Home·Specialisms·Software Engineering

02 / Discipline - Specialist Search

Software Engineering

Backend, frontend and full-stack engineers - and the staff and principal engineers who set the technical bar.

What We Place

The roles we run, by level.

  • Senior Backend & Full-Stack Engineers
  • Staff & Principal Engineers
  • Engineering Managers & Tech Leads
  • Founding Engineers for early-stage scaleups
  • Specialist hires: payments, real-time systems, distributed
  • Stack: Go, Python, TypeScript, Rust, React, Elixir

Where The Talent Sits

The pools we actually source from.

  • Late-stage scale-ups across Sydney and Melbourne
  • Founding-engineer alumni from successful exits
  • Big-tech ANZ practices (Atlassian, Canva, AWS, Google)
  • Cross-border senior engineers returning from US/UK roles
  • Specialist communities: payments, BNPL, regulated platforms

Geographies

Sydney and Melbourne primary. Remote-Australia common at senior. Brisbane, Perth and offshore considered for specialist roles.

Comp Bands (2026)

Senior IC: $190k - $300k base. Staff/Principal: $260k - $420k base. Engineering Managers: $230k - $380k base + bonus + equity.

Median Brief - Signed

21 days. 90% of mandates close from the first shortlist.

How We Run The Search

Four steps. Twenty-one days.

01

Brief

90 minute working session. Scorecard signed off before any outreach.

02

Search

Direct outreach across APAC, EMEA and US. 200-400 named engineers per mandate.

03

Shortlist

3-5 calibrated candidates, each with a one-page technical memo.

04

Close

Pre-closed comp, counter-offer coaching, replacement guarantee.

Recent Software Searches

Indicative of where we run.

Indicative samples drawn from recent and active mandates. Specific clients available under NDA on request.

Further reading

Related insights.

Market Signals

Where Staff Engineers Are Actually Located in 2026

Market Signals

SEEK vs LinkedIn Job Volume Trends in Engineering

Founder Notes

The Shift from Growth-at-All-Costs to Efficient Teams

Submit a brief

Run a structured Software search.

30 minute working session. No fee until placement. Replacement inside 90 days.

Submit a brief Back to all specialisms