Direct hire and direct placement.
One search, one fee, one employee on your payroll — the standard model for roadmap-critical engineering headcount.
Direct hire — also called direct placement — is when a recruitment agency sources a candidate who is then hired straight onto the employer's payroll as a permanent employee. The agency is paid a one-time fee and never becomes the employer. Mindpool USA runs direct-hire searches across AI, energy, and semiconductor roles in the United States.
What direct hire means in practice
The employer interviews, decides, and employs. The recruiter finds, qualifies, and closes. There is no intermediary employment relationship, no hourly bill rate, and no conversion fee later, because there is nothing to convert — the candidate starts as a permanent employee.
- Candidate joins the employer's payroll and benefits on day one
- Single placement fee tied to first-year base salary
- No conversion or buyout charges
- 90-day replacement guarantee
When direct hire is the right model
Direct hire suits roles that carry long-term ownership: architecture, silicon, safety-critical systems, security clearance work, people leadership, and anything where losing the individual means losing the context. If the work outlives a project window, the hire should too.
How our direct-hire searches run
Every search starts with a brief intake call that establishes the outcome, the must-have competencies, and a realistic compensation band. From there we map the market, run targeted and specialised outreach, screen with a sector specialist, and return a shortlist you can interview immediately.
- Shortlists typically delivered within days of the brief
- Average of roughly 21 days from brief to signed offer
- Compensation benchmarking against live U.S. offer data
- Reference checks and structured offer close
Frequently asked
What is direct hire?
Direct hire is a permanent placement where the candidate is employed directly by the hiring company from their first day, with the recruitment agency paid a one-time fee.
What is the difference between direct hire and temp-to-hire?
Temp-to-hire starts as an agency-employed assignment and converts later, usually with a conversion fee. Direct hire skips that entirely — the candidate is a permanent employee immediately. Mindpool USA does direct hire only.
Is direct hire more expensive than staffing?
Direct hire is a single fee rather than an ongoing hourly margin, so it is usually cheaper than agency staffing once an assignment runs past a few months.
Does Mindpool USA place direct-hire engineers?
Yes — direct-hire engineering and leadership roles across artificial intelligence, energy, and semiconductors, throughout the United States.