01
Curated, not scraped
Every leader comes from relationships we’ve built over years. We don’t scrape LinkedIn or resell a database — we introduce people we’d stake our name on.
Executive search — CTO & technical leadership
One hire holds the
whole company up.
We help founders and boards find the technical leader their company is built on — vetted for the architecture, the team, and the stage you’re actually in.
Trusted by founders and boards at
NorthwindCadenceHalyardMeridianQuorumVerano
§ 01 — The approach
02
Vetted for scale
We assess the things that actually break a company: architecture judgment, hiring and org design, and executive maturity under real pressure.
03
A lasting match
We interview every leader for how they work, what drives them, and the stage they thrive in. The difference between a hire and a fit.
A CTO who can take a company from zero to Series C is rare.
Like 1 in 1,000 rare.
§ 02 — Scope of the mandate
What your next leader will own
§ 03 — Roles we place
Hire the right leader for your stage
Chief Technology Officer
The technical co-founder-shaped hire for founders scaling past themselves.
VP of Engineering
Execution and org leadership for teams that need to ship reliably at scale.
Founding Engineer
The first senior builder who sets the bar for everyone who follows.
Head of Platform
Infrastructure, reliability, and the systems the rest of the company runs on.
Head of AI / ML
Applied research and production ML leadership for AI-native products.
Fractional / Interim CTO
Senior technical leadership part-time, or in the gap between hires.
“We had our CTO signed within six weeks. They understood our stage, our stack, and the kind of leader who’d thrive with our team — and brought us exactly that person. Easily the best search partner we’ve worked with.”
Sample reference — CEO & Co-founder, [Company]
§ 04 — How it works
Start the search
- 01
Align on the role, the stage, and the team you’re building.
- 02
Receive a short-list of vetted technical leaders.
- 03
Run your interviews and make the hire.
Permanent placement
Add a CTO or engineering leader to your team for the long run.
Fractional & interim
Senior technical leadership, part-time or between full-time hires.
Advisory & diligence
Architecture reviews, technical due diligence, and board support.
Ready when you are.
Book a 30-minute call — we’ll tell you honestly whether we can help.
§ 05 — The firm
The search firm built only for technical leadership.
Connecting founders to the leaders who build alongside them.
CTO Search was founded by operators who’ve hired, been, and reported to technical leaders. We know the difference the right one makes — because we’ve felt the cost of the wrong one. So we do one thing, and we do it deeply: place the person your company is built on.
§ 06 — For candidates
Are you a 1 in 1,000?
Join a private network of proven technical leaders and hear only about the roles worth your time. No spam, no scraping — just the right conversation at the right moment.
Join the network§ 07 — Questions
Good questions
Where are your candidates based?
Across the US and Europe, with concentrations in the major startup hubs. Remote, hybrid, and on-site searches are all welcome.
How do you charge?
Permanent placements are a percentage of the first year’s base salary. Fractional and advisory engagements run on a monthly retainer.
Do you offer a guarantee?
Yes. Permanent placements carry a 90-day replacement guarantee — if it isn’t working, we run the search again.
Can you work alongside our internal recruiting team?
Absolutely. We partner with in-house talent teams, share our process, and hand off cleanly.
How fast is a typical search?
Most founders see a short-list within two weeks and a signed offer within six to eight.
What stages do you work with?
Pre-seed through growth. We match the leader to where you are now, not where you were.