Case
A hands-on CTO for an international mobile games developer: hired in 2 months after a 6-month search
We found a hands-on CTO with experience leading 50+ people in 2 months, after the client had searched on its own for six months
An international mobile games developer had spent six months searching on its own for a hands-on CTO who combined strong backend and frontend skills, experience with Java and Unity, and leadership of a 50+ person team. NEWHR filled the role in 2 months: we narrowed the long list to studios of a comparable level and assessed technical depth, management experience and motivation together. The offer was accepted by an ex-CTO of an international mobile games studio.
Request and constraints
The client needed a hands-on CTO who had not moved entirely into management and still worked with code. The requirements were strict, and none of them could be dropped:
- Strong backend and frontend: the company had just lost its Frontend Team Lead
- Experience with both Java and Unity, a good grasp of mobile technology, but not mobile-only experience
- Experience leading a team of 50+ people in an international company
- English at C1–C2 and native Russian: the founder is Russian-speaking and the team is international
- A Computer Science degree, needed for the work visa
Why it was hard
The client had already searched for six months
The company knew the market well, but had not filled the role in that time.
Very few people met every requirement at once
Hands-on, Java and Unity, a 50+ team, two languages and a relevant degree together left only a handful of people on the market.
No condition could be relaxed
The degree was needed for the visa, Russian for working with the founder, and frontend because the company had been left without a Frontend Team Lead.
How we searched
We bet on a precise long list rather than a large one
With only a handful of suitable people, the task was not to collect many candidates but to avoid spending time on the wrong ones. The long list kept only people from games of a comparable level, not from the casual segment.
We looked for Russian-speaking leaders in European studios
We built the long list across relevant game studios in Russia and abroad. We specifically included Russian-speaking engineering leaders in European studios: they already had experience with international teams.
We assessed technical depth, management and motivation together
We looked not only at technical depth and management experience, but also at motivation: whether the person was ready to rebuild processes and own the growth of the team. English was checked during screening.
Result
The offer was accepted by an ex-CTO of an international mobile games studio: strong technically, hands-on, with experience leading 50+ people and eligible for the visa. The search took 2 months, after six months of the client's own search.
The new CTO settled in quickly and started rebuilding the development process.