Fast-track your hiring with thoroughly vetted, top-tier engineering experts.
EXPECT is an engineering staffing agency and recruiting partner for engineering hiring managers, HR and talent acquisition leaders, and VPs and Directors of Engineering at manufacturing, industrial, construction, energy, aerospace and defense, and technology companies. We recruit across mechanical, electrical, civil, controls, embedded, and software engineering disciplines, with contract, contract-to-hire, direct-hire, and retained search options depending on how the role needs to be filled.
More than two-thirds of U.S. employers (69%) report difficulty finding the skilled talent they need, and manufacturing reports the highest level of talent scarcity of any industry at 75%, with engineering among the hardest skill sets to fill nationwide. (ManpowerGroup, 2026 U.S. Talent Shortage Survey)
Our engineering recruiters are some of the best in the business at finding full-time/perm employees and contractors for all types of engineering disciplines across many industries and experience levels.
Different engineering roles call for different hiring models. A six-month automation rollout doesn’t need the same approach as a permanent VP of Engineering search. EXPECT offers four ways to bring on engineering talent, so you can pick the model that fits the opening. Not sure which one fits? Our Contractor vs. Direct Hire guide breaks down the trade-offs.
Project-based work, peak workloads, or a gap that needs covering now. Contract staffing gets an engineer on your team fast without adding permanent headcount. This is also where our staffing agency for operations engineers works: production ramp-ups and short-term plant projects are a natural fit for contract engineers. See our Contract Recruiting page for how we structure these engagements.
Want to see how an engineer performs on your team before making it permanent? Contract-to-hire lets you evaluate real, on-the-job fit, then convert to a full-time offer once you’re confident. We handle payroll and employer-of-record duties for the contract period either way.
For permanent, business-critical roles, our direct-hire recruiters source, screen, and present candidates who fit both the technical requirements and your team’s culture. We manage the search; you manage the final interview and offer decision.
Senior, confidential, or genuinely hard-to-fill engineering searches, a VP of Engineering, a Chief Engineer, a role tied to a product that hasn’t launched yet, often need a dedicated, retained search instead of a standard contingent search. We run these searches with the discretion and depth they require.
We recruit engineers across the disciplines that keep manufacturing lines, infrastructure projects, and product teams moving.
Engineers who design, test, and improve mechanical systems and products. If you’re comparing mechanical engineering staffing agencies, this is the discipline where a recruiter’s technical vocabulary matters most, and it’s where our mechanical recruitment agency clients come to us first.
Engineers who design electrical systems, instrumentation, and control logic for plants, products, and infrastructure, including licensed PEs.
Engineers who design and oversee infrastructure, buildings, and structural systems, including licensed PEs for public works and commercial projects.
Engineers who design and program the automation systems, PLCs, and control networks behind modern production lines. Related need on the plant floor itself? See our Manufacturing Staffing page.
Engineers who build the hardware-level software running inside devices, defense systems, and industrial equipment. This is one of our more specialized searches; the pool is small, and roles often require clearance.
Engineers who build, deploy, and maintain the software and infrastructure behind your products. For a search focused purely on software roles,
Need a discipline that isn’t listed here, chemical, biomedical, environmental, drafting and design, or something more niche? We also handle adjacent searches like CAD Drafter Staffing. Tell us the role and the requirements, and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s a search we can run well.
Discipline |
Most Common Engagement Models |
Why |
|---|---|---|
|
Mechanical Engineers |
Direct-hire, contract |
Core design roles are usually permanent; contract covers project overflow |
|
Electrical / Instrument & Controls |
Contract, contract-to-hire |
Plant and controls work is often project-driven |
|
Civil & Structural |
Direct-hire, contract |
Licensed PEs typically go direct-hire; project engineers often start on contract |
|
Controls & Automation |
Contract, contract-to-hire |
Automation rollouts run on project timelines |
|
Embedded & FPGA |
Direct-hire, retained search |
Specialized and hard to find, often senior and clearance-required |
|
Software & DevOps |
Contract, direct-hire |
Both product teams and short sprints need coverage |
We start by nailing down the specifics: discipline, required certifications, clearance level if any, must-have vs. nice-to-have skills, and your timeline.
Most strong engineers already have a job. We reach them through our pre-screened candidate database and our recruiters’ industry networks, not just job board applicants.
Candidates go through skills evaluation, technical screening, and an interview before we ever bring them to you, so you’re not the first line of technical vetting. Our Shortlisting Candidates Guide and Strategic Interview Questions resources cover the same standards we hold candidates to internally.
We verify work history, run background checks, confirm I-9 eligibility, and validate licenses and certifications, including PE status where it applies.
We benchmark salary against current market data so your offer is competitive without you having to guess.
We check in after placement and track how the hire is working out, because a placement that doesn’t stick isn’t a placement.
Engineers who keep production lines designed, automated, and running.
Civil and structural engineers for public works and commercial projects.
Electrical and controls engineers for power systems and grid infrastructure.
Specialized and cleared engineering talent for regulated, high-stakes programs.
Software, DevOps, and embedded engineers building products and platforms.
In ManpowerGroup’s 2026 U.S. Talent Shortage Survey of more than 6,000 employers, 69% reported difficulty finding the skilled talent they need, a slight improvement from the year before. Manufacturing posted the highest scarcity of any industry, at 75%, and engineering was named among the hardest skill sets to find nationwide.
Beyond the raw numbers, the real gap is specialization. Companies aren’t short on engineers broadly. They’re short on the right engineer, in the right discipline, in the right location. That’s a search problem more than a supply problem, and it’s exactly what a discipline-specific recruiter is built to solve.
If your internal team has already posted the role and the applicants aren’t landing, or a specialized position has sat open for months while a project waits, here’s what changes when you bring in EXPECT:
A bad hire costs more than a wasted paycheck. It costs downtime, retraining, and sometimes a stalled project. Our Cost of a Bad Hire and Hidden Costs of Recruiting guides walk through what a mis-hire actually costs.
Organizations that use engineering recruiters like EXPECT build an engineering advantage with intellectual property and expertise they can leverage in a competitive market.
As an engineering-centric company, your key products and services will always revolve around the skills, expertise, and innovation of your engineering team.
Engineers are empowering companies to grow their market share by helping them develop better products, improve operational efficiencies, reduce time to market, and deliver services to customers in a better manner. That’s why leading engineering recruiters like EXPECT are highly valued by companies across the globe.
The quality of your engineering team is instrumental in defining how quickly you can respond to market challenges, can create new product prototypes, can manufacture products cheaper and better than competitors, and can create customer loyalty by delivering quality technical service atop your products. With so much to gain from engineering artillery in your company, it’s imperative that you hire smarter, faster, and with greater success than competitors, by partnering with dependable engineering recruiters like EXPECT.
It depends on the discipline and how niche the role is. Common engineering positions are often filled within a couple of weeks. Embedded, controls, or clearance-required roles usually take longer, simply because the qualified pool is smaller. We’ll give you a realistic timeline after the intake call, not a generic promise.
Contract, contract-to-hire, direct-hire, and retained search for senior or confidential roles. We’ll recommend the model that fits the position, not the one that’s easiest for us to fill.
Most strong engineers aren’t browsing job boards. We reach them through our pre-screened database and our recruiters’ industry networks, built from years of placing engineering talent in these same disciplines.
We verify certifications, licenses (including PE status), and clearance status as part of every candidate’s screening, and we can run a search specifically for candidates who already hold an active clearance for defense or aerospace roles.
Fees depend on the engagement model and the role. Direct-hire runs on a placement fee based on position type and difficulty; contract roles run on a bill rate that covers payroll and employer-of-record costs. We’ll walk you through the exact numbers before you sign anything.
Every candidate goes through skills screening, reference checks, and background verification before you see a resume. On direct-hire placements, our 90-day guarantee means if it doesn’t work out, we find a replacement at no extra cost.
Tell us the discipline, the engagement model, and your timeline, and an engineering recruiter will follow up within one business day.
Chris Specht at Expect Technical Staffing is an outstanding recruiter who truly understands how to match the right talent with the right opportunity. He has a sharp eye for technical expertise and takes the time to understand both the needs of the employer and the goals of the candidate. Chris doesn’t just fill positions, he builds connections that lead to long-term success. If you’re an employer looking for top-tier talent or a technical professional ready to take your career to the next level, Chris is the person you want in your corner. Highly recommended!
VP of Operations Specialty Animation Studio