What IR Search does

IR Search BV is a privately held boutique recruitment firm headquartered in Nijmegen, Netherlands, specializing exclusively in the semiconductor and deep-tech sectors since 1998. The company operates three integrated service lines: Technical Recruitment (executive and senior technical search), Contracting & Interim Management (placing engineers, HR managers, and financial managers as consultants), and Outplacement (career transition support for departing employees). All client engagements are relationship-driven and led by founder/consultant Anton van Rossum, with no intermediary distribution channels.

The firm's underlying capability is its domain specialization and network — 25+ years of building relationships across the European semiconductor ecosystem spanning fabless design houses, foundries, sensor companies, equipment manufacturers, and AI/neuromorphic computing startups. Its technology footprint is minimal: the business runs on the proprietary knowledge of its recruiter and a content marketing presence (a long-running "Ask the Headhunter" column in Bits & Chips magazine, archive dating to 2002, plus a website and LinkedIn profile). There is no software product, platform, API, or AI/ML offering.

The revenue model is professional services fees: contingency or retained search fees structured as a percentage of placed candidates' annual salary for executive search, mark-ups on consultant day rates for interim/contract placements, and fee-for-service pricing for outplacement programs. Geographic reach spans the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Belgium, serving clients from early-stage deep-tech startups to Fortune 500 semiconductor multinationals. Headcount remains small (1-10 employees), no external funding has been raised, and the firm operates from a single Dutch office.

Name

IR Search

Legal name

IR Search BV

Website

https://ir-search.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IR Search BV is a Dutch boutique recruitment firm specializing in the semiconductor and deep-tech sectors since 1998, offering executive search, interim management, and outplacement services to clients from startups to Fortune 500 across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Nijmegen

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Technical Recruitment / Executive Search: IR Search earns fees for successfully placing highly qualified professionals and executives in semiconductor and deep-tech roles. Fees are typically structured as a percentage of the placed candidate's annual salary (contingency or retained search model).
2. Contracting & Interim Management: IR Search places consultants (engineers, HR managers, financial managers) on a contract/interim basis with client organizations. Revenue is generated through margin on consultant day rates or mark-up on contractor salaries.
3. Outplacement Services: IR Search provides outplacement programs to departing employees of client organizations. These are fee-for-service programs, typically paid by the employer, supporting redundant employees with coaching, career transition, and job market guidance.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

IR Search is a boutique B2B recruitment firm that places highly qualified professionals, executives, and interim consultants in semiconductor and deep-tech companies. Founded in 1998, it provides three core services: Technical Recruitment (executive and senior technical search), Contracting & Interim Management (placing engineers, HR and finance managers on contract), and Outplacement (career transition support for departing employees). All services are delivered directly to client companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500.

Product overview

IR Search is a Dutch recruitment and staffing firm that has been internationally active since 1998, specializing in the semiconductor industry. The company offers three integrated core services: Technical Recruitment for placing highly qualified professionals in semiconductor companies, Contracting & Interim Management for placing engineers and managers as consultants on projects, and Outplacement for providing departing employees with professional career transition support. The services span from startup to Fortune 500 companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Technical Recruitment International recruitment service specializing in placing highly qualified professionals for the semiconductor industry, operating since 1998 and serving clients from startup to Fortune 500. Covers executive search and senior technical recruitment for C-suite, VP, and architectural roles.
• Contracting & Interim Management Provides contract and interim management placements where hundreds of Engineers, HR Managers and Financial Managers have worked as consultants for IR Search. Enables flexible workforce scaling for semiconductor and high-tech companies on a project basis.
• Outplacement Professional support services for departing employees to help them open new doors and find new positions, including career coaching and job market guidance. Offered to organizations undergoing restructuring or redundancy situations in the high-tech and semiconductor sectors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundreds of Engineers, HR Managers and Financial Managers have worked as consultants for IR Search over the years.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• IC Resources: IC Resources is a UK-headquartered specialist recruiter focused exclusively on semiconductor, electronics, and IC design roles across Europe and globally. It is the closest direct peer to IR Search, with a comparable niche focus on chip-industry talent and similar service lines including permanent and contract placement.
• Skills Alliance: Skills Alliance is a specialist life sciences and STEM recruitment firm operating in Europe with a similar boutique, vertical-specialist model. Its focus on hard-to-fill scientific and technical roles makes it a close comparable in approach and client base to IR Search's deep-tech executive search practice.
• SThree: SThree is a global specialist STEM recruitment firm with strong presence in semiconductors, engineering, and technology. It directly competes with IR Search for the same pool of deep-tech contractors and permanent hires, with a comparable specialist positioning and European footprint.
• Computer Futures: Computer Futures is a specialist technology and engineering recruiter with strong European presence, placing engineers and tech leaders across semiconductors, embedded systems, and hardware. It is a direct competitor for many of the same deep-tech roles IR Search fills.

Broad incumbents

• Hays: Hays is a large UK-listed recruitment group with deep European coverage and dedicated technology & engineering practices. While it competes with IR Search for technical and engineering hires, it is a broad incumbent rather than a semiconductor-exclusive specialist.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Heidrick & Struggles is a global executive search firm with a dedicated technology and services practice. It competes for the same semiconductor C-suite and VP-level searches as IR Search, but at much larger scale and without exclusive semiconductor specialization.
• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm with a large executive search practice that serves semiconductor and technology clients for board, CEO, and senior executive appointments. It competes at the high end of the same mandates IR Search handles, but as a broad incumbent rather than a semiconductor-exclusive boutique.
• Michael Page: Michael Page is a global professional recruitment firm with substantial technology and engineering desks in the Netherlands and Germany. It competes for mid-to-senior technical hires but lacks IR Search's semiconductor exclusivity.
• Alexander Mann Solutions: Alexander Mann Solutions is a global talent acquisition and RPO provider serving large technology and engineering employers. It overlaps with IR Search's interim/contract staffing and broader talent delivery, but operates at enterprise scale rather than as a niche boutique.

Emerging players

• Real Staffing: Real Staffing (part of SThree) is a specialist life sciences and technology recruiter with partial overlap into semiconductor-adjacent technical hiring. It competes in some of IR Search's adjacent skill pools but is less focused on hardware/chip specialization.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/antonvanrossum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ir-search

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IR Search