Executive recruiting for technical leadership in the Bay Area and Seattle.
The hardest executive searches aren't about finding someone qualified. They're about finding someone who can absorb your specific business context, see around corners, and build the team that follows.
Shortlisted is a Seattle-based executive search firm built by former in-house talent leaders. We partner with venture-backed startups and growth-stage companies in the Bay Area, Seattle, and across the US to hire the kind of executives whose decisions shape the next five years of your business.
What we recruit for
- Director, VP of Engineering and CTO
- Director, VP of Product and CPO
- Director, Head of Design, VP of Design
Companies we work with
Pre-seed through Series D. Mostly deep tech, infrastructure, security, AI/ML, Hardware at B2B or B2C companies. We're at our best when the search is technically nuanced enough that a precision, research-focused methodology with deep market mapping and industry connections is key to success.
What's different about how we work
We've been the in-house hiring leader at companies like Google, Netflix, Autodesk, Stripe, LinkedIn, and Samsara. We know what an operating executive search looks like from the inside — what it feels like to inherit a misaligned offer, what a fast-moving Series B feels like to a candidate considering three competing options, what kinds of leaders thrive in different stages of company growth. We run searches with a five-criterion weighted rubric, refined per role with the hiring manager. Every candidate we surface has been evaluated against that rubric. No spray-and-pray.
Have a search like this? Let's talk.
Get in touch →