One standard of work.
A commercial shape to fit.
Every engagement runs the same method: roles defined properly before the search begins, principal-led interviews, fully documented assessment, a contractual timeline and a six-month guarantee. Permanent and contract, from day one.
Engaged Search
A fixed commitment fee, quoted in writing before engagement and credited in full against the success fee. You get priority, exclusivity and the full method; we get a client who is serious. We don't work contingent - a fee structure that rewards speed over rigour is how this industry earned its reputation.
Retained Search
Staged fees across engagement, shortlist and placement. For Head-of-AI, governance and leadership searches - where the first deliverable is a market map showing you the true shape of the talent pool before we agree the profile.
Team Builds
Founding a team or scaling one - multiple roles, one blended structure, sequenced so early hires help close later ones. The standard motion for post-raise AI companies.
Embedded Talent Partner
A Gradient principal embedded with your team on a monthly subscription - for sustained hiring programs where a per-placement model stops making sense. We take a maximum of two embedded engagements at any time: a principal-led model does not stretch further, and we won't pretend it does.
Contract Placement
AI contractors, available from day one. Contractors are engaged through our licensed contractor-management partner - labour-hire licences held in every state that requires them, insurances in place, contractors paid on normal cycles - and your accounts team receives one clean invoice. No payroll administration on your side.
Advisory
Making a first AI hire and unsure what to hire? A short, fixed-fee engagement: role definition, compensation benchmarking from Australian data, and an interview process your own team can run with confidence.
The clock and the guarantee
| Commitment | Gradient Search | Market standard |
|---|---|---|
| Qualified shortlist | 10 business days, contractual | 2–4 weeks, best-efforts |
| Interview process | 4 stages inside 3 weeks, managed | uncontracted |
| Replacement guarantee | 6 months | 13 weeks |
| Assessment | A documented assessment record with every candidate | A formatted CV |
| Compensation advice | Benchmarked from individually-interviewed Australian data | “Market feedback” |
Success fees are a fixed percentage of first-year package, quoted in writing before any engagement begins - the structure depends on seniority and exclusivity, and you will never meet a surprise. What never varies: the clock, the guarantee, and the method.
Straight answers
- Why won't you take our data engineering role?
- Because specialisation is the entire product. The moment we run generalist searches, our network, our data and our assessment stop being better than everyone else's. We'll happily refer you to firms we rate for adjacent roles.
- How is your assessment different?
- Every interview is conducted by a principal against a structured, role-specific framework, and independently documented. You receive the assessment record with each candidate - the evidence behind our recommendation, not just our opinion. Where technology assists our process it is disclosed to every candidate, consented, and a person makes every decision; our transparency statement is publishedhere.
- How can you offer six months when the market offers thirteen weeks?
- The guarantee reflects the assessment. Structured interviews, documented evidence and real compensation data mean fewer surprises on both sides - so we can stand behind a placement for longer than the market does.
- Do you place contractors?
- Yes - from day one, through a fully licensed contractor-management structure. Contractors are paid on normal cycles, labour-hire obligations are met in every state, and your accounts team sees one clean invoice.