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Consortia
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Engineering Recruitment

From backend to platform, the engineers who build and run your product.

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

  • eBay
  • Ocado
  • Sainsbury's
  • Bose
  • LexisNexis
  • Entain
  • babylon
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  • FNZ
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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

Engineering is still the largest part of tech hiring, but growth has slowed as more companies look to AI before they add headcount. Some now expect one engineer, working well with AI, to do the work of two or three. The result is smaller teams and broader roles, which means each engineer you hire has to cover more ground than they did a few years ago. See more insights on engineering hiring.

Consortia has recruited engineers since 2010, from a start-up's first technical hire through to scaling a full engineering organisation. Because we also hire for Product, Data and UX teams, we see how engineering decisions land across the rest of the business and understanf the importance of making the right hire first time.

We cover the whole engineering team: backend, front end, full stack and mobile developers, DevOps and platform engineers, test and SDET specialists, cyber security engineers, AI engineers, forward deployed engineers, and the senior engineers and leaders who scale teams and systems. Permanent, contract, fractional or executive search, across the UK, Europe, the US and the UAE.

Discuss your engineering hiring

Specialisms

The engineering roles we recruit

  • Backend Developers

    Backend engineers across modern stacks, permanent and contract, from senior IC to architect.

  • Front End Developers

    Front end engineers across modern frameworks, permanent and contract, including fully remote.

  • Full Stack Developers

    Full stack engineers who work end to end across frontend and backend, permanent and contract.

  • Mobile Developers

    Mobile developers across Android, iOS and React Native, permanent and contract.

  • DevOps and Platform

    DevOps, platform and SRE hires who keep delivery moving and systems reliable, permanent and contract.

  • Product Engineers

    Product engineers who pair strong software skills with real product thinking, permanent and contract.

  • Test and SDET

    Test engineers, QA specialists and SDETs who build quality into how teams ship, permanent and contract.

  • Cyber Security

    Security engineers across application security, DevSecOps and cloud security, permanent and contract.

  • AI Engineers

    AI engineers who build, ship and run models in production, permanent and contract.

  • Forward Deployed Engineers

    Forward deployed engineers who combine engineering with hands-on client delivery, permanent and contract.

  • Engineering Leaders

    Engineering leadership hires, from principal engineers and development managers to Chief Technology Officers, permanent, fractional and contract.

  • Engineering Executive Search

    Retained executive search for engineering leadership and senior individual contributors.

  • Fractional Engineering

    Fractional and interim engineering leaders for teams that need senior technical direction without a full-time hire.

Customer Stories

How we've helped

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Market insights· Updated September 2026

Engineering recruitment insights

When companies pause hiring, software teams are often the first to feel it. At the same time, new roles are appearing around internal tooling and AI engineering.

Teams are getting smaller and roles broader. Engineers are increasingly expected to understand the product, the customer or the design as well as the code. Full stack roles are often written as product engineering roles, where an engineer owns a feature through to release, and the same title now stretches across front end, data and AI work. Full stack rarely means an even split, and where a role is clearly back end or front end, clients increasingly want an out-and-out specialist.

Domain experience counts for more than it did. Regulated businesses usually hire people who have already worked in regulated environments, and many clients now want someone from exactly the same industry, where previously most strong engineers would have been considered. Smaller companies can be more flexible on sector, but they look for a different kind of fit, usually startup or scale-up experience, or work on an AI product.

AI is changing the interview as well as the work. Processes are longer than they were, partly because companies skipped stages a few years ago and have since put them back. Off-the-shelf coding tests are giving way to challenges that show how someone approaches a problem, works with stakeholders and uses AI. Rules on AI use in interviews still vary from one company to the next.

Engineers are open to opportunities but rarely search actively, and the strongest move through networks rather than adverts. Competition is heaviest for the few who combine broad experience with real AI work. Office attendance is where searches most often stall: one or two days is rarely a problem, four or five narrows the pool quickly, and some candidates ask for more pay to cover the commute. Pay expectations above company budget are the other common blocker.

How Consortia helps

Our engineering network runs from developers through to CTOs. Working across Engineering, Product, Data and UX gives us a current read on engineering pay, candidate supply and hiring across the UK, Europe, the US and the UAE, so scope and seniority can be set against the market rather than guesswork.

Ways to hire

Ways to hire engineering talent

Permanent, contract, fractional or executive search: the right route depends on the role and how soon you need someone. We will help you choose.

  • Executive Search

    Retained search for technology leaders and hard-to-find specialists.

  • Contract Recruitment

    Day-rate and fixed-term specialists for projects, change programmes and interim cover.

  • Permanent Recruitment

    Permanent hires for specialist and leadership roles across technology teams.

  • Fractional Leadership

    Fractional leadership for growth, change and key priorities.

Live jobs

Live Engineering jobs

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From the blog

Insights on Engineering

View all insights

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Should we hire a senior engineer or a staff or principal engineer?

A senior engineer typically delivers strong work within a team. A staff or principal engineer works across teams, shaping architecture, setting technical standards and helping others improve, usually without managing people. Scaling businesses tend to hire them once a CTO or lead can no longer cover every technical decision. Titles mean different things between companies, so we look at the scope someone has held, not the label.

Should we hire full stack developers or specialists?

Early-stage teams often favour full stack developers, because breadth matters when there are few people. As the product and traffic grow, specialist depth in backend, front end or platform work tends to matter more. It is worth knowing that most full stack developers lean towards one side. Asking which side they lean towards tells you more than the title.

How has AI changed what companies look for in engineers?

Most engineering teams now use AI coding tools, so clients increasingly want engineers who use them well and check the output carefully. As more code is generated, skills such as system design, code review and understanding the wider product carry more weight. AI has also created newer roles, including AI engineers and forward deployed engineers, which sit closer to customers and real-world use.

When do we need a platform or DevOps engineer?

Common signs include developers spending more and more time on infrastructure, releases that are slow or fragile, cloud costs rising without clear ownership, and several teams sharing the same systems. At that point, a dedicated platform or DevOps hire can give product engineers their time back. Earlier on, a strong backend engineer with infrastructure experience may be enough.

Why is it still hard to hire experienced engineers?

The strongest engineers are usually settled, approached often, and tend to move through their own networks rather than public adverts. Adverts mainly reach people who are actively looking, which is a smaller part of the market. We approach engineers directly, and a clear technical story helps: what they would build, the stack, the team and why the role is open. A quick process helps too.

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 candidates

Looking for an engineering role?

Tell us the stack you know best, the problems you like solving and the team you want to join. We will be straight with you about which roles fit.

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For clients

Need help hiring?

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For candidates

Looking for work?

Browse live tech roles or send us your CV. A specialist consultant reviews every submission.

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