We go beyond filling vacancies. We’re in it for the long haul.
Integrators, machine builders and manufacturers come to us for the controls roles they can’t fill on their own. You get a specialist who knows the platforms, candid feedback on the brief and an update every week until the role is filled.
Four ways to hire. One relationship.
No two companies hire the same way, so you choose the model that fits each role: the budget, the urgency and how critical it is. Most clients end up using more than one.
01
Retained search
For leadership hires and the roles where getting it wrong is expensive.
Agreed before we startThe spec describes the job you need doing, the budget is set, interview slots are on the calendar and one person can say yes.
A detailed market map and salary guideWho could do the job, where they sit and what they’re paid, with a weekly calibration meeting while the search runs.
A third at the start, two thirds on acceptanceAgreed in writing up front, with a much higher commitment to fill from us.
Every retained search we’ve taken on has been filled.
02
Contingency
For single hires where you want a specialist on the role with nothing to pay up front.
The brief from the hiring managerWe talk to the person the engineer will work for, so we know what the job needs beyond the job description.
HeadhuntingMost of the engineers we place weren’t applying for jobs. Software does the research so our time goes on conversations with them.
No fee until someone acceptsYou pay when a candidate accepts your offer.
When hiring managers work the role with us, we fill 94% of them.
03
Embedded hiring
For a new site, a new region or a team build with a deadline on it.
A dedicated project teamA dedicated team working only on your hiring, alongside your own people and processes.
Bespoke timelinesWeekly alignment meetings and timelines built around your program, so you always know where every hire stands.
Flexible pricingPricing scoped to the program so you know the cost before we start.
Jon led an embedded program that placed 12 niche engineers across DeltaV, project management and process engineering in five months.
04
Contract staffing
Engineers on site for the length of your project, from a few weeks to several years.
W2 or 1099We handle onboarding, timesheets and invoicing.
Teams at short noticeSeveral engineers with niche platform skills, on site for the same start date.
Fast when it countsOur quickest placements go from briefing to accepted contract in two hours.
There aren’t enough engineers. Everyone is hiring the same ones.
Nearly half of the automation professionals surveyed by Automation World in 2025 were 55 or over, and a quarter were past 60. Fewer are coming through behind them, and the ones that are get offers from data centers, end users and the integrator across the street before they’ve finished their first project.
Age figures from the Automation World 2025 Salary and Career Survey.
From our desk, 2026
What happens after the first call
01
Vacancy consultation
The team, the stack, the projects coming and why the role is open. If the spec or the salary won’t land, you hear it here, before the search starts.
02
Market map
Who’s out there, where they sit, what they’re paid and who’s likely to move. We typically review 150 or more profiles for a search.
03
Approach
Direct and discreet headhunting, usually 50 or more conversations. The role is sold for what it is, so the people who say yes mean it.
04
Screen
Every candidate is interviewed by us first, around 30 on a typical search. Resumes that read exactly like your job ad don’t get past this point.
05
Shortlist
Three to five people who fit on skills, travel, money and culture, with full briefing notes. We send 1.2 resumes for every first interview.
06
Offer and after
Feedback both ways, help on the offer and a regular check in through the first months in the job.
The searches that fill fastest have three things in common
01
Time with the hiring manager
A conversation at the start, so we understand the role and the team
02
Feedback within a couple of days
Good engineers are in another process within two weeks of picking up the phone
03
A decision maker
Someone who can say yes without going upstairs
Proactive communication, every week
Every week you hear how your search is going and what the market around it is doing: who’s available, what they’re being paid and what’s changing. If the salary or the travel isn’t going to work, you hear it that week, so you can make the call.
Hiring now?
We’ll review and send relevant profiles in 48 hours.
