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Consortia
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Engineering

Engineering Executive Search

Retained executive search for engineering leaders, working across the US, UK, EU and UAE.

Trusted by tech teams from start-ups to globally recognised brands

  • eBay
  • Ocado
  • Sainsbury's
  • Bose
  • LexisNexis
  • Entain
  • babylon
  • Paymentsense
  • FNZ
  • Auto1
  • Synthace
  • PokerStars
  • eConsult
  • Lloyds Pharmacy
Five-star review
“Every candidate they sourced was an exact match, which saved us real time. More of a trusted partner now than a recruiter.”

Mark T. · Director of Engineering, HR-tech platform

5.0 on Google from 200+ reviews

Overview

Senior engineering hires often come at a turning point: a platform that needs rebuilding, a team that has grown faster than its processes, or a founder handing over technical leadership. Consortia runs retained executive search for those hires: Chief Technology Officers, VPs and Heads of Engineering, Engineering Directors, and senior individual contributors like principal and staff engineers.

Engineering leadership takes more than coding ability. It takes the experience to guide teams, set technical direction and balance delivery against long-term system health, and we assess for exactly that. Many of the strongest leaders first worked with us earlier in their careers and now hire through us, which gives us access to people who rarely apply through adverts. Our Executive Search page explains how our retained process works.

How we recruit engineering leaders

Senior individual contributors, principal and staff engineers, are now common hires in scaling organisations alongside engineering leaders. Experienced leaders tend to move through networks rather than public applications, and larger leadership roles are rarely advertised at all. We track hiring activity and salary expectations so roles are positioned to land. We work across the UK, Europe, the US and the UAE.

Customer Stories

How we've helped

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Packages

How engineering leadership packages are put together

For many senior engineering leaders, equity decides whether a move is worth making. Base salary is only part of the conversation, and often the smaller part. A table of salaries would leave out what matters most.

What shapes the package

  • Equity. The type, the vesting terms and the company's stage all change what an offer is worth.
  • The role itself. CTO, VP Engineering and CISO are paid differently, and the split between them varies by business.
  • Scale. The size of the team and the systems the person is responsible for both count.
  • Specialism. Security, AI and regulated-sector experience narrow the candidate pool.
  • What the person leaves behind. Unvested equity, a pending bonus and notice period all affect what it takes to move someone.
  • Location. Searches for these roles often cross borders, and pay expectations differ by country.

A benchmark for your role

Before a search begins, we benchmark the package against the current market for that specific role. You'll know where your offer sits and who it is likely to attract.

Speak To A Consultant In Confidence

Already have a written brief? Send it to us.

Senior engineering leader considering a move? Talk to us in confidence.

Live jobs

Live Engineering jobs

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Related roles

Other roles our Engineering recruiters fill

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Should we hire a CTO or a VP of Engineering?

A CTO usually owns technical direction: architecture, technology choices and how technology supports the business. A VP of Engineering usually owns delivery and the engineering organisation: teams, process, hiring and performance. Smaller companies often combine both in one person. As a business grows, splitting the roles is common.

When does a retained search make sense for an engineer rather than a leader?

Usually when the hire will shape a small team, or the skills are very rare. A founding engineer at an early-stage company is a good example, as their early decisions stay with the product for years. So is a principal engineer or security specialist whose experience only a handful of people share. Retained search costs more, so for most engineering hires an exclusive search is the better fit. We will help you decide which suits the role.

What will a senior engineering candidate want to know about our technology?

Quite a lot, and usually early. Strong candidates will ask about the state of the codebase, technical debt, security, the team and how decisions get made. Some will want to speak to engineers or look at the architecture before accepting. Being open about the problems tends to attract leaders who want to fix them.

How do you assess engineering leaders beyond technical ability?

We look at how they have led through real situations: a delivery that was slipping, a team that needed restructuring, or a trade-off between new features and system health. We ask what they changed, what it cost and what they would do differently. The strongest leaders talk about people and outcomes as readily as technology.

Should our CTO still be hands-on?

In an early-stage business, usually yes. A CTO with a small team may still write code and make most technical decisions directly. At scale, the job shifts towards setting direction, building leaders and working with the rest of the executive team. The right answer depends on your stage, and it is worth being clear about it in the brief.

How do I start working with Consortia?

Clients can get in touch to discuss a brief, and candidates are welcome to register their interest. The quickest route is our contact page or a call to +44 203 397 4565, and one of our consultants will pick things up from there.

For clients

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