Since 2006

They answer when texts.

Recruiting got automated.
Relationships can’t be.

25 years of engineers who answer, and a real person who knows your search.

Who Brian KnowsA one-button game. Hold to climb, let go to sink.
Survive the pile, then Brian texts.

Full screen

Hi, I’m Brian.

Finding the right engineer for the right team is my life’s work.

I started Mirror in 2006, out of a software agency, and I’ve spent every year since getting to know engineers and the teams that need them. When you call, you’re not entering a recruiting platform or an automated outreach sequence. You’re talking to a person who knows your search, and who has known the engineers you want for a long time.

I use software too. Technology helps me work faster. Relationships help you hire better.

Talk to Brian

Brian Mariani, founder of Mirror Placement

The real problem

You’re already spending money on recruiting. You’re buying the pile.

Job boards, LinkedIn, agencies, internal sourcers: they all buy the same thing. Three hundred AI-polished résumés, a few bots, and zero good candidates. The seat stays empty.

The senior engineers you want aren’t in the pile. They’re happy where they are, and they don’t apply to jobs. They get a text from someone they trust.

25+

Years of relationships with engineers

72h

To your first warm intros

80%

Of offers that stuck

2006

The year Mirror started. Same person on the phone since.

The company I keep

Twenty-five years alongside some of the best startups, and the people inside them.

It has been a privilege to watch them grow: the hiring managers and CTOs who built the teams, and the engineers who joined them. Relationships aren’t a marketing word here. The people I introduce you to are people I’ve known for years, and the companies I work with keep calling.

Engineering teams I’ve hired for

Coinbase
Venmo
Zillow
MasterClass
Labcorp
Blue Apron
Doximity
Handshake
YNAB
Splitwise
Kajabi
UserTesting
Litmus
Guru
Kolide
DataGrail
Close
Mutiny
Bold Penguin
Tripleseat
Man Crates

and so many more

How we do this. Together.

A conversation, a short list, a hire.

Illustration: Brian planting a red gem that grows into a tree

Tell me what you actually need.

Skip the formal job description. What does this person really do on day one? What’s the team like? What’s keeping you up at night? The more honest you are, the better I match.

I already know someone.

I’m not searching. The best hire is usually someone I’ve known for years, who isn’t job hunting and is happy where they are. They answer because they trust me, and I tell them your story the way it deserves to be told.

You meet a small group of real people.

Within 72 hours, a handful of people I’ve personally vetted and believe in, each with my honest take. Not a stack of résumés. Not a dashboard.

How an engagement works, including the terms

Who’s talking

Don’t take my word for it.

Brian is by far the best recruiter I've worked with. When I met Brian it was as a job seeker, and he helped me find a position that met all my needs very quickly and with little fuss. The first company he introduced me to is the one I ended up working for. I've been at the same company now for over 5 years, moving from Senior Rails Engineer to Director of Engineering. As a manager I can say without hesitation that the best members of my team are the ones that have come through Brian and Mirror Placement, and we continue to count on him for top notch talent whenever we're hiring.

Jim EdelsteinSenior Rails Engineer, now Director of Engineering

Brian is the best recruiter I’ve worked with. In fact he’s the only recruiter I’ve ever referred my friends to because I have confidence that he’ll do an amazing job for them!

Troy Stauffer

Great! Prior to working with Brian I'd only have negative experiences working with 3rd party recruiters. Generally speaking they didn't seem to understand the position they were trying to fill - basically just looking at buzzwords on resumes and matching them to job descriptions. From my experience, Brian understands the different technologies and what sort of candidates companies are looking for. During the interviewing and negotiating process Brian had useful advice on how to approach certain things with the company I was hired by.

Eric Cranston

I have enjoyed working with Brian in the past because I know that he understands the life of a developer. With a business focused primarily on one technology stack, we can talk intelligently about my background and goals without needing to 'dumb down' the discussion or feel like the person on the other end of the line is simply throwing back buzzwords.

Andy Vanasse

Hear from the engineers I’ve placed

Brian Mariani sitting in a yellow armchair

Brian’s story

I didn’t know anything about recruiting. I knew developers hated recruiters.

Mirror came out of my software agency, Atlantis Technology, in 2006. Four years of Awesome Lunch Fridays listening to developers describe fake jobs, stealth companies and résumés fired off without their consent, and one thought: I can do way better.

The first slogan was “We hate recruiters, too.” True, and I got heckled for it by actual recruiters at a cancer-research charity event. I dropped the slogan and kept the mission.

Read the whole story

Talk to Brian

Tell me what you need. I’ll think of someone.

Skip the formal job description. The more honest you are about the seat, the stack and the room, the faster a warm intro shows up. If I can help, great. If not, I’ll point you in the right direction.

Rather talk? Book 15 minutes with me Email brian@mirrorplacement.com Phone or text 978-808-1859

Brian Mariani I read these myself. Jonathan Soo Hoo, my partner at Mirror, does the first outreach on some searches; if you hear from him, that’s why.

They answer when Brian texts.