Leadership hiring for the semiconductor industry.
When a leadership hire will shape the next stage of your business, you need more than a shortlist.
We work with founders, boards and executive teams from the first conversation until well after your new leader has started: defining what the role must deliver, testing it against the market, and finding, assessing and securing the right person. Across Europe and beyond.
Planning a leadership hire?
Before you commit to a search, get a free leadership market snapshot from our research team:
Where the leaders you need are working today. And what it would take to attract them.
Walked through with you by one of our founders, Claude or Alex.
Leadership searches we've worked on
A few recent examples. Each needed someone with real technical credibility and the ability to lead.
Chief Operating Officer
Semiconductor equipment expertise, hands-on executive leadership and proven prototype-to-production experience, to scale the business from 50 to 150 people while preparing a new fab.
VP of Platform Hardware & Rack Delivery
A hands-on leader who had shipped complete rack systems, managed external hardware partners and led PCB and firmware teams, and could build delivery discipline in a fast-moving, founder-led business.
Lab Director, Storage & AI Architecture Research
A rare overlap of PhD-level research, deep industrial experience in storage technologies and AI architecture vision, with the authority to lead ten interdisciplinary researchers.
What makes a leadership hire different
Finding the right person is only part of it. These are the things that decide whether a leadership hire works.
Agreeing what the role must deliver
Founders, boards and investors often picture different leaders. We help you agree what success looks like in the first 12 to 24 months, before anyone is approached.
Assessing leadership, not just experience
We look at track record, judgement, how people build and keep teams, and how they’ll fit the stage your company is at.
Discretion
Replacing a leader, or approaching someone in a highly visible role, needs care. We approach people discreetly and share details only when it’s appropriate.
Getting the offer right
Equity, relocation, notice periods and counter-offers can make or break a leadership hire. We help you shape an offer that lands.
Landing well
We stay in touch with you and your new leader through the first months, so small issues are dealt with early.
Most conversations start here
If one of these sounds familiar, we can probably help.
Get a free leadership market snapshot
Before you commit to a search, our research team maps the market for your role. You’ll see where the leaders you need are working today, and what it would take to bring them to you.
- The companies and teams where suitable leaders work today
- How many realistic candidates there are, and how many may be open to a move
- Typical packages, and what it may take to attract them
- Our honest view on how to approach the search
One of our founders, Claude or Alex, will walk you through it in a short call.
How we run a leadership search
Six steps, led personally by Claude or Alex and backed by our research team.
Align the stakeholders
We agree with you, and your board or investors where relevant, what the role must deliver and what success looks like.
Map the leadership market
Our research team maps the companies, teams and leaders who fit, and we share the map so you can see the logic.
Approach discreetly
We approach leaders personally and confidentially, with a story that is credible to someone who isn’t looking.
Assess how they lead
Beyond technical depth, we assess track record, judgement, how they build teams and what really motivates them.
Shape the offer
We help you put together an offer that works for both sides, including equity, relocation, notice periods and counter-offers.
Support the first months
We stay close to you and your new leader after the start, so the hire lands well.
What clients say
Redefining our foundational leadership roles.
“Claude brings strong insight into the European semiconductor talent market. He has validated our hiring roadmap, challenged our assumptions, and is helping us redefine our foundational leadership roles to align with market realities.”
Sector knowledge that made a real difference.
“Their understanding of the semiconductor and high-tech sector made a real difference during the hiring project. I would gladly work with them again for future hiring needs in specialised, senior and leadership roles.”
A critical, complex and senior hire, filled.
“We partnered with The Silicon Search to fill a critical position that had been challenging for us to hire due to its complexity and seniority. They quickly understood what we needed and presented highly relevant candidates.”
Questions we usually get
C-level and VP roles, site and lab directors, and heads of engineering, operations or R&D. From the first senior hires in a scale-up to leadership teams in established companies.
Yes. Alongside leadership search, we help companies hire senior specialists in small, hard-to-reach talent pools. See specialist hiring.
Yes. We work with companies hiring in the UK, Benelux, DACH, the Nordics, France, Spain and across the rest of Europe, and we approach leaders from around the world.
Often, yes. Agreeing what the role must deliver is usually where we add the most value in the first conversation.
Carefully. Many leadership searches involve a replacement or a change that hasn’t been announced. We approach people discreetly and share details only when it’s appropriate.
Our research team maps where suitable leaders for your role are working today, how many are realistic candidates and what it may take to attract them. Claude or Alex then walks you through it in a short call. We share companies and profiles, never names. No cost and no obligation.
