For employers
Direct-hire Cyber & AI Security recruiting, engineered for hiring managers who refuse to settle. 5-stage vetting. 7-business-day shortlist target. 90-day replacement guarantee.
Fortium Group uses a 5-stage vetting protocol: (1) intake calibration with the hiring manager, (2) practitioner-led sourcing, (3) technical screen by a senior security practitioner, (4) cultural and compensation calibration, (5) reference verification with prior security peers. The result is a shortlist of 3–5 Most Placeable Candidates ready for final-round interviews, typically within 7 business days.
The protocol
A working session with your hiring manager to map technical depth, leadership signal, threat model, comp band, and dealbreakers.
We source through targeted search and professional relationships built over 15+ years in security — including passive candidates who aren't on the open market.
A senior security practitioner validates the candidate against your specific threat surface — not a generic skills checklist.
We pre-negotiate expectations on package, location, equity, and team fit before you ever meet them.
Backchannel checks with prior security peers — the kind that only practitioners can credibly run.
Engagement models
Best for: Single role, moderate urgency
Fee: Pay only on placement
Best for: Senior leadership (CISO / VP)
Fee: Engaged fee, exclusive partnership
Best for: Multi-hire team builds
Fee: Monthly retainer + per-hire
How we compare
Senior security searches stall when hiring managers become the screening layer. We compress the timeline by doing the vetting upstream — our target is a vetted shortlist within 7 business days of intake, before you ever see a resume.
| Commitment | FORTIUM | TYPICAL AGENCY |
|---|---|---|
| Who screens candidates | Security practitioner | Generalist recruiter |
| First shortlist (target) | 7 business days | Varies |
| What you receive | 3–5 vetted candidates | Resume volume |
| Replacement guarantee | 90 days | Varies |
Fortium figures are service commitments, not historical averages. Final terms are set in each engagement agreement.
Every direct-hire placement carries a 90-day replacement guarantee. If the candidate leaves or is terminated for cause within 90 days of start, we re-run the search at no additional fee. Because we only get paid when you keep a hire, our incentives are aligned with retention — not headcount churn.
Free for employers
Base range, bonus and equity norms, and market tightness for your exact role and location — typically within 2 business days.
Practice areas (full taxonomy)
FAQ
Our target for a CISO mandate is a shortlist of 3–5 vetted candidates within 7 business days of intake. Overall time-to-offer depends mostly on your interview process. Confidential incumbent replacements can take longer by design, to protect discretion.
Yes. AI Security is one of our core practice areas. We recruit for LLM Security Engineers, AI Red Teamers, Adversarial ML Engineers, ML Threat Researchers, AI Governance leads, and Model Supply-Chain Security specialists.
Direct-hire placements include a 90-day replacement guarantee. If the candidate leaves or is terminated for cause within 90 days of start, we re-run the search at no additional fee.
Generalist agencies optimize for resume volume. Fortium optimizes for fit. Our shortlists are screened by a senior security practitioner with 15+ years in the field — not keyword-matched by a generalist HR sourcer.
Both. Our process is built for first-CISO hires at growth-stage startups as well as AI Red Team and security team builds inside large enterprises.
Yes — that's our Embedded Recruiter model. We sit inside your TA function for 3–12 months and build a full security hiring pipeline, transferring the playbook before we leave.
Brief us
Drop the role you're trying to fill, the urgency, and any context. Punit will personally read your brief and respond within one business day.
Initial conversation is free — no engagement fee until we mutually decide to proceed.