High-Touch Retained Technical Search

 I provide a high-touch Technical Search for technical leaders in hard-to-fill, high-impact roles. 

While my work reflects the rigor and discretion of executive search, my focus is not the C-suite. I partner with companies to hire the senior and elite technical talent responsible for architecture, execution, and delivery. 

Over the past 30 years, I’ve partnered with founders, executives, and high-growth organizations, primarily on complex or difficult-to-fill roles where clarity, market alignment, and execution discipline are critical. 

The model I use today evolved from that experience.

Rather than transactional recruiting, I operate through a structured two-phase talent architecture approach designed to eliminate ambiguity upfront, calibrate to real market conditions, and significantly increase hiring conversion rates. The objective is to ensure roles are clearly defined, market-aligned, and executable before time and capital are deployed into search.

Phase 1: Talent Architecture Sprint

This sprint fully scopes and calibrates the role prior to entering the market. It includes:

• Stakeholder intake and role alignment
• Market mapping and competitive intelligence
• Compensation and talent availability calibration
• Target candidate persona definition
• Identification of misalignment risk (e.g., blended or unrealistic role expectations)
• Sourcing strategy architecture (Boolean + semantic framework)
• Interview process recommendations aligned to candidate psychology

The outcome is a clear, market-grounded hiring blueprint that reduces delayed searches, mis-scoped roles, and unnecessary capital deployment. It ensures that when search activation begins, it does so with clarity, alignment, and measurable direction.

Because the value of this work lies not only in the document itself but in the interpretation and strategic calibration behind it, I typically walk clients through a redacted example live rather than sending a full working file. I’d be glad to schedule time to review a prior Sprint so you can see how it functions in practice.

Phase 2: Retained Search Activation & Executive-Level Candidate Conversion

Once architecture is aligned, Phase 2 activates targeted outreach and white-glove execution. At this stage, I operate as an embedded strategic advisor to the hiring leadership team, guiding both candidate engagement and internal execution. This includes:

• Direct candidate sourcing and engagement
• Pre-qualification and alignment calibration
• Candidate positioning and narrative development
• Interview structure advisory and executive coaching
• Process shadowing and candidate experience management
• Offer-stage advisory support

This phase is designed to deliver interview-ready, highly aligned candidates while supporting leadership in running a disciplined, high-conversion hiring process.

Who This Is For

I work with founders, executives, and senior technical leaders hiring for roles that are:

• Technically complex and business-critical

• High-visibility or difficult to fill

• Too important for volume or transactional recruiting 

Roles I Support

• Senior Staff & Principal Engineer 

• Distinguished / Lead Engineers 

• Engineering Managers

• Directors of Engineering

• Specialized technical leaders in critical domains

How This Differs From Executive Search

This is not leadership or C-suite search.
It is focused, white-glove technical search, designed for roles where misalignment is costly and signal matters more than scale.

How I Work

• High-touch, low-noise engagement

• Deep technical calibration

• Targeted sourcing and thoughtful candidate experience

• Direct, partner-level involvement throughout

I take on a limited number of searches to ensure focus and outcomes.

When This Makes Sense

This approach is best suited for roles that:

• Shape product, systems, or strategy

• Sit at the intersection of technical depth and business impact

• Require precision, discretion, and trust

If the hire can’t be wrong, this model fits.