The challenge

Bigbell needed a full engineering team in place fast to support the launch of a new product line. Traditional hiring would not have met that pace.

The client faced three pressures at once:

  • Speed: the product roadmap set a firm target date for a working team.
  • Skills fit: the new product line required engineers who could contribute from the first sprint.
  • Commitment risk: the client wanted to validate talent on real work before making permanent hires.

Our approach

We paired dedicated IT staffing with a contract-to-hire model, so Bigbell could move quickly without locking in permanent headcount up front.

  • Dedicated staffing: a recruiting team focused solely on Bigbell's engineering needs, with deep knowledge of its stack, culture and timeline.
  • Contract-to-hire: engineers started as contractors and, once they proved their fit, could convert to permanent employees.
  • Aligned scope: hiring priorities were mapped to the product line's delivery milestones, so the most critical roles were filled first.

Implementation

The engagement ran as a repeatable pipeline, built to deliver qualified engineers in parallel rather than one role at a time.

  1. Requirements alignment: we worked with Bigbell's engineering leads to define roles, skill profiles and the delivery timeline.
  2. Targeted sourcing: the dedicated team drew on its talent network and active outreach to build a pipeline for each role.
  3. Technical vetting: candidates went through skills screening and technical interviews before being presented to the client.
  4. Rapid onboarding: selected engineers joined as contractors and were integrated into the product team quickly.
  5. Conversion path: high performers were identified for conversion to permanent roles.

Results

The engineering team was fully scaled within Bigbell's target timeline, so the new product line stayed on schedule.

  • On-time delivery: the team was in place by the date the client set.
  • Lower hiring risk: contract-to-hire let the Bigbellssess engineers on real work before committing to permanent roles.
  • Flexibility: headcount could grow or adjust as product needs evolved.

Key takeaways

Three choices made the difference for Bigbell, and they apply to any team scaling against a fixed launch date.

  • A dedicated staffing team removes the delay of competing for recruiter attention.
  • Contract-to-hire speeds up starts while keeping the permanent hiring decision informed by real performance.
  • Tying hiring to product milestones keeps the most critical roles first in line.