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Partner-led from day one
Every brief is owned by a partner who has spent their career in that specialism. No handoff. No junior researchers. No surprises.
Founded 2010 · Technology specialist · UK-wide
Technology recruitment, built on depth.
We place senior engineers, machine learning specialists, cloud architects, and technical leaders across the UK. From scaling startups to established enterprises. No spray-and-pray. No time-wasters. Just rigorous, partner-led placements that stick.
We've placed senior technologists into companies like these
Hugging Face
Linear
Vercel
Causaly
Cleo
Wise
Monzo
Octopus Energy
Ovo
Cohere
Anthropic
Mistral
What we specialise in
Deep across technology. Nowhere else.
We recruit across frontend engineering, backend engineering, full-stack development, DevOps, QA automation, machine learning, data engineering, cloud architecture, and cybersecurity. We go deep in each. Outside technology, we don't operate — and we'll tell you who does it better.
Frontend Engineering
Technology
We place Frontend Engineers across the UK — from React and Vue specialists to senior architects. Permanent, contract and temporary roles at all levels.
Explore specialismBackend Engineering
Technology
Backend Engineers for companies across the UK — Python, Java, Go, Node.js and more. We place at all levels, permanent and contract.
Explore specialismFull Stack Development
Technology
Full Stack Developers for UK companies — frontend, backend, and everything in between. Permanent and contract roles across all seniority levels.
Explore specialismDevOps Engineering
Technology
DevOps Engineers for UK tech companies — Kubernetes, cloud infrastructure, CI/CD, and platform engineering. Permanent and contract roles.
Explore specialismQA Automation
Technology
QA Automation Engineers for UK tech companies — test frameworks, CI/CD integration, and quality strategy. Permanent and contract roles at all levels.
Explore specialismMachine Learning
Technology
Machine Learning Engineers for UK companies — model development, MLOps, and production ML. Permanent and contract roles from mid-level through to senior.
Explore specialismData Engineering
Technology
Data Engineers for UK tech companies — pipelines, warehousing, and data infrastructure. Permanent and contract roles across all seniority levels.
Explore specialismCloud Architecture
Technology
Cloud Architects for UK companies — AWS, GCP, Azure strategy and infrastructure design. Permanent and contract roles at senior and principal levels.
Explore specialismSolutions Architecture
Technology
Solutions Architects for UK tech companies — customer-focused technical strategy and system design. Permanent and contract roles at senior levels.
Explore specialismTechnical Project Management
Technology
Technical Project Managers for UK tech companies — delivery, planning, and cross-functional coordination. Permanent and contract roles at all levels.
Explore specialismCybersecurity Engineering
Technology
Cybersecurity Engineers for UK companies — threat modeling, secure systems, and security architecture. Permanent and contract roles at all levels.
Explore specialismLive briefsCurrently hiring.
View all rolesCurrently hiring.
Currently briefed.
No featured roles right now.
Fewer briefs.
Better outcomes.
Most tech recruitment firms chase volume. They take every brief, send every CV, and rely on numbers to work out. We don't. We take briefs we can win. Each one is led by a partner with real depth in that discipline. We present three to five genuinely interested candidates — not lists of twenty. Our offer-accept rate runs at 92%. The industry sits below 70%. We're not selling effort. We're selling the right hire.
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Quality over quantity
We present three to five candidates. Each has been properly spoken to and is genuinely interested. None are speculative.
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We decline work we can't win
If we don't think we can do it better than the alternatives, we say so and recommend a firm that can.
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Salary benchmarking, upfront
We share compensation data with serious clients before they brief. It usually changes the conversation.
InsightsWhat we're
Read all insightsWhat we're
writing about.
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Questions we get from tech hiring managers
What makes Northstack different from other tech recruiters?
We're partner-led and deliberately selective. Every brief is owned by a partner with deep expertise in that discipline — no handoffs to junior researchers. We present three to five genuinely interested candidates rather than flooding you with CVs, and our offer-accept rate runs at 92% compared to the industry average below 70%.
Do you only work with startups or do you place candidates in enterprise companies too?
Both. We work with scaling startups and established enterprises across the UK. What matters isn't the size of the company — it's whether we have the depth in that particular discipline to make a placement that sticks.
How quickly can you fill a senior engineering role?
It depends on the brief, but we respond within one working day with our view on the role and market positioning. Because we're selective and only take work we can win, our placements tend to move faster than the spray-and-pray approach — candidates are genuinely interested from the start.
What technology roles do you specialise in?
We place senior engineers, machine learning specialists, cloud architects, DevOps professionals and technical leaders. Our focus is on roles that require real depth — frontend, backend, infrastructure, ML and leadership positions across the technology stack.
Do you provide salary benchmarking before we start the search?
Yes. We share compensation data with serious clients before they brief us. It usually changes the conversation and helps set realistic expectations from day one, which means fewer wasted weeks chasing candidates who were never going to accept the offer.
What if you don't think you can fill our role?
We'll tell you. If we don't think we can do it better than the alternatives, we decline the work and recommend a firm that can. We'd rather be honest upfront than waste your time on a brief we can't win.
Do you work on contract and temporary roles or just permanent hires?
We place permanent, temporary and contract professionals. The same partner-led, quality-over-quantity approach applies regardless of the engagement type.
Why do you only present three to five candidates instead of a longer shortlist?
Because we've already done the filtering. Each candidate has been properly spoken to, understands the role, and is genuinely interested. A list of twenty CVs just shifts the work onto you — our job is to present people who are actually likely to accept an offer.
A senior technology hire that
actually works.
Tell us about the role. We'll respond within one working day with a view on what it should be, where it sits in the market, and whether it's the kind of work we do well.