Hire senior tech across 3 countries. The right fit, not the fast hire.
Senior sourcing across 3 countries (France, Canada, Japan). Top 1% validated by Abbeal engineers (not HR recruiters), short process (5 steps max), 6-month guarantee. Mobbeal for international mobility included. Tech recruitment firm operated by a tri-geo engineering company.
Our differentiator: recruitment by engineers, not HR
Every consulting firm has « headhunters ». Every recruitment agency has « HR consultants ». Almost no entity on the French tech market has practicing engineers running the recruitment. Yet that's what we've done since 2015: our senior active engineers (CTO, Lead, Architect) do the sourcing, technical pre-qualification, and scoring. Not by dogma — by pragmatism: an engineer recognizes another engineer in 30 minutes, a non-tech HR recruiter takes 3 interviews and misses 60% of the time. The consequence: our shortlists arrive in 48h max (vs 5-10 days industry), our client interview → signed offer conversion rates hover around 35% (vs ~15% market).
The 3 markets we cover
France — Paris + major cities
Paris office at 54 Rue Greneta 75002 since 2015. Direct sourcing on LinkedIn FR, AfterHours, Welcome to the Jungle, Hellowork. Talent pool of 8000+ qualified tech profiles over 10 years. Strong specialties: Senior Fullstack, AI Engineer, Cloud / DevOps, startup CTO, Lead Data, Embedded Tech Lead. Regional coverage: Paris (60%), Lyon/Toulouse/Bordeaux (25%), rest (15%).
Canada — Montréal and major cities
Montréal office at 4388 Rue Saint-Denis H2J 2L1 since 2023. Direct sourcing on LinkedIn CA, Jobboom, Workopolis, plus word-of-mouth from the Quebec tech community (where we've been known since 2018 via our engagements at Cogeco, Logient, and Mobbeal franco-mobility). Specialties: Senior Fullstack, AI / ML Engineer, Data Engineer, DevOps SRE, Quebec scale-up CTO. Coverage: Montréal (75%), Toronto (15%), Vancouver (10%).
Japan — Tokyo primarily
Tokyo office at 1-23-5 Higashi-Azabu Minato-ku 106-0044 since 2018. Japanese tech market largely closed to foreigners — requires physical JP presence and JP/EN bilingual engineers. Direct sourcing on LinkedIn JP, Bizreach, Wantedly. Specialties: Senior Software Engineer JP/EN bilingual, Embedded / Robotics (proximity to Toyota / Fanuc / Yaskawa / SoftBank), JP-fluent AI Engineer. Coverage: Tokyo (90%), Osaka / Kyoto / Yokohama (10%).
Our short technical process in 5 steps max
- 1. Technical brief with your CTO or Tech Lead (45 min). Abbeal engineer listens, asks precise technical questions, leaves with a client-fit scoring grid calibrated on your constraints (stack, seniority, timezone, budget).
- 2. Active sourcing on 3 channels (local LinkedIn, internal pool, target-market specialized platforms). 24-48h to produce a shortlist of maximum 5 profiles, already technically pre-qualified by us.
- 3. You receive the 5 profiles + 5 mini tech pre-qualification reports (strengths, weaknesses, candidate motivational context). You select who you want to meet.
- 4. Client interview (1-2 rounds max recommended). We organize Calendly slots, transcribe (Tactiq), debrief with you on each candidate synchronously.
- 5. Offer + closing. We help on salary negotiation (market benchmark), counter-offer management, specific clauses (non-compete, RTT transfer, etc.). Closing within 48h after verbal offer.
Mobbeal: international mobility as an argument
Looking for a senior profile that doesn't exist locally? We can source in another country. Our Mobbeal programme has already relocated 50+ engineers internationally (France → Tokyo, France → Montréal, Montréal → Paris). Work visa, housing, family schooling, bank account opening, administrative support — included in the placement fee for an accepted senior candidate. Zero additional cost for you. That differentiator let us place 1 AI Engineer France → Montréal at Paraito with 2-week closing while the Quebec AI market is bone-dry.
Profiles we frequently find
- Senior Fullstack — Next.js / React / TypeScript / Node / Go. Most in-demand profile across the 3 markets. Average lead time: 6-8 weeks.
- AI / ML Engineer — Python, PyTorch, LangChain, RAG, LLM agents in prod. Very tight on all 3 countries, especially Canada where the market pays more than consulting firms are used to. Lead time 8-10 weeks.
- Cloud / DevOps / SRE — Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS / GCP / Azure, observability. Karpenter / ARM64 / GreenOps trend sought. Lead time 6-8 weeks.
- Embedded / Robotics — Rust, C++, ROS 2. Very specific, mainly demanded in Tokyo (JP industrials). Lead time 10-12 weeks (bilingual profile scarcity).
- CTO / VP Engineering — from startup to Series B scale-up. We place 3-4 per year across the 3 combined markets. Lead time 12-16 weeks (executive process).
- Tech Lead / Engineering Manager — relay between executive and engineering. Mid-level profile, strong demand in France and Canada. Lead time 6-8 weeks.
- Niche experts — Snowflake Data Engineer, senior iOS Mobile, Rust Backend, DevSecOps Security. On demand, variable lead time per market.
They recruited with us
- Paraito (Montréal, AI legaltech) — 3 permanent hires in 6 weeks: 2 AI Engineers + 1 Lead Platform, including 1 France → Montréal mobility via Mobbeal. On a tight Quebec AI market.
- TheGreenBow (Paris, cybersecurity) — Emergency takeover of VPN Console: squad of 3 experts (senior front + Go back + DevSecOps) mobilized in a few weeks to save client delivery.
- Neobrain × PwC (Paris, HR agentic AI) — SkillBot in Microsoft Teams for 35,000+ PwC USA collaborators. Complementary product engineering team hiring on Neobrain side.
Frequently asked questions
What is your pricing model?
Classic placement fee as a percentage of gross annual salary (15-20% depending on seniority and difficulty). No upfront fee, no fee for profiles we present and you decline. You only pay if you sign a contract with a candidate we sourced. Free replacement guarantee for 6 months (vs 3 months standard market).
What guarantee in case of fast candidate departure?
Free replacement guarantee for 6 months: if the candidate resigns or is fired within 6 months, we replace at no additional cost. Beyond 6 months, we replace at standard new-recruitment rate. It's rare: our 12-month turnover rate is 4% (vs ~15% market).
What are the average lead times between brief and offer signing?
Shortlist in 48h. Client interviews in week 2-3. Offer + closing in week 4-6 for mid-senior profile, 8-12 weeks for an executive (CTO, VP Engineering). Very niche profiles (bilingual JP embedded Rust, LangChain AI Engineer in prod) can take 10-14 weeks.
Which geographies do you really cover?
France (Paris office since 2015, 8000+ profile pool), Canada (Montréal office since 2023, focus Quebec + Toronto + Vancouver), Japan (Tokyo Higashi-Azabu office since 2018). No USA, UK, Germany, or Singapore — we prefer being very good on 3 markets than bad on 8.
Which tech stacks do you master?
All stacks where we have engineers on mission or in intermission: Software (Go, Rust, TypeScript, Next.js, Python, Java/Kotlin), AI/Data (hybrid RAG, multi-tool agents, Mistral/Claude/OpenAI, Databricks, dbt, Snowflake, Qdrant), Robotics (ROS 2, Isaac Sim, embedded Rust), Infra (Kubernetes + Karpenter, Terraform). If the stack isn't covered, we tell you honestly.
How does the process go for the candidate?
1st call with an Abbeal engineer (30-45 min, technical + contextual motivation). If fit: presentation to client on average within 48h. Close follow-up until signing (briefing before each interview, salary negotiation support, counter-offer management, Mobbeal support if international mobility). Our candidate NPS is 72 (measured on 200+ placements).
// Related case studies
Legaltech / Real estate law · Montréal
Paraito: AI & Platform staffing to scale a Quebec legaltech.
Paraito automates Quebec's Land Registry for notaries (−70% collection time, 3× more files handled at constant headcount). Abbeal delivered 3 permanent hires (2 AI Engineers + 1 Lead Platform), including 1 France→Montreal relocation via Mobbeal — a strong differentiator on a tight Quebec AI tech market.
Agentic AI / HR SaaS · Paris + Boston
Neobrain × PwC: SkillBot, the HR AI agent inside Microsoft Teams.
Agentic AI chatbot shipped at PwC for 35,000+ US employees, natively integrated into Microsoft Teams. AI staff augmentation + senior DevOps + express LangChain sourcing for Neobrain (AI Talent Marketplace). From POC to PwC go-live with no scope or critical schedule slip.
Cybersecurity / Sovereign VPN · Paris
TheGreenBow: emergency takeover of the VPN console of a French cybersecurity vendor.
French cybersecurity vendor (sovereign VPN, ANSSI certifications, defense and government clients). Abbeal squad of 3 experts (senior front-end + Go back-end + DevSecOps) mobilized in weeks to take over Bowrealis Console development after the previous vendor walked off, and secure the Q1 2026 product release.
