For tech startups and scale-ups, from seed to pre-IPO. Get 3–5 vetted designers ready to interview within five business days of the benchmark—so your product team can keep building.
30 minutes to align on the role
and your hiring goals.
Founding / Sr. Product Designer
0→1 Product Design · AI-Native by Practice
8+ years · Berlin · Startups → Scaleups
Impact: Took AI-native B2B products from prototype to scale, reducing iteration cycles by 40%.
Previously: DeepL, Contentful
Choose the model that matches your bottleneck: a full search, a weekly ready-to-contact shortlist, or fractional design support.
End-to-end search on a fixed opening rhythm for first design hires, scaling ICs, leadership roles, or urgent backfills.
20% success fee + €1,500 credited engagement fee.
A weekly list of strongly matching candidates, selected against the competencies agreed in calibration, drawn from our pool and the market.
Flat weekly service fee, scoped to volume. Client can pause any week.
Pre-screened freelance designers and fractional design leads, matched to your requirements and ready to start.
Day rate, billed monthly. No placement fee.
Book a 30-min intro call. We'll assess your hiring needs and recommend the right approach.
From seed-stage founders to multi-national corporations, decision-makers trust us to hire their most critical design talent.
Rory is a trusted partner with 8+ years in design recruitment, combining a strong industry network and deep market insight to match top design talent with the right roles and teams.
"Rory helped us hire a Creative Lead from Google who exceeded our expectations. The process was simple, fast, and effective. He demonstrated a deep understanding of our brief and effectively communicated our services to passive candidates we wouldn't have reached otherwise."
"Rory helped us find a Product Designer for our team. It wasn't an easy brief—we needed someone experienced but not too senior. He quickly understood what we were looking for and sent us several strong candidates. He even found someone with agricultural tech experience, which was an unexpected plus. I appreciated how responsive and understanding he was, especially knowing how busy things get when a team is understaffed. We're really happy with the candidate he found and with the whole experience."
"Rory helped our startup immensely. He quickly understood the profile we wanted in a founding designer, and he worked relentlessly sourcing and carefully preselecting excellent profiles. He pitched our startup to those candidates really well and ensured even the strongest were keen to interview. He iterated with us as we refined the search and always kept us updated throughout the process. Rory never overpromised; he simply delivered a great experience from start through signing and beyond. It helps that he is a real pleasure to work with, but he truly stands out as a highly gifted recruiter who puts in the time. We worked with many recruiters for this role and hired one of Rory's candidates and couldn't be happier with them."
"Rory supported us at Yara during a key design leadership search, and he helped us define and translate a complex, and somewhat ambiguous, brief into a successful design director hire. He took time to understand the context, stakeholders, and what our new organisation truly needed, not just the role description."
"Rory helped us hire product design, brand design & design leadership during a significant growth phase. What set him apart was how quickly he understood our needs—not just on paper, but culturally and creatively. He invested time upfront with our team rather than immediately flooding us with CVs, which meant the candidates he presented were genuinely relevant. Regular updates, no wasted interviews, and zero hard-sell tactics. He operated like an embedded member of our talent acquisition team with the specialized design network we couldn’t build internally."
Mathieu has spent over a decade on a clear mission: connecting exceptional design and tech professionals with the organizations shaping the future.
Mathieu is a trusted partner with 10+ years in design and tech recruitment, leveraging a global network built from Berlin's thriving startup scene to place 780+ talents across 15+ cities worldwide.
"I highly recommend Mathieu as an exceptional recruiting professional. He is genuinely caring and passionate about candidates and their experience throughout the hiring process. Mathieu guided me through the recruitment process and helped me secure a role I truly enjoy, which led to huge career growth. He has extensive knowledge of design and product professionals, particularly in Germany, and is deeply engaged with the community. I strongly recommend that both candidates and hiring managers work with Mathieu!"
"Mathieu has been instrumental in helping both Plugsurfing and my previous company, FATMAP, hire senior design and engineering leaders. He is well connected in the Berlin technology scene and always connected us with excellent talent. He has been an invaluable partner in our recruitment efforts and I highly recommend Mathieu to any company seeking top-tier design and engineering talent."
"I have been working successfully with Mathieu for over 10 years. He successfully placed me as Head of UX/UI Design at LAB 1886, the Venture Builder of Daimler AG. After that, he helped me build the team there and later on again when Journee hired me as CD. Mathieu is fast, international and very well connected in the digital scene. Besides all his professionalism, he has his own charming style that makes it fun for both candidates and companies to work with him."
Hands-on support at every step, from role definition to offer close. We own the process, keep stakeholders aligned, and help you make confident decisions.
30-minute intro call to review
your role and hiring needs.
Brief, benchmark, shortlist, and support — with the cadence agreed before sourcing starts.
We learn about the company, role, interview process, and search context. We ideally schedule the benchmarking call during the briefing call.
Deliverable:
Clear role brief, search context, and benchmarking call scheduled where possible.
We send 5 profiles in advance and listen to your read on each to calibrate the bar.
Deliverable:
5 benchmark profiles and a shared read on the competencies, signals, and tradeoffs that matter.
We source and screen against the calibrated bar, then prepare candidates who are ready for client interviews.
Deliverable:
3–5 screened candidates ready for client interviews within 5 business days of the benchmark.
After the first delivery, we submit a minimum of 5 screened candidates per week and keep the search moving through interviews and offer close.
Deliverable:
Minimum 5 screened submissions per week, weekly signal report, feedback and interview scheduling, and offer closing support.
Representative profiles show our evaluation format and design fit.
Profiles are anonymised and representative. Company names show relevant experience, not endorsements.
Evaluated on: Role fit • Domain depth • Scope handled • Collaboration • Evidence of impact
How we'd think about this shortlist
In every Full Search candidate set: role-fit notes, interview prompts, and a calibrated scorecard.
Each offering has one clear commercial model, so you know whether you are buying a search outcome, a weekly matching list, or fractional design support.
Full Search is outcome-led. Weekly Shortlist is a weekly service fee. Fractional Design Support is billed by day rate. The model is named before the work starts.
Fee structure. Full Search: success fee is 20% of the hired candidate's first-year base salary. 10% is due when the candidate starts. 10% is due following the candidate's probation. A €1,500 initial engagement fee is credited to the total fee.
We ideally schedule the benchmarking call during the briefing call.
The right model depends on whether your bottleneck is search, weekly matching, or immediate capacity.
Everything you need to know about our design recruitment service
Book a short intro call. We'll calibrate the role and outline the plan.
