Success Stories
Scaling a diverse software engineering team in an AI native organisation
- B2B SaaS
- Growth Stage
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The Challenge
Fresh off the back of their Series B funding round, 9fin set out to double the size of their engineering team - from 20 to 40 - within a few months. This ambitious growth plan was driven by three core goals:
- Unblocking delivery: A packed roadmap of AI-led features required increased capacity to maintain their high-velocity engineering culture.
- Closing skill gaps: They needed to strengthen specific capabilities across backend, infrastructure and machine learning.
- Improving diversity and structure: They aimed to increase gender diversity and hire their first Engineering Managers to introduce structure and create visible role models in leadership.
Like many fast-growing scale-ups, 9fin’s hiring processes were still maturing. Time-to-hire was inconsistent, interview load was falling heavily on a small group of engineers, and the team needed to balance speed with quality and diversity. With 30+ hires on the roadmap, the Talent Team were tasked with streamlining the process and improving gender balance — and needed a specialist partner with the networks, bandwidth, and experience to deliver both at pace.
The Solution
Burns Sheehan were brought in as exclusive hiring partners to accelerate delivery across 9fin’s engineering hiring and diversify their talent pipeline. Having worked with Chris and Nick previously, the Talent Team trusted Burns Sheehan to:
-
Understand the brief and deliver high-quality, relevant candidates quickly
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Enhance gender diversity through access to our Women in Tech networks
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Work as an extension of their team, representing 9fin in the market with the same voice and standards
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Share market insights and salary benchmarking data to keep roles competitive and aligned with the wider market
“We couldn’t afford to slow down hiring the people who were meant to help us move faster. Burns Sheehan helped us hire quickly without ever compromising on quality.
We had ambitious hiring goals — reducing time-to-hire and improving gender representation — and it was pretty clear I couldn’t achieve all of that alone. I’d worked with Burns Sheehan before and knew they had a strong approach to diversity. I trusted their partnership-first approach, delivery, and the way they add value beyond recruitment.
That’s where Burns Sheehan became an extension of me and our team — they had the time, resources, and reach to take our search further. Not just in finding great candidates, but in doing the hard work of sourcing, headhunting, and focusing on diverse talent to really strengthen our hiring funnel.
I feel very strongly about how close-knit the technical networks are and want us to be represented in the best way possible. It’s much easier to work with one agency you trust — one that has your back and represents you exactly as you would represent your own company.
What makes Burns Sheehan stand out is their honesty and collaboration. They’re great listeners — I never feel like I give feedback and it isn’t acted on. They’re transparent about what’s working, what’s not, and what challenges they’re facing. I trust them to represent 9fin exactly as I would.”
Josh Carter, Lead Talent Partner
The Results
In just three months, Burns Sheehan helped 9fin make four female Python Software Engineer hires, with AI, ML and data experience. The first hire was made just 22 days after kick-off.
This contributed to tangible progress on diversity and quality as part of the wider 9fin hiring project:
- Female representation in engineering rose from 17% to 26%
- 23% of the senior engineering team is now female (up from 0%)
- Maintained low interview-to-offer ratios by focusing on a small, pre-vetted candidate pool
- Delivered a 100% Candidate NPS from those submitted to 9fin
4
female Python Engineers hired
22
days time-to-fill after project kick-off
26
%
female representation in engineering post-project
100
%
candidate NPS from those submitted to 9fin
Industry
B2B SaaS
Location
London
Company stage of growth
Growth Stage
Get in touch
Speak to an Account Manager to see how we can find you the right talent for your team.
Chris Spranklen
Managing Director
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