Software Engineering Recruiting for Software and Technology Companies

Howard Lee & Associates recruits software engineers, engineering managers and engineering leaders for software and technology companies in SaaS, AI and machine learning, cybersecurity and cloud. The firm is based in Los Angeles and fills remote, hybrid and in office roles across Southern California and the United States.

The right engineering hire accelerates everything. The wrong one slows the team down. Howard Lee & Associates recruits software engineers and engineering leaders for software and technology companies. We screen for real experience and fit before you meet anyone.

Roles we hire

• •CTOs and VPs of Engineering
• •Directors of Engineering
• •Engineering Managers
• •Staff and Principal Engineers
• •Founding Engineers
• •Senior Backend, Frontend and Full Stack Engineers
• •Platform, Infrastructure and Security Engineers
• •Machine Learning and AI Engineers

Industries we serve

• •SaaS
• •AI and machine learning
• •Cybersecurity
• •Cloud

Markets we cover

SaaS, AI and machine learning, cybersecurity and cloud. We place engineers who build products for enterprise, mid-market and consumer buyers.

What engineering looks like at each stage

At an early stage AI or SaaS company, engineers ship fast, own whole features and make architecture choices that will last for years. The first engineering leader often still writes code while hiring the core team.

At a growth stage company, the focus shifts to reliability, scale and process, with managers, on call rotations and a platform team. At an enterprise company, engineering leaders run large organizations across many teams and balance new products with security, compliance and cost.

Titles we recruit within engineering

We recruit CTOs, VPs and directors of engineering, engineering managers, staff and principal engineers, founding engineers, and senior engineers in backend, frontend, full stack, platform, infrastructure, security, data and machine learning.

Skills and signals we screen for

We look at what candidates have built and shipped, the scale they worked at and the tradeoffs they made. For machine learning roles, we look for experience taking models into production, not only research. For leaders, we ask how they hire, run planning, handle incidents and grow engineers on their team.

Common engineering hiring mistakes

Companies often screen on a list of tools instead of the problems a candidate has solved. Another mistake is hiring a big company engineer into a startup that needs someone comfortable owning everything. Slow interview loops also lose strong candidates. A focused search keeps the process tight and the slate relevant.

How engineering compensation is usually structured

Engineers are usually paid a base salary plus equity, and some companies add an annual bonus. At venture backed companies, equity is often a major part of the offer, especially for founding and senior roles. We share what candidates in the market expect so you can compete.

What we look for

Engineering candidates need to show what they have built and shipped. Before you meet anyone, we look at:

• •What they built. What did they own, and what did they ship?
• •Scale. Have they worked at the scale your product needs?
• •Tradeoffs. How do they make decisions under constraints?
• •Collaboration. How do they work with product, design and other engineers?
• •Stage fit. A startup engineer and a big company engineer are different. We match the candidate to your stage.

For engineering leaders, we also look at how they hire, grow and keep engineers, and how they balance speed with quality.

How an engineering search works

1. 1Discovery. We learn your stack, your team and what a great hire looks like.
2. 2Profile. We agree on the skills, experience and culture fit you need.
3. 3Outreach. We contact engineers directly at companies building similar products.
4. 4Screening. We interview each candidate on experience, skills and fit.
5. 5Short list. You get a focused slate with notes on each person.
6. 6Interviews and offer. We coordinate interviews and help close the offer.
7. 7Follow up. We check in after the start date.

AI and machine learning hiring

AI and machine learning hiring is a specialty. We recruit applied AI engineers, ML engineers and data engineers, as well as leaders who build AI teams. We understand the difference between research experience and production experience.

Why work with us

Every search is run personally by Steve LePatner, founder of Howard Lee and Associates.

• •We recruit only for software and technology companies.
• •We understand engineering roles and can have a real conversation with candidates.
• •You work directly with Steve LePatner.
• •We give you honest feedback on what candidates expect for comp.

How long does a search take?

It depends on the role and the market. Many searches produce a first slate of candidates within a few weeks.

Related searches we run

Engineering teams work closely with pre-sales to build the product that technical buyers evaluate. We run solutions engineering recruiting searches for companies that need both technical sellers and the engineers behind the product.

We also recruit customer success leaders and managers for companies that want to retain and expand their customer base after the engineering team ships.

Frequently asked questions