Most CTOs are not trying to “fill a role.”
They are trying to protect delivery, reduce drag, and avoid making an expensive mistake under pressure.
We help NZ tech teams get clear on the real shape of the role first, then headhunt the person who can do the work in real life, not just on paper.
No pressure. No fluff. Just a sharper read on where the hire can get expensive.
Rare engineering hire in a tight NZ market
Contract integration role filled in 4 days
ERP BA hire grew into AI Lead with $200k backing
The expensive part of hiring is usually not the fee.
It is the delay. The shortlist that never felt right. The interviews that should never have happened. The senior people dragged into cleanup. The role that sounded clear until the work started.
That is why we do not start with CVs. We start with what will make the hire fail.
Different roles need different search models. The better question is not which label sounds right. It is what kind of business risk you are trying to reduce.
Best for roles where the upside compounds over time and the cost of getting fit wrong gets heavier every month.
Best for leadership and company-shaping hires where a miss costs velocity, trust, and alignment.
Best for urgent delivery gaps, release pressure, and situations where the team needs capability quickly without lowering signal.
This is not about adding nice extras. It is about reducing the chance that the hire gets expensive before anyone realises why.
We pressure-test the role first so the shortlist is built on the real job, not a vague title.
Salary, signal, candidate expectations, and likely friction get surfaced before the process drifts.
30, 60, and 90-day follow-through so good hires do not fail because the runway was weak.
If the hire does not stick, we help you recover fast instead of leaving you to restart cold.
The shortlist looks fine, but nobody believes it.
The role sounds clear, but it is really two jobs.
The process is moving, but confidence is not.
The release is behind and the hire cannot afford to be a near miss.
The business wants speed, but nobody has agreed what “good” actually looks like.
This company needed a Senior Signal Processing Engineer.
Not a common skill set in New Zealand. Not an easy market. And not a role where they could afford to get halfway through the process and realise the fit was wrong.
This was during COVID. The person needed to relocate from Wellington to Auckland. And the role was not just technical. It also needed someone who could step up into lead-level responsibility.
This was pure headhunting. A narrow search for a rare person, in a tight market, for a role the business actually had to get right.
“Jess helped us solve for a rare skill set in a very tight market. This wasn’t a standard search. It needed real headhunting.”
Carl, CTO
In 15 minutes, we can usually tell whether the real problem is the brief, the process, or the profile.
No prep needed. No pressure. No hard sell. Just a sharper read before the mistake gets expensive.
For CTOs, founders, and hiring leaders who need the hire to work in real life, not just on paper.