Electrical Engineering Recruiters: 11 Firms Compared

Eric Chung of LS Energy Solutions writes on Egret's homepage that in "the field of Power Distribution and Automation industries" its recruiter is "one of the best recruiters without question". Egret was founded in 1999 to recruit for the electrical industry and says it has placed "over 800 new employees for over 400 clients". That count covers every function it fills, from sales and marketing to operations and engineering.

Its utilities page (opens in a new tab) covers power generation, transmission and distribution for investor-owned and public utilities, municipalities and co-ops. Its power distribution page (opens in a new tab) covers makers of switchgear, transformers, relays and inverters. Engineering roles run from individual contributor to VP. Egret presents two to four candidates on average and stays in contact with each placed candidate through the first six months.

GTR's testimonials (opens in a new tab) come from clients identified by title. A senior vice president of transmission says they have worked with GTR "for over a decade" to fill highly technical roles connecting generation to the grid. A director of distribution engineering calls it "a great partner" for their engineering firm. Neither client is named.

Founded in 2008, GTR works only in the electric utility and power delivery industry. It recruits substation engineers for voltage levels from 2.4kV to 500kV, transmission line engineers, distribution engineers, and specialists in planning, SCADA, relay protection and NERC compliance. Its homepage reports an 86% offer-to-acceptance rate and an interview-to-hire ratio of 3.2, without saying over what period.

GTR offers retained, engaged and contingency search and contract or contract-to-hire staffing. Its fee page (opens in a new tab) bases the contingency fee on the offer's base salary and realistic first-year bonus, but the percentage is missing from the page. A retained search starts with what its clients page (opens in a new tab) calls "a small commitment fee up front".

On its electrical engineering page, 180 Engineering describes a search for a global medical device company that needed a lead electrical engineer with PCB design, power supply and Class I and II device experience. It found the engineer after 35 days of sourcing and screening. The client is not named and the case is not dated; the page was first published in December 2020.

The firm says every candidate completes an in-depth interview with its team before a client sees them, covering analog and digital design, firmware or the specialty the role needs. Its client testimonials (opens in a new tab) include an electrical engineering director at a Fortune 100 consumer products company, who says 180 is "very hands-on and responsive" in filling contingent staffing needs.

180 Engineering offers contingent and retained search for direct hires, and its site also lists contract staffing. Its retained search page (opens in a new tab) says fewer than 20% of its searches are retained. For direct hires, its direct hire page (opens in a new tab) describes a replacement policy for a hire who leaves for any reason other than downsizing or layoff, without stating the period.

Alpha Apex Group's electrical engineering page says it recruits specialists and leaders across the field, including renewable energy and electronic systems design, and shapes each search around the client's projects and company culture. Its selection process includes technical assessments, competency interviews and reference checks, with support after the placement.

The page names no electrical client, placement or case study. The client logos it shows appear across the firm's site, so ask for references from electrical searches.

Controls engineers, electrical designers, drafters, engineers and technicians, engineering managers, project managers, and firmware, quality and test engineers are the positions Goodwin lists for electrical hiring. Its recruiting team for these roles includes specialists in manufacturing, energy, electronics and medical devices.

Goodwin describes itself as a national direct-hire recruitment firm, working across industries from hospitality to construction, and its employer services page (opens in a new tab) offers contingent, retained or RPO arrangements. Its Hire Now, Pay Later page (opens in a new tab) lets an employer spread the fee over time through PayPal, which requires a personal PayPal account; a business account does not qualify. The page's estimator uses 25%, 30% and 35% APR examples, its fine print gives a fixed APR of 0% to 35.99% depending on amount and credit, and any part of the fee above the limit is paid to Goodwin separately. If the candidate never starts, Goodwin refunds the full fee; if the hire leaves during the guarantee period, the remedy is a single replacement or a credit under the fee agreement, and no refund is due. The guarantee stays valid only if the financing is started by the due date in the fee agreement. The testimonials read are unnamed and do not identify an electrical role.

Jeff Chandler, President and CEO of Progressive Systems, a maker of CNC machinery, says on Konik's testimonials page (opens in a new tab) that the company had eight engineers when it first worked with Konik in 2007 and has "nearly four times as many now". He says many of those engineers "were found through Konik", and that the company has hired "mechanical and electrical engineers and technicians".

Konik has recruited since 1974. Its electrical engineering page lists roles from VP of engineering and electrical engineering director to controls, embedded, power distribution and PCB specialists and panel builders. Its process and pricing page (opens in a new tab) says the firm has helped employers find over 20,000 employees in the Midwest, a figure for the whole firm. Pricing is available through a form, and the page mentions a guarantee without stating its terms. Its site also lists contract staffing and executive search.

Scion Technology's client page (opens in a new tab) lists technology companies such as Netgear, Dolby and CableLabs, though without the roles it filled for them. The firm reports ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing award for client and candidate satisfaction five years running.

On its electrical engineering page, Scion names the roles it fills, from chief electrical engineer and electrical engineering manager to senior, design and project electrical engineers. The firm has recruited since 2006 and describes itself as an IT staffing agency and IT and engineering recruiter, offering contract staffing, direct hire and executive search; parts of its site still use the name Scion Technical. The testimonials and client examples read do not identify an electrical engineering hire, so ask for references from one.

Franco DeBlasio, CEO of Clear Automation, says in a testimonial on DRI's Direct Retention page that the firm "did not inundate me with candidates" and presented a handful of qualified ones. The testimonial does not say which role was filled.

Electrical engineers appear among the roles Direct Recruiters places, alongside automation, controls, design and systems engineers and VPs of engineering. Its sectors include automation and industrial technology, energy and sustainability, robotics and HVAC/R. The other named client testimonials on the first page of its testimonials section concern other hires, such as a chief information officer search.

The firm offers contingency search with no upfront fee, contract staffing, and a retained model it calls Direct Retention (opens in a new tab), which its page heads "Guaranteed Retention for a Year".

Engineering Executive Search Firm Corp. recruits only for chemical, petrochemical, specialty chemical and oil and gas manufacturers in the US. Its electrical roles are plant roles: instrumentation electrical engineers, electrical reliability engineers, and process control and automation engineers, alongside plant, maintenance and engineering managers.

The firm says all of its recruiters work each client's open positions together, and that its database holds engineers screened over 23 years. The pages read name no clients, placements or testimonials.

A software client quoted on Kane Partners' homepage says "the very best of our engineering and scientific talent were hired through them". The other reviews read do not identify electrical hires.

Kane lists electrical engineering among eight engineering disciplines it recruits for, sourcing engineers in circuit design, power systems, renewable energy and automation.

Its staffing process page (opens in a new tab) says most clients use Kane on contingency, with the fee and guarantee period agreed before the search starts; retained and discounted partnerships are available. It reports an average of two candidates submitted for every interview.

Strata Solar, a solar provider for utility, government and commercial projects, retained Search Solution Group for a utility project manager and three director searches, according to a case study (opens in a new tab) posted in December 2022. Its vice president of employee experience says they have worked with the firm for over six years. For ABX Innovative Packaging, the firm lists 14 searches since 2021, including six sales representatives and two plant managers as well as a product development engineer (case posted March 2024). Neither case is an electrical engineering placement.

The firm's engineering page lists electrical and controls engineers among five engineering areas, noting that an electrical engineer's experience with the employer's own equipment and systems is key. It places engineers in permanent and contract positions, and in October 2026 it said clients can meet qualified candidates within 48 to 72 hours, depending on the role.