GTM hiring is back, with a higher bar
Post-PMF companies are hiring Enterprise, Strategic and Founding AEs, Sales Engineers and GTM leaders again, but they want people who have sold this motion before.
Talent Partner · US Market · Engineering · GTM · Finance
The right match isn't luck. It's what I do.
I help startups from Israel and Europe build their teams in the US, and I help great people find their next role here. From the first conversation to the signed offer, I run the whole process.
Hi, I'm Shani 👋
- Recruiting experience
- 11+ yrs
- Tours at Microsoft
- 3
- LinkedIn followers
- 21K+
- Hiring across
- US · IL · EU
My approach is a hunter mentality: I headhunt passive candidates, sit in C-level intakes, bring back real market data, handle negotiation and relocation, and stay with people through onboarding. I care about the human on the other side of the call as much as the role. That's why candidates keep coming back to me years later.
Experience working with:
Microsoft (Xbox, Mojang, AI)HiBobRobert HalfTrustifiSoutheastern Grocers
Hiring in the US?
Tell me who you need. I'll tell you what it takes to get them.
- Embedded or exclusive search, run end to end
- Whole-team builds: sales, engineering, finance, ops
- Founder and C-level intakes with real market data
- Offer strategy, negotiation and relocation
Looking for your next role in the US?
Send me your background. Even if it's just to see what's out there.
- Confidential conversations, always
- Roles that are never posted publicly
- A direct line to founders, CEOs and CTOs
- Offer coaching through negotiation and onboarding
Israel & Europe → US
Your local partner for the US market.
I was born in Israel and I live in Miami. I've recruited on both sides of the ocean: QualiTest and Trustifi in Israel, Microsoft, HiBob and Robert Half in the US. So if you're a founder from Israel or Europe planting a flag here, I already know the part that's hard to Google: hiring norms, compensation, interview culture, time zones, relocation, and what US candidates actually expect.
I don't just fill roles. I advise founders on how to hire here, and then I go get the people.
Expanding to the US? Let's talkFirst US hires (sales, engineering, finance, ops)
US compensation & offer benchmarks
Advice on the US hiring market and process
Direct sourcing of hard-to-reach talent
Relocation & onboarding support
Why people answer Shani
Sourcing is my superpower.
I personally reach the exact people you need, and they actually write back. That's the difference between a job posting and a hire.
21K+ followers on LinkedIn
A real, engaged network of engineers, sales leaders and founders, not a list I bought.
Posts that start conversations
My “I'm back at Microsoft” post got 300+ reactions. People read what I write, so they read what I send.
Direct, personal outreach
No spray-and-pray templates. I find the exact person you need and write to them like a human.
Trust that lasts past the offer
Candidates and hiring managers answer me because I stay with them all the way through onboarding.
Kind words
Kind words from people I've worked with.
Shani recruited for us across the US, Israel and the UK and worked directly with me and our CEO. She understood exactly what we needed in security engineers and pre-sales, moved fast, and every candidate she brought was worth the meeting.
Maor Dahan, CTO, Trustifi
She is the only recruiter I answer on LinkedIn. Her messages are personal, the roles are real, and she stayed with me from the first call through negotiation and my first weeks on the job.
Senior Software Engineer, placed at a US SaaS startup
We were opening our first US sales team and had no idea what a good Enterprise AE costs here. Shani gave us the market data, found people who were not looking, and closed our first two hires.
Co-founder, Israeli cybersecurity startup expanding to the US
Shani ran the whole process for us: sourcing, scheduling across time zones, debriefs and the offer. It felt like having an in-house head of talent.
VP Sales, B2B SaaS
Hi, I'm Shani.
I've spent 11+ years in full-cycle recruiting, across startups and enterprise, on a road that ran from Israel to Las Vegas to Miami. Along the way I led end-to-end recruiting for Microsoft's AI Copilot organization, and worked as a Senior Technical Recruiter for Xbox, Minecraft/Mojang and Xbox Game Studios.
I was the sole US technical recruiter who built HiBob's first US R&D team, and I recruited for the cybersecurity company Trustifi across the US, Israel and the UK. Those years taught me something simple: the company that needs a staff engineer usually also needs a founding AE, a controller and someone to run operations. So I take the whole thing, not one slice of it.
What I love most is the hunt. Finding the person who isn't looking, writing to them like a human, and starting a conversation that changes their year.
At a glance
- Based in Miami, FL
- Languages: English, Hebrew
- BA Behavioral Sciences
- Focus: Engineering, GTM, Finance & Ops
Expertise
Whatever your next hire is.
01
AI / ML Engineers & Researchers
Applied ML, model and inference infrastructure, and research engineers who ship.
02
Software Engineers
Backend, frontend and full-stack. Java, Kotlin, C#, Angular, React.
03
C++ / Systems / Network
Low-level systems, performance-critical services and network engineering.
04
DevOps, Cloud & Platform
Platform engineering, infrastructure, reliability and cloud operations.
05
Cybersecurity
AppSec, cloud security, identity, data security and AI security.
06
Sales & GTM
Enterprise, Founding and Strategic AEs, Sales Engineers, GTM leaders and channel.
07
Solution Architects
Customer-facing technical architects for complex SaaS deployments.
08
Product & Data
Product managers and data roles close to the engineering core.
09
Finance & Operations
Controllers, FP&A, RevOps and BizOps. The backbone of a scaling US entity.
10
Marketing & Customer Success
Demand generation, product marketing, CSMs and post-sale leaders.
Experience
- Shani Dahan TalentFounder, Sr. Technical Recruiter & Headhunter2026-Present
- MicrosoftGlobal Talent Acquisition, AI Copilot org2026
- HiBobTalent Acquisition Partner2025
- MicrosoftSenior Technical Recruiter, Xbox Global TA2023-2024
- Southeastern GrocersLead Technical Recruiter2023
- MicrosoftGlobal Talent Acquisition, Xbox Gaming2021-2022
- Robert HalfEnterprise Technical Recruiter2019-2021
- TrustifiTechnical Recruiter2018-2019
- QualiTest GroupTechnical Recruiter2015-2018
Process
One partner. The whole process.
No black box. You always know where we are, what the market is saying, and what happens next. I also handle the machinery behind it: your ATS and LinkedIn Recruiter, scheduling across time zones, and clear reporting back to hiring managers.
- 01
Intake & role calibration
A real conversation with the people who own the role, so we agree on what “great” looks like before I start.
- 02
Market mapping & sourcing
A map of where that talent actually sits, what it costs, and who is realistically reachable.
- 03
Headhunting passive talent
Personal outreach to people who aren't applying anywhere. Most of your shortlist comes from here.
- 04
Screening & interviews
Screening for the things that actually matter, with early calibration profiles so we correct course fast.
- 05
Debriefs & data
I run scheduling and debriefs, and bring back honest data on comp, competition and why people say no.
- 06
Offer, negotiation & relocation
Offer strategy, negotiation, and the relocation details that decide whether a yes stays a yes.
- 07
Onboarding & 90-day follow-up
I stay with the person through their first months, and check in with you at 90 days.
Podcast & media
On air: what's really happening in high-tech & AI
Shani on the Miami-IL Podcast: how AI is changing hiring, the hottest fields in tech, and how Israeli talent and startups break into the US market. Watch on YouTube
Insights
What I'm seeing in the market.
Cybersecurity keeps hiring
AppSec, cloud security, identity, data security and AI security stay in demand even when other budgets tighten.
Senior engineers who operate with AI
Startups want specialists who already solved the problem. Roughly 70% of software postings are senior-level, and AI fluency is now part of the baseline.
FAQ
Questions, answered plainly.
What roles do you recruit for?+
Whatever your next hire is. Engineering (software, AI/ML, C++/systems, DevOps and cloud, cybersecurity), sales and GTM, finance and operations, marketing, customer success, product and data, solution architects, and leadership roles. I'm a general recruiter for startups, not a single-vertical specialist.
Do you recruit non-technical roles?+
Yes. Sales and GTM, finance and operations (Controllers, FP&A, RevOps, BizOps), marketing and customer success. Same full-cycle process for every one of them.
Do you help Israeli and European startups hire in the US?+
Yes, it's the heart of what I do. I'm Israeli-born and Miami-based, I work in Hebrew and English, and I've recruited on both sides: QualiTest and Trustifi in Israel, Microsoft, HiBob and Robert Half in the US. I help founders make their first US hires, structure US offers with real benchmarks, run the process across time zones, and explain how the US hiring market actually works.
Which companies do you work with?+
Fast-growing and unicorn SaaS startups in the US. I hire across the US, Israel and the EU, and I've recruited with teams at Microsoft (Xbox, Mojang, AI), HiBob, Robert Half, Trustifi, QualiTest and Southeastern Grocers.
How fast can you deliver a shortlist?+
It depends on the seniority and the market for the role. After our intake call I start sourcing immediately and share calibration profiles early, so you see real market data instead of waiting in the dark.
How do you find passive candidates?+
Direct, personal outreach. I map the market for your specific problem and reach out myself to people who aren't applying anywhere, using a network built over 11+ years in recruiting, including three tours at Microsoft.
Do you work on retained or contingency?+
Flexible: retained, contingency or embedded, agreed per search. We pick the model that fits the urgency and the shape of the role.
How do I get in touch as a candidate?+
Email me at dahan.shani@icloud.com or message me on LinkedIn. Conversations are confidential, and I stay with people through interviews, negotiation and onboarding.
Let's talk. Coffee in Miami or a call anywhere.
Tell me what you're building or what you're looking for. I answer everyone.
Prefer to book directly? Send me an email and I'll share my calendar.