The starting point
The client was building an R&D direction with narrow technical specifics and planned to hire several specialists at once. Searching role by role in isolation would have produced a team with gaps and overlaps.
Roles in scope
- Computer Vision Engineer
- 3D Core Algorithms Engineer
- 3D JavaScript Developer
- CAD QA and Automation QA
- Technical Lead or Delivery role depending on the stage
Where the difficulty was
The roles overlapped in competencies and each had a narrow market. We had to decide who to hire first so the next roles would close more easily, and how to split responsibilities so the team worked as a whole.
What we did
- Clarified the R&D goals and the outcome the team had to deliver at each stage.
- Set a hiring sequence instead of a chaotic parallel search.
- Created a dedicated sourcing strategy for each narrow role.
- Ran direct search in specialist channels and niche communities.
- Built a talent pipeline for future roles in the direction, not only current ones.
What the client gained
A coherent approach to building the R&D team — with sequencing logic, clear responsibilities and a reserve of candidates for future roles — instead of a set of disconnected searches.