Senior Search · Executive Search · Niche Technology Roles
Trusted partners for over a decade.
Traditional executive search can move too slowly to compete for the best tech leaders and often overlooks the emerging talent with the greatest long-term potential. Contingent agencies aren't structured to invest the depth that difficult roles demand. Sentient was built for the gap between them: senior, niche, business-critical technology appointments that need both precision and pace.
Talent isn't a transaction.
Why Clients Choose Us
Partner-led. You work directly with the founding partners throughout. We're accountable every step of the way.
Intentionally low volume. Our clients get our full attention. Being deliberate about what we take on lets us invest around 3x the effort on each role.
A process built to deliver. No shortcuts, no luck of the draw.
Experience, insight and intuition. We start every search with questions, not assumptions, because the right brief and the written brief are rarely the same thing.
The network. 25+ years of genuine relationships, and the reach to find the people who aren't looking.
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Search success rate (FY26)
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Placement retention
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of placements come from referrals within our network
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Week average time to fill
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Markets covered around the world
Real Searches. Real Outcomes.
Global Fintech SaaS
Confidential VP Search
The CHALLENGE
The hiring manager's standards were exceptionally high, and the industry requirement highly specific, making this a global search from day one. The role was also strictly confidential, with NDAs signed before any substantive conversation could take place.
OUR APPROACH
We mapped the full global market: 83 competitors across 29 countries, analysed by leadership structure and engineering quality, then profiled target businesses and their alumni. Prospects were engaged through targeted outreach and referrals, with 67 interested candidates signing NDAs. Every interview followed the same structured framework, scored against a shared skills matrix so the client could compare like for like, and weekly calls gave complete visibility into who was being approached and how the pipeline was tracking.
THE OUTCOME
Two exceptional finalists emerged; one local, one international, both deeply engaged. A successful placement in a high-visibility role at a pivotal moment in the company's growth, delivered in a seamless five-week process, with support through offer, notice period and onboarding.
The Numbers
83 competitors mapped · 29 countries · 8 weeks to placement · 2,000+ profiles reviewed · 192 prospects identified · 1 offer accepted.
Software Leader
a niche tech leadership role, filled in two weeks
The Brief
A UK-headquartered product engineering company scaling into Australia, just 12 months on the ground and no local network, needed a technical leader who could establish and scale a new engineering team: architecture-level, hands-off day to day, but credible enough to review code and influence from engineering through to C-suite.
The Challenge
Two contingent agencies over several months had produced a burst of CVs, then nothing.
OUR APPROACH
Retained exclusively, both partners worked the search in parallel: a structured market sweep combined with targeted outreach through our referral network.
THE OUTCOME
Within two weeks, a referral candidate with proven leadership was interviewed, offered and accepted, with a full shortlist provided for contingency.
The Numbers
1,200+ profiles reviewed · 132 longlisted · 34 qualified · 5 submitted · placed in 2 weeks.
Principal Staff Engineer - Platforms
niche IC role - referral only mandate
The Brief
After 3 months with no success, our client knew they needed a different approach. Sentient was engaged specifically because of our recent successes with senior engineering leadership placements. Our client was looking to draw on our direct network of IC engineering talent.
The CHALLENGE
A Principal Staff Engineer at this client is one of their most senior individual contributors - responsible for setting technical direction, influencing engineering strategy across multiple teams, and solving the company's most complex platform and architecture challenges. Given the extensive work already invested before we were briefed, the client asked us to take a deliberately narrow approach - scoping our direct network and leveraging warm referrals, with no proactive market search or cold outreach.
OUR APPROACH
We mapped the Melbourne market for equally skilled internal platform engineering capability, identifying 19 people with the seniority and domain depth to plausibly do the role. Warm outreach to those we already knew, followed by introductions via our senior network for the rest, surfaced candidates who'd previously sat outside standard search channels. Interviews were calibrated specifically against the gap that had stalled the role for three months: strategic influence and credibility with senior Staff Engineers, not just technical depth.
THE OUTCOME
A successful placement into one of our client's most senior IC engineering roles, resolving a three-month gap where prior candidates had consistently fallen short on strategic influence. Working exclusively through referral channels, we delivered a focused, high-impact process that respected the confidentiality the client needed, without duplicating the search already completed in-house.
THE NUMBERS
60+ referrals generated · 19 prospects identified · 9 interviewed · 5 presented to client · 4 client interviews · 1 offer accepted.
Head of Data Science
A business-critical succession
The Brief
A leading Australian brand in real estate servicing needed a Head of Data Science with deep technical expertise who could build and lead a growing team while staying hands-on, and operate in a flat structure from junior team members to the executive.
The CHALLENGE
A household name with limited profile in the tech community, replacing an incumbent of seven years in the function that forms the operational backbone of the business.
OUR APPROACH
A full-market search, network plus proactive outreach, with complete transparency: the client saw the longlist and the rationale behind every recommendation.
THE OUTCOME
Three standout finalists, and a placement (a referral through our network) bringing both technical credibility and leadership strength.
THE NUMBERS
600+ profiles reviewed · 78 longlisted · 26 first interviews · top 12 presented · 8 client interviews · 1 appointment.
