Track record

Valohai

Tomi Kokkonen, Director of Product Development

In our most recent engagement, I had what seemed like an unrealistic goal: identifying three exceptional candidates for a highly specialized role within a single week, with stringent criteria that would allow us to complete the hiring process before the holiday season. Samuel not only met this challenge but exceeded all expectations. What would have traditionally consumed months of arduous searching was accomplished with remarkable efficiency and precision. Thank you, Samuel, for turning what appeared to be an impossible dream into

Lead Talent Partner

5 employees hired Head of ProductSenior Fullstack Developer (Python)Senior Customer EngineerSoftware Architect
Finland

Leading the talent acquisition function at Valohai across Product, Engineering & GTM.

April 2023 - Ongoing

Oura

Ben Stendahl, Senior Director of Engineering

Samuel has been an excellent partner that has helped me source, schedule and secure a critical leadership hire. Our needs were very specific and Sam was able to quickly deliver a strong pipeline of qualified candidates that quickly led to a hire so we could focus on our core business. Sam was an accommodating professional throughout the process yet he still delivered a very personal experience.

Lead Talent Partner

8 employees hired Director of Software EngineeringSenior Engineering ManagerSourcing DirectorStaff Data EngineerSenior Android EngineerSenior iOS Engineer
FinlandEstonia

Deployed to lead headhunting efforts on key hires across Engineering, Product and Hardware Squads. Significant hires: - Director of Software Engineering, Health - Director, Sourcing - Senior Engineering Manager - Staff Data Engineer **Reduced time-to-hire. **62.5% of placements made, were the result of a 1st Send. Increasing the application:hire ratio.

November 2021 - Ongoing

Upvest

Uwe Jugel, Head of Data Platform

I can recommend Samuel 100%. He helped me find a great new job that very well matched my skills and preferences. He could very well lay out the scope of the company and make me interested, even though it was in an unfamiliar industry. He was very supportive and open and through him I also learned how valuable a professional recruiter can be when seeking for specific staff and head level roles. It takes time to talk to these people and get them aboard, which is what Samuel did perfectly. 👍 Thanks for your service Samuel! 🙇‍♂️

Lead Talent Partner

8 employees hired Head of Engineering | PlatformHead of Engineering | Developer ExperienceHead of Engineering | Tax & ReportingHead of Engineering | Enterprise ArchitectureHead of Data PlatformHead of Engineering | CustodyLead Solutions EngineerTechnical Lead
Germany

Built the engineering leadership team at Upvest, alongside other key hires. Securing x6 Head of Engineering(s) and x2 Lead Engineers within 6 months.

May 2021 - Ongoing

NGP Capital

Lead Talent Partner

2 employees hired Freelance Web DeveloperSenior Data & ML Engineer
Finland

Tasked with finding a replacement for one of NGP's in-house Data & ML Engineer before the Christmas break, with a strict one month deadline. I helped to refine and streamline the recruitment process, securing the hire within the given time frame for a January start. At the end of January, NGP's VP of Engineering asked me to find him a Freelance Web Developer, to start a Greenfield project in March. The timeline was tight, due to vacations, however we worked diligently to secure the hire within 2 weeks, ready to kick-off the project for the March start date.

November 2024 - February 2025

Voyantic

Toni Ala-Piirto, CTO

I had the pleasure of working with Samuel on a particularly challenging recruitment for a lead position within our company, and he exceeded all expectations. Samuel demonstrated an exceptional ability to understand our precise requirements for both the position and the ideal candidate. Through his commitment and expertise, he brought forward a shortlist of high-quality candidates who not only matched our needs but also had the right cultural fit for our team. Samuel’s dedication and insight made a real impact on our recruitment process, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to any organization looking for a capable and effective recruitment partner.

Talent Partner

2 employees hired Lead Hardware DesignerLead Solution Architect
Finland

Partnered with Voyantic initially to help them close their 'Lead Hardware Designer' position that had been open for over 6 months. The position was filled within 4 weeks of engagement. Most recently secured their first Lead Solution Architect, who will be responsible for establishing their Solution Architecture function from the ground up. The role was secured within the allocated time frame during a busy Christmas period.

January 2024 - February 2025

Sanoma Media

Jyrki Hokkanen, Engineering Manager

Having a long term partnership to help in recruiting is truly valuable asset for hiring manager, and it has been a pleasure to work with Samuel in this area. His understanding of technology, people and commitment to deliver is extraordinary.

Lead Talent Partner

22 employees hired Lead Software Developer (Fullstack)Lead Data ScientistSenior Software EngineersSenior AI/ML EngineerSenior .NET DevelopersLead Salesforce DeveloperSoftware ArchitectsSenior iOS DevelopersSenior Android Developer
Finland

- Built a strong and long standing partnership with Finland's leading Media company. - Reduced time-to-hire. - Refined and streamlined interview processes. - Built trust and confidence with one department, which led to wide spread support across multiple, key departments, including the Nelonen Streaming team.

June 2021 - February 2025

ICEYE

Anastasiia Skliar, Senior Software Engineer

I collaborated with Samuel to find a new job for me. He not only helped me navigate through interviews with confidence but also provided valuable insights and support at every step. He was very professional and supportive throughout the process. Highly recommend!

Talent Partner

6 employees hired Engineering LeadSenior Software EngineerStaff Software Engineer
FinlandUkraine

Under N.D.A

November 2023 - December 2024

Kuva Space

Daniel Landau, IT Director

Samuel worked fast to find us candidates that matched our needs and we found the hire without going through hundreds of applicants.

Snr Talent Partner

1 employees hired Lead Software Developer (Platform)
Finland

Was brought in to fill a business critical Lead Software Developer position within a strict time frame ahead of their Satellite launch and difficulties in filling the position with internal resources. The position was closed within the given time frame.

February 2024 - April 2024

Sema4.ai

Sampo Ahokas, VP of Engineering

We have worked together with Samuel on several recruitments. Each time Samuel has found excellent candidates in record time and enabled a very smooth process all the way. True to their name, Samuel and the Alpha Digital team have brought headhunting to the digital era with their flexible and efficient operation.

Lead Talent Partner (Europe)

4 employees hired Engineering DirectorEngineering LeadSenior Software EngineerPrincipal Software Engineer
FinlandEstonia

Played a key role in building out Sema4.ai's (formerly Robocorp) cloud platform team with key hires that were integral to the success of their Cloud Native 'Control Room' product. Key Hires: - Engineering Director - Engineering Lead - Principal Software Engineer

June 2021 - March 2024

Deloitte Digital

Lars Brinkman, Specialist Lead | Cloud Transformation & Systems Engineering

When Samuel contacted me about a year ago on Linkedin, he was actually looking for *a different person with a similar name*. Now, despite not being that person and not even actively looking for career opportunities, I just transitioned smoothly from my old employer of 21 years to a new and really interesting challenge. Need I say more? Well, maybe this: Samuel’s first contact really stood out because he had studied my resume and work history in detail and his proposal was tailored to my skills. He is a very polite, friendly and relatable professional who competently guided me through the whole recrouting process with detailed briefings and debriefings for every interview. Working with Samuel was highly enjoyable and I will definitely ask for his services again in case I consider a career move. Can recommend 100%!

Talent Partner

10 employees hired Specialist Lead | Cloud Transformation & Systems EngineeringSenior Consultant
Germany

Supporting the growth of Deloitte's Health Innovation Lab and transforming the future of Germany's Healthcare System. Reimagining innovation ecosystems for hospitals and healthcare providers.

June 2022 - January 2024

Mirantis

Mikko Viitanen, Principal Product Manager

On one day Samuel contacted me and good things started to happen. Samuel got the recruitment forward with his great attitude and activity. He's very professional and efficient and at the same time it's also fun to work with him. It's very easy to recommend Samuel.

Lead Talent Partner (EMEA)

10 employees hired Senior Fullstack EngineersSenior Frontend EngineersSenior Platform EngineerPrincipal Security Engineer
FinlandUnited KingdomGermany

Proud to have played a role in strengthening Mirantis's open-source product portfolio (Lens & K0s). Enabled the team on their journey of modernizing Lens Desktop; tackling architectural challenges, reimagining the UI/UX and prepare for the next phase of development, through quality hires. At the beginning of engagement the product had ~45,000 users, fast forward to the present day, the Kubernetes IDE now has in excess of 1m users globally.

August 2020 - March 2023

Starship Technologies

Janne Kaasalainen, Principal Product Designer

I worked with Samuel when I was about to join Starship. Our relationship started with a cold calling, which tends to be the norm these days, and I was about to ready to politely hang up when Samuel mentioned he had gone through my previous work, portfolio site and other information available on me. This made a huge difference in my mind, a step that very few recruiters seem to be willing to make and set us off in an eventual hiring. As such, Samuel has been one of the very rare recruiters that have made such a positive impact from early on.

Talent Partner

12 employees hired Senior Site Reliability EngineerSenior Mobile EngineersSenior Fullstack EngineersLead Software EngineerTechnical LeadPrincipal UX Designer
EstoniaFinland

Played a key role in building out Starship's Helsinki office and scaling their engineering & product capabilities in Finland.

January 2021 - June 2022

Varian (Siemens Healthineers)

Jari Selin, Director of Software Engineering (Life Sciences)

Samuel is a true professional willing to go the extra mile to find a perfect match to satisfy both sides of the hiring equation.

Talent Partner

11 employees hired Director of Software Engineering (Life Sciences)Senior Test Automation EngineerSenior Cloud EngineerSenior Backend EngineersSenior Frontend EngineersSenior Fullstack DevelopersSenior BI EngineerSenior DevOps Engineer
Finland

Key Achievements: - Successfully built the Noona and Cloud teams with 10 hires in the first 6 months of engagement. - Responsible for the key hire of the Director of Software Engineering, Life Sciences.

May 2019 - April 2021