis-hire is measured in runway.
It depends on what has to change. A head of engineering at seed or Series A usually still ships code and manages a single team directly. A VP of Engineering is hired when the company needs someone to build a management layer, own delivery across several teams, and represent engineering to the board. We settle this with you before the search opens, because the two are different candidate pools.
Most retained searches for VP and head of engineering roles run eight to fourteen weeks from kickoff to signed offer. The variable is rarely sourcing. It is how quickly the company can decide, and whether the level and scope were settled before the search began.
Start with the free planner or speak with us about a technical search. We work for the hiring company across the US and Canada.