Permanent hires you're confident in, without the six-month search.
Traditional recruiters optimise for placement fees, not for fit. They'll send you twelve CVs of which two are relevant, because volume creates the illusion of effort. We take on a small number of permanent hiring briefs at a time, go deep on each one, and deliver a shortlist of three to five people we'd genuinely hire ourselves. Every candidate has been technically screened, not just CV-filtered.
Origin Softwares provides permanent technical recruiting for companies that want a shortlist of genuinely qualified engineers, not a volume CV dump to filter through. We take on a small number of briefs at a time, conduct live technical screening by engineers in the relevant stack, and deliver three to five candidates we would hire ourselves. Clients choose us because our process produces shortlists where 90 percent of candidates pass client interviews — compared to industry averages closer to 20 to 30 percent.
How does technical recruiting work and what makes it different from general recruitment?
Technical recruiting specialises in identifying and assessing candidates for software engineering and technology roles, where a non-technical recruiter cannot meaningfully evaluate the quality of a candidate's skills. Origin Softwares runs live technical screening by working engineers — a coding or architecture conversation appropriate to the role's seniority — before any candidate is presented to the client. This filters out candidates who can write a strong CV but cannot perform the actual work. The result is a shortlist of three to five candidates who have passed both technical and cultural screening, rather than a long list of CVs for the client to assess from scratch.
The problems this solves
- The hiring pipeline is full of candidates who pass keyword screening but fail basic technical assessment, wasting engineering time on interviews
- Open roles are taking three to five months to fill because the volume of unqualified applications is overwhelming the internal process
- Previous agency placements have not lasted — hires who looked good in the process left within six months or did not meet performance expectations
- The engineering team does not know how to run structured technical interviews that produce consistent, defensible decisions
- The company is trying to hire senior or specialist engineers where the candidate pool is genuinely small and standard job boards are ineffective
- Internal HR is optimised for process efficiency, not technical quality — the hiring process produces candidates who interview well but do not code well
Business outcomes
- Engineering manager interview time reduced from reviewing 15 to 20 CVs to evaluating three to five pre-screened candidates
- Time to filled role reduced from four to six months to eight weeks on average, protecting delivery timelines that depend on the hire
- 90-day replacement guarantee eliminates the cost of a mis-hire in the critical early period
- Structured interview process design improves hiring decisions across all future roles, not just the current brief
- Higher offer acceptance rates because candidates are coached and genuinely interested in the role before interviews begin
- Long-term retention improves because candidates are matched on team culture and work style, not just technical skills
Who is this for?
Engineering managers hiring senior roles
Technical leaders who need to fill staff-level or principal engineer roles where the candidate pool is small and the cost of a mis-hire is high.
Startups making their first engineering hires
Founders who lack the engineering background to assess technical candidates and need a rigorous screening process they can rely on.
Scale-ups building specialist teams
Companies building out specialist capabilities — AI engineering, security, data infrastructure — where generalist recruiters have no relevant network or screening capability.
CTOs with a broken interview process
Technical leaders who know their current hiring process is not producing consistent, high-quality decisions and want it rebuilt alongside the current search.
Companies in India and GCC markets
Organisations hiring in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Dubai, and other markets where Origin Softwares has an active engineering network and direct referrals.
PE-backed companies post-acquisition
Businesses that need to rapidly upgrade their engineering team quality after an acquisition and want a partner who can assess candidates against high standards.
When Technical Recruiting may not be the right fit
We'd rather tell you upfront than waste your time and budget.
- If you need a large volume of hires quickly — our model is optimised for quality over volume, and we are not the right partner for bulk hiring campaigns of ten or more roles simultaneously
- If you are hiring for roles we do not have network depth in — we will tell you upfront if your role is outside our coverage area rather than take a brief we cannot fill well
- If speed is the absolute priority over quality and you would accept a lower screening bar to fill faster — our process is thorough and takes eight weeks on average
- If you have a strong internal recruiting team that mainly needs sourcing support rather than end-to-end screening — a sourcing-only arrangement may be more cost-effective
What's included
- Deep brief session to understand role, team, and culture — not just the job description
- Live technical screening by engineers in the relevant stack
- Shortlist of 3–5 pre-screened candidates (not 20 raw CVs)
- Candidate coaching on your company and role for better interviews
- Interview process design and structured evaluation framework
- Offer negotiation support on both sides
- 90-day guarantee: replacement at no additional cost if hire leaves
- Permanent hire conversion support for existing contractors
How we deliver
Brief & Calibration
A detailed brief session to understand the role, the team, the codebase, and what the last bad hire got wrong — so we know exactly what we are looking for.
- Role brief call covering stack, seniority, team dynamics, and culture
- Discussion of past hires — what worked and what did not
- Ideal candidate profile document agreed in writing
- Timeline, process, and communication cadence confirmed
Search & Screening
Targeted sourcing and live technical screening by an engineer in the relevant stack, resulting in a shortlist of three to five pre-vetted candidates.
- Targeted outreach to network and direct sourcing
- Initial conversation to assess interest and basic fit
- Live technical interview by an engineer in the relevant stack
- Reference verification with recent professional contacts
Shortlist Delivery
A shortlist of three to five candidates delivered with written summaries, followed by a review call to discuss each one.
- Written technical screening summary for each candidate
- Shortlist review call with client
- Structured interview guide shared with client
- Candidate briefed on company and role before client interviews
Client Interviews & Decision
Client interviews proceed with our evaluation framework available; we debrief and support the offer.
- Client runs interviews with our structured evaluation framework available
- Post-interview debrief with Origin Softwares to assess outcomes
- Offer extended with our negotiation support on both sides
- Accepted offer confirmed and start date agreed
Onboarding & Follow-Up
We check in at 30 and 90 days after the hire starts to confirm integration is working.
- 30-day check-in with client to confirm hire is settling in well
- 90-day formal check-in with structured questions to both client and hire
- Replacement process triggered if hire has left or is not working out
- Engagement review and lessons captured for future briefs
How long does it take to fill a technical role through this process, and what does it involve?
Origin Softwares typically delivers a shortlist within two to three weeks of a detailed role brief, and the average time from brief to accepted offer is eight weeks. The process begins with a brief session to understand the role, the team, and what failure looks like as well as success. We then run a targeted search and screen candidates through a live technical interview. The shortlist — three to five candidates with written summaries — is delivered to the client. Client interviews follow, supported by our structured interview framework if wanted. We support the offer negotiation on both sides and conduct a 90-day check-in after the hire starts.
Technologies we use
- Technical Interviews
- System Design Assessments
- Code Review
- Take-Home Projects
- Reference Checks
Architecture & scalability
- Define the interview process before the search begins — agreeing on stages, format, and decision criteria upfront prevents inconsistent evaluation and avoidable candidate drop-off
- Calibrate seniority honestly — many briefs ask for senior engineers but describe a mid-level scope, which either produces overqualified candidates who leave quickly or missed expectations after hiring
- Consider the team dynamics the new hire will join — a strong individual contributor who cannot give or receive feedback will damage a collaborative team regardless of their technical ability
- Plan the onboarding before the hire starts — engineers who lack clear first-week expectations underperform and disengage faster, increasing early attrition
- Compensation benchmarking should happen before the search, not during offer negotiation — discovering that your budget is below market after finding a great candidate is an avoidable problem
- For senior roles, plan for a 90-day settling-in period before expecting full contribution — unrealistic expectations in the first quarter are one of the most common causes of early departures
Origin Softwares Technical Recruiting vs Alternatives
| Criterion | Origin Softwares | Volume Recruiter | Internal Recruiting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical screening depth | Live technical interview by engineers | CV keyword filter + phone screen | Varies — depends on team |
| Shortlist size | 3–5 pre-screened candidates | 10–20 CVs | Varies |
| Time to shortlist | 2–3 weeks | 1–2 weeks | 3–6 months pipeline |
| Guarantee | 90-day replacement guarantee | 30 days or none | N/A — direct employee |
Why choose Origin Softwares
Our approach
- Every candidate is technically screened by a working engineer in the relevant stack before they are presented to the client
- We take on five to eight briefs at a time — not 30 — so each gets genuine attention and deep sourcing
- 90 percent of shortlisted candidates pass client technical interviews — the industry average is 20 to 30 percent
- 90-day replacement guarantee on all permanent placements with no additional cost
- Interview process design service available — we redesign your hiring loop as part of the brief
- We tell clients honestly if we cannot fill their role well, rather than taking a brief we cannot deliver on
Delivery standards
- Live technical interview appropriate to role seniority — coding for mid-level, architecture discussion for senior, leadership assessment for staff and above
- Reference verification with at least two recent professional contacts
- Cultural and work style assessment during screening to surface potential team friction early
- Candidate briefing on the company and role before client interviews so the conversation starts at the right level
- Written technical screening summary for each shortlisted candidate explaining what was assessed and what the conclusion was
- Minimum four years of relevant experience required for mid-level placements; six or more for senior
Quality assurance
- Brief validation call to confirm that what is written in the job description reflects what the team actually needs
- Shortlist review call where we walk through each candidate and explain why they were included and any concerns
- Post-interview debrief with client to understand evaluation outcome and adjust search criteria if needed
- Offer negotiation support on both sides to prevent avoidable offer rejections
- 90-day check-in after hire starts to confirm integration is going well
- Post-engagement review to capture learnings for future briefs
Security practices
- All candidate personal data handled in compliance with applicable data protection requirements
- Candidate information shared only with the client considering them, not with other clients
- Reference check conversations conducted with candidate consent and limited to relevant professional matters
- NDA available for clients where candidate shortlist information is commercially sensitive
Performance
- Shortlist quality tracked — percentage of shortlisted candidates who pass client technical interview
- Time-to-fill tracked per brief to identify if search strategy needs adjustment early
- 90-day hire retention tracked as primary quality metric for placement success
- Client satisfaction survey at engagement close and at 90-day post-hire check-in
What you receive
- Role brief document confirming agreed requirements, seniority calibration, and process
- Shortlist of three to five candidates with technical screening summaries
- Structured interview guide and evaluation framework for client interview process
- Offer letter and compensation benchmarking support
- 90-day check-in report after hire starts
- Interview process redesign document if requested
Support tiers
- Standard: full search, screening, shortlist, and offer support with 90-day guarantee
- Interview design: includes full redesign of client's technical interview loop alongside the hiring brief
- Retained search: for senior or hard-to-fill roles, a retained arrangement with dedicated search capacity and weekly progress reporting
Why Origin for Technical Recruiting
Technical screening by engineers, not recruiters
Every candidate is screened by a working engineer in the relevant stack — live coding, architecture discussion, or code review depending on the seniority. Not a checkbox assessment: an actual technical conversation.
Shortlists, not CV dumps
We send you 3–5 candidates we'd hire ourselves — not 15 CVs to filter through. If we can't find people we're confident in, we tell you rather than padding the list with borderline candidates.
We understand what 'good' looks like for your specific role
The brief session isn't a form fill. We want to understand your codebase, your team dynamics, what your last bad hire got wrong, and what your best engineer has in common with the person you need.
Industries we serve
Typical delivery timeline
| Phase | Duration | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Brief & Calibration | Days 1–3 | Role brief call, ideal candidate profile agreed, search begins. |
| Sourcing & Screening | Weeks 1–3 | Targeted sourcing, technical screening, and reference checks on candidate pool. |
| Shortlist Delivery | Week 3 | Three to five pre-screened candidates delivered with written summaries. |
| Client Interviews | Weeks 4–6 | Client runs interviews; debrief and adjustments if needed. |
| Offer & Acceptance | Week 6–8 | Offer negotiated and accepted; start date confirmed. |
| Post-Hire Follow-Up | Days 30 and 90 | Check-ins confirm integration is working; replacement triggered if needed. |
Before you start — a checklist
Use this to prepare for your first conversation with us.
- You are hiring for a senior or specialist role where the candidate pool is small and keyword-based screening will not find the right people
- Your current hiring process is producing low interview-to-offer conversion rates or high early attrition, suggesting a screening quality problem
- You are open to a shortlist of three to five pre-screened candidates rather than a large volume of CVs to filter
- You want technical screening conducted by engineers rather than by recruiters with a checklist
- You value a 90-day guarantee that reflects genuine confidence in the placement quality
- You are willing to spend three to five weeks on a thorough process in exchange for a significantly higher-quality hire
Maintenance & support
- 90-day check-in after hire starts with structured questions to both client and engineer
- Replacement process available within 90 days at no additional cost if the hire leaves or is not working out
- Interview process redesign available as a follow-on engagement if client wants to improve their own hiring capability
- Future briefs benefit from accumulated understanding of client culture, team dynamics, and what good looks like for their context
- Referral network maintained — if a placed hire refers strong candidates in future, we prioritise those for the client's next brief
“We'd been searching for a staff-level backend engineer for four months with two other recruiters. Origin sent us four candidates in three weeks. We hired one, and she's been exactly what we needed. The difference was that every CV they sent us was genuinely qualified.”
Frequently asked questions
Planning & scope
- How many roles can you work on for us at the same time?
- We take on a maximum of two to three briefs per client at a time, and five to eight briefs in total across all clients. This is deliberate — it means each brief gets real attention and a thorough search rather than being one of thirty roles in a queue. If you have more roles than that, we will agree a priority order and sequence them rather than running all simultaneously at lower quality.
- What if you cannot fill the role?
- We will tell you within two to three weeks if we are not finding suitable candidates — rather than running a search for two months and then informing you it has not worked. If we hit a wall, we will explain why: whether the compensation is below market, the role requirements are contradictory, or the candidate pool is genuinely small. We will recommend an adjusted approach rather than simply reporting failure.
- Can you help with a role that is not purely engineering?
- We focus on technical roles: software engineers, architects, DevOps, QA, data, and ML. We can also place technical product managers and engineering managers where the role requires genuine technical depth. For non-technical roles — marketing, finance, HR — we are not the right recruiter and we will say so rather than take a brief outside our capability.
Technical
- What does the live technical screening actually look like?
- It is a 60 to 90 minute conversation with an engineer in the relevant stack. We do not use automated coding tests as the primary filter — they reward people who have memorised algorithm patterns and penalise strong engineers who approach problems practically. Instead, we have an architectural or system design conversation, ask them to walk us through something they built, and give them a realistic scenario from the type of work they would do in the role. The goal is to understand how they think, not whether they can pass a LeetCode assessment.
- How do you assess seniority?
- Through the nature of problems they have solved, the decisions they have made, and how they describe the tradeoffs they navigated. Genuine seniority is visible in how someone talks about their work — they discuss constraints, tradeoffs, what they would do differently, and what they learned. We are also explicit with clients about what 'senior' means in their specific context — it varies significantly between a ten-person startup and a five-hundred-person company.
- Can you find candidates who are not actively looking for a new job?
- Yes, and some of our best placements come from passive candidates who were not applying anywhere but were open to a specific conversation. Our network in Hyderabad and across India means we can reach engineers who trust our judgment enough to take a call about a role they would not have applied to cold. Passive sourcing takes longer than active search, but produces candidates with less urgency to move and often better fit.
Engagement & process
- What is your fee structure for permanent placements?
- Success-based: a percentage of first-year salary, paid only on placement. We do not charge retainers or upfront fees for standard briefs. For particularly hard-to-fill roles, we offer a retained arrangement with a small upfront component and the balance on placement. Our percentage is competitive because our process efficiency means we spend our time on screening quality, not on volume.
- What happens if the hire we made leaves before 90 days?
- We run a replacement search at no additional cost. The 90-day guarantee covers departure for any reason — the hire chose to leave, they were not meeting expectations, or the role changed after they started. We investigate what went wrong and adjust the brief for the replacement search to address the root cause.
- Can you help us hire someone we have already identified but want third-party screening on?
- Yes. We can screen a specific candidate you have sourced and provide a written technical assessment and recommendation. This is charged separately from a full search engagement. It is useful when you have found someone through your network and want independent verification of the technical quality before committing to a hire.
What should companies look for when choosing a technical recruiter?
The most important question is how the recruiter technically screens candidates. If the answer is 'we check their CV and do a phone screen,' they are not technically recruiting — they are keyword filtering. A genuine technical recruiter will describe the specific technical evaluation they run and be able to explain what they are looking for in a candidate for your specific role. Origin Softwares recommends asking for data on shortlist quality — what percentage of shortlisted candidates pass the client's technical interviews. Our rate is approximately 90 percent. Ask also about guarantees: what happens if the hire leaves in the first 90 days? A recruiter with genuine confidence in their screening offers a replacement guarantee.
Related services
Custom Software Development
If you need a team to build a product rather than a permanent hire, our custom development service provides end-to-end delivery.
Cloud & DevOps
We recruit permanent DevOps, cloud, and platform engineers as well as providing staff augmentation for infrastructure roles.
AI/ML Development
For permanent ML engineering, data science, and AI engineering hires, we have specialist screening capability in these disciplines.
Web Development
Frontend and full-stack web engineers are among our most frequently placed roles in permanent technical recruiting.
Mobile App Development
We recruit permanent iOS, Android, and Flutter engineers for mobile product teams.
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