Seven engineers, two years. The seventh needed no new search.
They tried to hire their first Elixir engineer directly. Two weeks of effort produced nothing usable, because the developers applying had Elixir on a CV without meaningful production exposure.
Seven engineers placed in two years. Five searches filled, none abandoned, averaging 27 days from brief to offer, and a seventh hire made without a new search. All on an exclusive partnership that has run for two years.
A hospitality technology company running a small, high output engineering team on a genuinely complex stack. Every hire is significant at that size, and a poor fit costs more than a missed month.
They tried to hire their first Elixir engineer directly. Two weeks of effort produced nothing useful. The developers who applied had listed Elixir on a CV without meaningful production exposure. Elixir is a niche functional language with a passionate but small talent pool, and finding engineers who actually write it in production requires knowing where to look. That is the whole basis of how I run Elixir recruitment. From the point that first search was resolved, the relationship became fully exclusive and has stayed that way for two years.
Day to day communication moved into a shared Slack channel with the founder and the managers running the interview panel. CV feedback comes back the same day. Interview stages get booked within hours. It removes every layer of friction that slows most hiring processes down, and it is why a shortlist lands inside a week rather than a month.
Senior Elixir Engineer · First Hire
Shortlist Under One WeekThe search that started the relationship, after two weeks of direct hiring produced nothing usable.
Elixir Engineer · Second Hire
Shortlist Under One WeekExclusive from day one. No internal time wasted on direct attempts, no resource spent filtering irrelevant applications. The groundwork from the first search meant the team, the culture and the bar were already understood.
Angular Frontend Engineer · Third Hire
Shortlist Under One WeekTheir original frontend developer had built the product then left with no documentation and no handover. Nobody internally had meaningful Angular experience, which created a specific problem: how do you assess candidate capability when no one in the business can do it? AG Talent sourced the shortlist and arranged an external senior technical interviewer to run the final stage, giving the client genuine confidence in the hire without needing to build that expertise in house.
Senior Data Engineer · Fourth Hire
Shortlist Under One WeekTheir first ever data hire. The platform generates over 100 million transactions across 500GB of structured data, with an architecture that needed to scale to 3TB and beyond. AG Talent was involved before the job spec existed, scoping responsibilities, defining the ideal profile and advising on what was achievable at that salary range.
Elixir Engineers · Fifth Search, Two Hires
Shortlist Under One WeekThe brief was one senior engineer. Two candidates came through strongly enough that the client hired both, a senior and a strong mid level engineer, off one brief and one search.
Both came into the process with competing options. The senior had a live offer elsewhere and a second interview running. The mid level engineer cancelled her remaining interviews. Both chose this client.
Elixir Engineer · Seventh Hire
No New SearchHe was the close runner up on the fifth search, when the client hired two engineers off one brief. Rather than let him go cold, AG Talent told him straight, kept him updated and kept looking. Shortly after, the founder needed another Elixir engineer and asked whether he was still available. He was. One short call, then an offer. He started in October 2026.
Feedback From the FounderI had the pleasure of working with Arj to find candidates for a specialised back-end Elixir position. Arj demonstrated exceptional skills in quickly identifying and presenting over 10 highly qualified candidates, 2 of whom we successfully hired. Throughout the process, Arj was incredibly communicative and responsive, available anytime and any day, showing a deep understanding of each candidate’s strengths and experience.
Founder and COO, Hospitality Technology CompanyGiven after the first two Elixir hires. Five more engineers have been placed since.
Placed Senior Elixir Engineer · First HireI highly recommend Arjun for job searching. He was able to find me a great gig, discuss all details up front, and prepare all the information required for both groups before we had our first interview. He was following up on each step with more information all the way until I signed up with the company. All in all he was of great help.
Senior Elixir Engineer, Started July 2024
Placed Elixir Engineer · Second HireI had the pleasure to connect with Arjun in the context of a job opportunity, and he has been very helpful, proactive and giving insightful advice all the way through the process. Highly recommended!
Elixir Engineer, Started June 2025
Placed Frontend Engineer · Third HireArjun is the best recruiter I have ever worked with. He reached out to me regarding a senior software developer role, supported me throughout the entire process, and provided excellent advice on how to prepare for interviews. He was always responsive and made sure I was informed of all updates in a clear and timely manner. I cannot recommend him enough.
Frontend Engineer, Started January 2026
Placed Senior Data Engineer · Fourth HireOne of the smoothest hiring processes I have had. Arjun was always transparent, quick to respond, honest with feedback, and very helpful with interview prep. 10/10, would recommend!
Senior Data Engineer, Started April 2026
Placed Senior Elixir Engineer · Fifth SearchArjun is definitely one of the best I’ve had opportunity to work with. He deeply understands hiring process. Arjun did help me a lot; showed me where my strengths are not necessarily presented well enough, what should I focus to show my true best self while removing any unnecessary noise. He really guides interviewee through the process, providing support and good advice. Additionally, I really appreciate Arjun stressing out to be honest and true – there’s no "making things look better to sell better". A true professional with deep knowledge about his field.
Senior Elixir Engineer, Started August 2026
Placed Elixir Engineer · Fifth SearchI had a really positive experience working with Arjun. He was professional, approachable and very supportive from the beginning. He helped me prepare, gave me a better understanding of how to present my experience and showed me both my strengths and areas I could work on. He also gave me a clear picture of what to expect throughout the process. His advice and insights were genuinely helpful. I’d definitely recommend Arjun!
Elixir Engineer, Started August 2026
Placed Elixir Engineer · Seventh HireArjun helped me find a permanent Elixir role, and he put real care into it.
He knew from the start that Elixir was what I wanted, and he stuck to that. Before each interview he sent me a clear note: who I would meet, what we would talk about, and the timing. After the call he checked in the same day. When a process ended without an offer, he told me straight, kept looking, and kept me posted.
Two months later he spoke to the founder again and got us back on a call. That call turned into the job. I started on 1 October.
He is easy to talk to, quick to reply, and he stays with you. I am very glad I worked with him, and I would send any engineer I know his way.
Elixir Engineer, Started October 2026
Questions this search answers
How long does it take to hire an Elixir engineer?
On these five searches a shortlist landed inside a week every time, and the average from brief to offer was 27 days.
Why is hiring Elixir engineers so difficult?
Elixir is a niche functional language with a passionate but small talent pool. Plenty of developers list it on a CV without production exposure, so the work is in knowing where the engineers who write it every day actually are.
How do you assess a candidate when nobody in the business has that skill?
On the Angular hire, nobody internally had meaningful Angular experience. AG Talent sourced the shortlist and arranged an external senior technical interviewer to run the final stage, so the client could hire with confidence without building that expertise in house.
What happens to strong candidates who narrowly miss out?
On this account, the runner up from the fifth search was kept updated rather than dropped. When the founder needed another Elixir engineer shortly after, he was still available, and the hire took one short call instead of a new search.
Hiring something similar?
Tell me what you are trying to hire and I will tell you honestly whether I can help, and what it will take.
Book a callArjun Gillard, Founder, AG Talent
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