Executive Search Firm — Austin, Texas

The Austin Executive Talent Market

Austin's executive talent market is characterised by a collision of three distinct talent pools: native Austin operators who have built their careers in the local tech ecosystem; relocated executives who moved from San Francisco, New York, and Seattle as their companies or their personal preferences shifted toward Central Texas; and executives at the major technology companies — Dell, Apple, Oracle, Tesla, and others — who have deep operating experience but have spent their careers inside large-company environments.

Each of these pools has a different profile, a different compensation expectation, and a different motivation for considering new opportunities. Sourcing effectively in the Austin market requires understanding which pool a given role should draw from — and which outreach approach resonates with each. A search firm operating from outside Austin, without relationships inside the local executive community, will consistently underperform in this market.

What Austin Companies Are Hiring For

Austin's growth-stage technology companies are most frequently searching for four types of executive talent. Sales and revenue leadership that can build enterprise sales motions — Austin's SaaS ecosystem is producing Series B–D companies that need CROs and VP Sales candidates with enterprise sales experience at comparable-scale companies. Engineering leadership at all levels — the VP Engineering and CTO talent pool in Austin has deepened significantly as engineering leaders have relocated from the coasts and as local talent has grown through the expanding Austin tech community. Finance leadership — CFO and VP Finance candidates with public-company or late-stage private company experience as Austin companies approach IPO readiness. And People leadership — CPOs and VP People candidates who can scale culture and talent operations through rapid headcount growth.

The Austin Compensation Landscape

Austin executive compensation has converged with coastal markets at the senior leadership level. The cost-of-living advantage that once allowed Austin companies to offer lower total compensation than San Francisco or New York equivalents has largely disappeared for VP-level and C-suite searches. Candidates who have relocated from San Francisco bring San Francisco compensation expectations. Candidates who are evaluating Austin opportunities against remote positions at coastal companies compare against coastal salaries. Companies that approach Austin executive searches with pre-2020 Texas compensation benchmarks consistently lose their first-choice candidates.

Base salary for VP-level roles at Austin Series B–C companies typically ranges from $200K–$350K, with total cash compensation of $240K–$450K. C-suite roles command $300K–$600K base with total cash of $380K–$800K. Equity packages align with the company's funding stage and the candidate's alternatives — and for Austin companies competing for executives who are evaluating both local and remote coastal opportunities, the equity story must be compelling on its own terms.

Why Austin Executive Searches Fail

The most common failure in Austin executive searches is sourcing that underestimates the market. Companies that rely on local job boards and Austin-based recruiter networks miss the significant population of executives who have relocated to Austin but maintain their professional networks in their origin markets. These relocated executives are frequently the most qualified candidates for senior roles — but they are not visible in local sourcing channels.

The second most common failure is speed. Austin executive candidates who are passively considering new opportunities are typically evaluating several at once — a combination of Austin-based and remote opportunities that are visible to them through their extended networks. A search process that takes four months while a candidate is making a decision in six weeks will consistently miss the first tier of the market.

Majhi Group — Austin Executive Search

Majhi Group is headquartered in Austin. We operate in the Austin executive community directly — not remotely from a coastal office. Our sourcing in the Austin market includes the native tech ecosystem, the relocated executive community, and the large-company talent pool that represents the most experienced operators in the city.

We work on retained searches exclusively, for growth-stage technology companies at the Series A through late-stage private stages. We run a 20-minute confidential search assessment for Austin companies — your leadership gap, your growth stage, and the specific candidate market we need to reach as the working context.