Design Build Recruitment
Design Build Recruitment is a privately held, New York-based contingency recruitment firm founded in 2008 that places passive candidates with employers in the Environmental, Engineering, Architecture, and Construction sectors across the New York metropolitan area, using its proprietary STAR automated sourcing platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Design Build Recruitment does
Design Build Recruitment is a privately held contingency recruitment firm founded in 2008 and headquartered at 244 Fifth Ave, Suite C291, New York, NY. It serves employers across four interrelated verticals — Environmental, Engineering, Architecture, and Construction (EEAC) — and concentrates operations within the New York metropolitan area, where it claims access to roughly 87% of the relevant talent pool.
The firm's core product is the STAR (Signature Talent Acquisition and Retention) platform, an automated inbound system that operates continuously to identify, engage, and nurture passive candidates. STAR is paired with a consultative 6-Step recruitment process and a proprietary Performance Profile methodology that replaces traditional job descriptions with outcome-based candidate evaluation. The platform is built on a candidate database developed and curated over 12 years, with over 1,000 new candidates added monthly through automated sourcing. The firm is led by founder and director Neil Colquhoun.
Revenue is generated through transaction-based placement fees consistent with industry-standard contingency recruitment, with compensation tied to successful candidate placement. The company employs a sales-led, consultative go-to-market model, distributing primarily through direct employer engagement and its corporate website (dbrecruit.com). There is no disclosed subscription, retainer, technology licensing, or staffing/MSP revenue stream, and no external funding, institutional investors, or parent company relationships are recorded in the source material.
Design Build Recruitment firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Design Build Recruitment
- Legal name
- Design Build Recruitment
- Website
- https://dbrecruit.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Design Build Recruitment is a privately held, New York-based contingency recruitment firm founded in 2008 that places passive candidates with employers in the Environmental, Engineering, Architecture, and Construction sectors across the New York metropolitan area, using its proprietary STAR automated sourcing platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Design Build Recruitment industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Engineering & Construction Recruitment Services
- NAICS
- Employment Placement Agencies (561311)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sales, Marketing & Customer Success Direct Hire (BPACAFAD)
Keywords
Where Design Build Recruitment is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Design Build Recruitment business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Recruitment/Talent Acquisition Services: Professional recruitment services connecting companies in Environmental, Engineering, Architecture, and Construction sectors with top talent. The company operates on a fee-based model typical of contingency recruitment agencies, placing candidates with employer clients and earning placement fees upon successful hires.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Design Build Recruitment product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Design Build Recruitment is a specialized recruitment and staffing firm that connects companies in the Environmental, Engineering, Architecture, and Construction sectors with top passive industry professionals. The company pairs its proprietary STAR (Signature Talent Acquisition and Retention) automated inbound platform with a personal 6-Step consultative process to identify and deliver the top 15% of talent in the New York metropolitan area. Services include employer-side Performance Profile creation, market mapping, and candidate matching, as well as candidate-side career guidance and access to non-advertised positions.
Product overview
Design Build Recruitment offers a unified recruitment platform called STAR (Signature Talent Acquisition and Retention), combined with a personal 6-step consultative process. The STAR platform is an automated inbound system running 24x7x365 that identifies and engages the top 15% passive talent in the Environmental, Engineering, Architecture, and Construction sectors. The company pairs this technology platform with human-driven services for both employers (Performance Profile creation, market mapping, candidate matching) and candidates (career guidance, access to non-advertised positions, confidential process support). The core offering is the STAR platform, which serves as the technological foundation, supplemented by recruitment consultation services for both hiring organizations and job seekers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- STAR Platform (Signature Talent Acquisition and Retention) A proprietary automated inbound recruitment platform that operates 24x7x365 to connect, communicate with, and nurture passive talent in the Environmental, Engineering, Architecture, and Construction sectors. It is powered by a 12-year curated database providing access to approximately 87% of the New York metropolitan area talent pool, adding over 1,000 candidates per month, and is targeted at employers seeking the top 15% of industry professionals.
- 6-Step Consultative Recruitment Service A personal, consultative recruitment service structured as a 6-Step process, delivered to employer clients in the Environmental, Engineering, Architecture, and Construction sectors. It includes Performance Profile creation, market mapping, and candidate matching to ensure the right hire for the right reasons within an agreed timeframe.
- Candidate Career Management Service A career management service for candidates in the EEAC sectors, providing access to a strong network of employers, non-advertised positions, recruiter relationship support, and a confidential hiring process. Designed for industry professionals seeking proactive, long-term career management rather than single-application job matching.
Quantifiable outcome
- Access to 87% of talent pool in New York metropolitan area
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Design Build Recruitment
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Design Build Recruitment technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Design Build Recruitment partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Design Build Recruitment competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Randstad: Global staffing leader with a dedicated engineering and construction practice, competing for the same engineering and architecture talent pool at much larger scale.
- Aerotek: Large staffing firm with a dedicated engineering and technical division placing talent across industrial, construction, and engineering markets similar to Design Build Recruitment's focus areas.
- Robert Half: Established professional staffing firm with an engineering and technical placement practice, competing for the same types of engineering and project management talent.
- Michael Page: Global professional recruitment firm with specialized engineering, construction, and property practices that recruit for the same verticals as Design Build Recruitment.
- Hays: Global specialist recruitment firm with dedicated construction and engineering practices placing permanent and contract talent in the same industries Design Build Recruitment serves.
Direct peers
- Actalent: Specialized engineering, scientific, and technical staffing firm operating a vertical-focused recruitment model for engineering and construction clients, with significantly greater scale than Design Build Recruitment.
- Beacon Hill Staffing Group: Niche-focused staffing firm offering specialized professional, technical, and engineering placements across multiple verticals—similar in size and niche orientation to Design Build Recruitment.
- The Intersect Group: Tech-enabled staffing firm specializing in IT, engineering, and professional placements with a comparable technology-driven sourcing approach.
- Insight Global: Large-scale staffing firm with a strong engineering and technical practice, using a tech-enabled sourcing model comparable to Design Build Recruitment's STAR platform approach.
- Kforce: Professional staffing firm with a meaningful technology and engineering practice, placing contract and permanent talent in similar verticals to Design Build Recruitment.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Design Build Recruitment social profiles
Digital presenceDesign Build Recruitment financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Design Build Recruitment leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Design Build Recruitment funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Design Build Recruitment M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Design Build Recruitment
What does Design Build Recruitment do?
Design Build Recruitment is a specialized recruitment and staffing firm that connects companies in the Environmental, Engineering, Architecture, and Construction sectors with top passive industry professionals. The company pairs its proprietary STAR (Signature Talent Acquisition and Retention) automated inbound platform with a personal 6-Step consultative process to identify and deliver the top 15% of talent in the New York metropolitan area. Services include employer-side Performance Profile creation, market mapping, and candidate matching, as well as candidate-side career guidance and access to non-advertised positions.
Is Design Build Recruitment a public or private company?
Design Build Recruitment is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Design Build Recruitment founded?
Design Build Recruitment was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Design Build Recruitment based?
Design Build Recruitment is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Design Build Recruitment make money?
One revenue line is on record: recruitment/Talent Acquisition Services.
Who are Design Build Recruitment's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Randstad, Aerotek, Robert Half, Michael Page and Hays. Direct peers are Actalent, Beacon Hill Staffing Group, The Intersect Group, Insight Global and Kforce.
Does Design Build Recruitment have an API?
No public API is recorded for Design Build Recruitment.
What industry is Design Build Recruitment in?
Design Build Recruitment's product category is Engineering & Construction Recruitment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAFAD, Sales, Marketing & Customer Success Direct Hire. Its NAICS code is 561311 and its SIC code is 7361.