Senior data specialists, selected by someone who has done the work.

Selection by keyword, not capability. A recruiter who has never built a data platform cannot tell a senior engineer from a confident CV - so you get volume instead of judgement.

Strong teams, expensive delivery models. Brand, management layers and delivery overhead are priced into every day - more structure than one senior seat needs.

The space between the two: practitioner-led selection on a flexible contractor model. Specialists assessed by someone who has delivered the same work - without the overhead or the guesswork.

A short call on the role, the estate and the team it lands in. We qualify before we search - and say so if it is not a role we should fill.

Curated search, then technical and commercial assessment run personally by the founder. Architecture, code and decisions - not keywords.

Two or three candidates who clear the bar, each with the assessment notes behind them. You interview; we handle terms.

Onboarding and payroll through an established national provider, structured 30/60/90-day check-ins, and a 4-week replacement commitment.

The shortlist is the product.

Deliberately small, personally assessed, and backed after the start date. Nobody reaches a client meeting without clearing a working technical session with the founder first.

Black Ocean also takes a small number of direct advisory and executive reporting engagements where practitioner depth matters. Same standard, same person - deliberately few.