Define the work. Then hire for it.
AI engineer job description: a practical template for your next hire
Use this applied AI engineer job description template to define outcomes, required skills, production ownership, and a focused interview plan before you start recruiting.
AI engineer vs. ML engineer: which should you hire first?
Choose your first AI or ML hire with a practical role comparison, three hiring scenarios, and a decision brief built around the work your team actually needs.
Sales engineer interview questions: a hiring manager's scorecard
Use sales engineer interview questions, a practical demo exercise, and an evidence-based scorecard to evaluate discovery, technical judgment, and customer communication.
ITAR employee requirements for defense hiring
Understand ITAR hiring considerations, U.S. person status, and authorization questions before defining requirements for a defense engineering role.
How to restart a startup hiring plan after a pause
Restart a paused startup hiring search with a seven-step plan. Reassess the role, reconnect with candidates, and agree on how to make the hiring decision.
Back in motion
What a summer off taught me about hiring season
Cheri Kruger reflects on a summer away from recruiting and how founders can plan searches around candidate and interviewer availability.
DoD SkillBridge: A Founder's Guide to Hiring Transitioning Service Members
Understand DoD SkillBridge from an employer's perspective. Learn about program participation, transitioning service members, and hiring considerations.
How Defense Tech Startups Actually Hire Cleared Engineers
Learn how defense tech startups compete for cleared engineers, where candidates come from, and how to make a hiring offer beyond salary alone.
Continuous Vetting: What It Actually Means When You Hire Cleared Engineers
Learn how continuous vetting affects cleared engineering hires, what an alert can mean, and which questions to consider during a recruiting search.
When You Need a Confidential Search: Executive and Founding Hires Off the Radar
How confidential searches work for executives, stealth startups, and founding engineers. Learn how to approach candidates while protecting privacy.
Simplify Your Interview Process: The 4-Step Framework That Actually Works
Use Cheri Kruger's four-step engineering interview framework to assign clear decisions, reduce delays, and keep strong candidates engaged.
Volume vs. Quality: What 1,500 Placements Taught Me About Hiring Right
Cheri Kruger shares lessons from 1,500 placements on candidate quality, resume volume, and why the submittal-to-hire ratio matters in recruiting.
Hiring Veteran Engineers with Security Clearance: A Founder's Guide
Learn how to recruit veteran software engineers with security clearances, find candidates, and design job requirements and interviews that assess fit.
Inside a Placement Story: How Passive Candidate Sourcing Fills Roles Everyone Else Gives Up On
A Solutions Engineer placement story shows how long-term candidate relationships and passive sourcing can help fill a role that has stayed open.
Why I Went Boutique: What a Solo Recruiter Can Do That a Big Agency Can't
Cheri Kruger explains why she left agency recruiting, how a boutique recruiter works with startups, and what to consider when choosing a recruiting partner.
The Engineer Hiring Mistakes That Cost You the Best Candidates
Cheri Kruger explains how hiring for pedigree and lengthy interview loops cost teams strong engineers, and how to change the hiring process.
Why New Hires Fail in the First 90 Days (And How the Best Companies Prevent It)
Learn why new hires struggle in their first 90 days, how hiring mistakes affect a team, and what employers can do to improve onboarding and role fit.
Hiring cleared software engineers: clearance levels, timelines, and how to recruit cleared talent
A guide to hiring cleared software engineers. Understand clearance levels, recruiting timelines, and how to search a limited pool of eligible candidates.
What you actually pay
How tech recruiter fees actually work: contingency vs retained, and what you'll pay
Compare contingency, retained, and engaged recruiting fees. Learn when payment is due, how guarantees work, and how to assess a technical search fee.
Hiring for AI
How to hire AI and ML engineers: roles, signals, and compensation in 2026
Decide which AI or ML role your team needs. Learn how to assess candidates, plan compensation, and avoid common delays in an engineering search.
Nearshore software development: a hiring guide to Latin American engineering talent
A guide to hiring software engineers in Latin America. Compare contractor, EOR, and entity models, assess costs, and evaluate engineering talent.
What is a founding engineer? Role, equity, salary, and how to hire one
Learn what a founding engineer does, how the role differs from a senior engineer or CTO, and how to plan equity, salary, and your first engineering hire.
How to write a job description that great engineers actually read
Write engineering job descriptions with clear responsibilities, realistic requirements, and useful context so candidates can assess the role.
Why strong engineers do not apply to your roles, and how to actually reach them
Learn how to reach engineers who are not applying to job boards through targeted sourcing, thoughtful outreach, and a clear candidate experience.
Five signals it is time to look for a new engineering role
Five signals that a senior engineer may have outgrown a role. Learn how to distinguish a temporary rough patch from a reason to consider a move.
Hiring across borders
Hiring engineers in LATAM in 2026: a practical playbook
A practical playbook for hiring engineers in LATAM in 2026. Learn how to assess talent, structure the search, and support a distributed team.