--- title: "144 for Companies: Hire Senior and Staff Engineers | ELC" description: "Meet 12 senior engineers trained against your gaps. €0 to take part, a fee only on a start, 30 days terms, probation guarantee." url: "https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/companies/" lang: "en" image: "https://www.engineeringleaders.io/gallery/144/og-144.webp" --- # Hire the engineers you have been _missing_ . Twelve senior engineers, trained for a quarter against the gaps you name. You meet them at a dinner, a speed-dating round and five coffees. Nothing to take part, 1.5x a monthly base salary when someone starts. [Send the brief](#cto-brief)[Read the terms](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/terms/) ![Two engineering leaders in a one-on-one conversation at a glass table with a Mentoring Zone sign at the ELC Conference, one gesturing as he talks](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/_astro/coffee-mentoring-zone.C1PVUjlw_Z1eAsBn.webp) For companies ## How much time does a company _give_ ? About one working day per quarter, eight hours in total. One hour briefing us on the hire, two hours at the dinner, two hours of speed dating and three hours for five coffees. The seat can be the CTO, a VP of Engineering or the hiring manager. | Step | When | Time | | --- | --- | --- | | A coffee on what you look for | Before the circle | 1 h | | Dinner with the circle | Week 6 | 2 h | | Speed dating, all twelve engineers | Week 10 | 2 h | | Five coffees with matched engineers | After week 12 | 3 h | | Total | | 8 h | ![](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/_astro/wash_magenta.DTgAYpGJ_Z2rzXbl.webp) ## What does it _cost_ ? Nothing to take part. When you hire someone from the circle you pay Marian's List 1.5x the hired person's gross monthly base salary, paid only when they start. The invoice comes on the start date and is payable in 30 days. If the hire leaves during probation, you get a free replacement introduction or 50% of the fee back. | Item | Terms | | --- | --- | | Brief, dinner, speed dating, coffees, scans | €0 | | Hire fee | 1.5x a monthly base salary (gross base), plus VAT | | Contractors (B2B) | 1.5x the monthly invoiced rate | | Invoice and payment | On the start date, payable in 30 days | | Probation guarantee | Free replacement introduction from the next circle, or 50% of the fee back | | Window | Any hire from a 144 introduction signed within 6 months of that coffee | Typical agencies in Central Europe charge a share of the annual salary. This is a single monthly multiple, paid only on a start. ## What counts as an _introduction_ ? A coffee that both you and the engineer accepted. The dinner and the speed dating do not count. The 6 months window runs from that coffee. Engineers already in your hiring pipeline are excluded if you tell us within 5 working days of getting the names. ## What do you _receive_ ? - Before the dinner: the twelve anonymised scans, with stack, level and salary expectation. Not a fit? Opt out for free, no fee tail. - A six-axis scan per engineer: technical depth, AI-native practice, product mindset, communication, ownership, money and business. Scored by the two facilitators against a written rubric, three times a quarter. - The endorsed badge on the strongest scans, so you know where to look first. - Five matched coffees, with both sides saying yes before anything is booked. ![](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/_astro/wash_purple.DOe5d6HA_Z1d79Pj.webp) ## Rules that _protect_ you 1. 1 Your own employees are never matched with other companies in the circle. 2. 2 No two direct competitors sit in the same circle. One seat per company. 3. 3 Scans reach you only with each engineer's consent, for your circle only. 4. 4 Week 11 teaches engineers to name a market number. You still decide the offer, and the fee follows the signed contract. For heads of talent The CTO runs the room. You own the contract. One 30-minute call, a short services agreement and a data processing agreement with Marian's List. Candidate data stays with Marian's List as controller; you receive scans only for your circle. You can send the brief yourself. ![A group of engineers laughing around a table covered in open laptops during a breakout session at the ELC Conference](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/_astro/lead-people.CGIrq4sc_ZwY0rt.webp) The brief below takes five minutes. Marian comes back with a time for the call. For companies ## The hire you can't _find_ . One form, then one call. The circle trains against what you tell us here. Your name Work email Company Your role Company sizeUnder 50 people50 to 200200 to 1,000Over 1,000 Business domain Stack and seniority Senior openings in the next 6 months12 to 34 or more The hire you can't find. What does the person do on day 90? Nothing is charged. You pay only when one of the twelve starts at your company. Send the brief ### Brief in. Marian comes back with a time for the call. The confirmation is in your inbox in the next minute or two. [Come to the next meetup](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/events)[Follow ELC on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/engineering-leaders-community/) ![](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/_astro/wash_teal.DrcKgGAs_Z2iPU7c.webp) ## Questions companies _ask_ Why do good engineers pay to join? Because the seat is training, not access. Twelve weeks on ownership, money, product and AI, with three scans and a coach who has hired. The seat also filters for people willing to invest in themselves. They are chosen after two free sessions, not on payment. What if the hire leaves during probation? You choose: a free replacement introduction from the next circle, or 50% of the fee back. We would rather keep the relationship than the invoice. Can HR or talent acquisition send the brief? Yes. The seat at the dinner and the coffees is for the CTO, a VP of Engineering or the hiring manager. The contract, the data processing agreement and the brief can come from talent acquisition. What if we already know one of the engineers? Tell us within 5 working days of getting the names and that engineer is excluded from the fee. If they are your own employee, they are never matched with anyone else in the circle. Does week 11 raise the salary we pay? It teaches engineers to name a fair market number instead of a small one. You still decide the offer. The fee is 1.5x a monthly base salary of whatever base salary you both sign. [The program for engineers](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/) · [Read the terms](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/terms/) · [Hiring every quarter? Talent reach membership](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/partner/membership/hiring/) ![](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/_astro/gradient_gold.CCCgRvcN_Z99GU9.webp) ## Twelve engineers. One seat for your _company_ . [Send the brief](#cto-brief)[The program for engineers](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/) ## Structured data ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Organization","LocalBusiness"],"@id":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io/#organization","name":"Engineering Leaders Community","alternateName":"ELC","url":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io/logo-elc-glossy.png","width":800,"height":320},"description":"The largest community of senior engineering leaders in Central Europe. 3,300+ CTOs, VPs of Engineering, engineering managers and tech leads across Prague, Brno, Bratislava and Kraków.","email":"weare@engineeringleaders.io","foundingDate":"2019","areaServed":["Prague","Brno","Bratislava","Kraków"],"telephone":"+420 736 519 879","priceRange":"$$","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"Varšavská 715/36","addressLocality":"Prague","addressRegion":"Prague 2","postalCode":"120 00","addressCountry":"CZ"},"geo":{"@type":"GeoCoordinates","latitude":50.0734602,"longitude":14.4385916},"openingHoursSpecification":{"@type":"OpeningHoursSpecification","dayOfWeek":["Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday"],"opens":"09:00","closes":"17:00"},"sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572498854686","https://www.instagram.com/lifeatelc/","https://www.linkedin.com/company/engineering-leaders-community/","https://www.youtube.com/@engineeringleaders/videos"]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/companies/","url":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/companies/","name":"144 for Companies: Hire Senior and Staff Engineers | ELC","description":"Meet 12 senior engineers trained against your gaps. €0 to take part, a fee only on a start, 30 days terms, probation guarantee.","inLanguage":"en","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io/#organization"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io/#organization"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io/gallery/144/og-144.webp"},"dateModified":"2026-09-25"},{"@type":"Service","@id":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/companies/#service","name":"144 for Companies: Hire Senior and Staff Engineers | ELC","description":"Meet 12 senior engineers trained against your gaps. €0 to take part, a fee only on a start, 30 days terms, probation guarantee.","serviceType":"Engineering talent introductions","provider":{"@id":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io/#organization"},"areaServed":"Central Europe","inLanguage":"en","url":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/companies/","offers":{"@type":"Offer","price":0,"priceCurrency":"EUR","description":"1.5x the hired person's gross monthly base salary, paid only when they start"}},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Engineering Leaders Community","item":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"144","item":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"For companies","item":"https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/companies/"}]}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why do good engineers pay to join?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Because the seat is training, not access. 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