How we helped a DeepTech hiring startup hire a Mechanical Engineer
About Colare
Colare is a San Francisco-based startup building the next generation of hiring infrastructure for deep-tech companies. Their platform is purpose-built to connect hardware-first startups — spanning robotics, semiconductors, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing — with the specialized talent they need to ship ambitious products.
Founded by Nain Abdi and Esther Thomas, Colare had successfully helped dozens of startups fill software roles but was now facing a harder challenge: hiring a seasoned Mechanical Engineer for one of their own portfolio clients — a Series A robotics startup operating out of the Bay Area.
The Challenge
The robotics startup needed a Principal Mechanical Engineer with hands-on experience in structural design, thermal management systems, and manufacturing for tight tolerances. The role required someone who had taken hardware products from prototype to production — a profile that is notoriously rare and hard to attract.
Colare had been searching for over two months with no success. Traditional job boards returned unqualified applicants. Recruiters with hardware experience were hard to find. And their network, primarily software-oriented, wasn't producing warm introductions to the right candidates.
"We kept getting candidates who looked great on paper but had only worked on prototypes that never reached production. We needed someone who had gone all the way through EVT, DVT, and PVT — and could do it again."
How TechKareer Helped
When Colare came to TechKareer, we immediately recognized this as a specialized deep-tech search that required a different playbook. Rather than relying on inbound applications, we took a fully outbound approach using our curated network of hardware engineers across defense, consumer electronics, and industrial automation.
Our process included:
- Role scoping session — a 60-minute deep-dive with the hiring team to map must-haves vs. nice-to-haves, compensation benchmarks, and team culture
- Targeted sourcing — we identified 40+ candidates from our proprietary database of deep-tech engineers, filtered by CAD tools (SolidWorks, CATIA), manufacturing experience, and industry domain
- Pre-screening — each candidate went through a 30-minute technical pre-screen with our in-house hardware advisor before being presented to Colare
- Candidate narrative — we wrote detailed candidate briefs (not just resumes) explaining why each person was a strong fit, their career motivation, and any potential concerns
The Outcome
Within 18 days of kick-off, TechKareer presented a shortlist of 5 highly qualified Mechanical Engineers. Colare moved quickly through interviews and extended an offer to their top choice — a Principal ME with 8 years of experience shipping hardware at a top-tier consumer robotics company.
The candidate accepted within 48 hours. The hire brought expertise in precision machining, GD&T, and had led two full production ramps — exactly what the team needed.
What Colare Said
"TechKareer understood the assignment from day one. They didn't just send us resumes — they sent us people who genuinely wanted the role and had the exact background we needed. The speed and quality blew us away. We'll be bringing all our deep-tech searches to them."