Executive Search & Market Intelligence
XTERNA is a specialist executive search firm focused exclusively on the built environment. We combine deep market intelligence with targeted search to help engineering, architecture, and building envelope firms hire the right people at the right time.
Why XTERNA
When a key person leaves, most firms scramble. They post a job, wait, and hope. XTERNA works differently. We give leadership teams a clear picture of the market before they need to move, so that when a role opens, they already know who is out there, what it will take to attract them, and how their firm compares to the competition.
We work with firms that take hiring seriously. Firms that understand that the wrong hire costs more than the right one, and that the best candidates are rarely the ones actively looking.
Every week, we speak with engineers, architects, and consultants across the built environment. Not to fill roles, but to understand the market. Who is considering a move. What firms are paying. Where teams are under pressure. Which practices are growing and which are quietly losing people.
That intelligence feeds directly into the work we do for clients. It means that when we bring you a shortlist, it is built on current market knowledge, not a database search.
We work with firms whether they are actively hiring, planning ahead, or simply want to understand how they compare. A search does not need to be live for us to be useful.
Why It Matters
Most firms hire when the pain becomes unavoidable. The best ones move before it does. Here's what separates the two approaches.
What We Do
Know what is happening in your market before your competitors do. We track hiring movement, compensation shifts, and team-building activity across every sector we cover, using real conversations with practitioners, not aggregated data.
Understand exactly how your firm compares. Compensation structures, team composition, project exposure, career progression. We give you the information you need to attract and retain the people who matter most to your business.
When you are ready to hire, we run a focused, confidential search built around your specific requirements. No volume, no noise. A structured process that delivers a shortlist of the right people, not the most available ones.
Sectors
XTERNA does not work across every sector. We operate within a defined group of technical disciplines connected to building performance, investigation, and restoration. That focus is what makes the intelligence we hold genuinely useful.
Building enclosure consulting, construction defect, roofing, forensic architecture, historic preservation, and BECx. One of our deepest markets.
Hire in this sectorStructural, civil, electrical, mechanical, accident reconstruction, biomechanics, metallurgy and materials, and fire protection.
Hire in this sectorCurtain wall consulting, façade systems, design, testing and fabrication. A sector where technical depth and niche experience are non-negotiable.
Hire in this sectorArchitectural, structural, and MEP consulting practices. Senior technical and leadership roles within specialist design firms.
Hire in this sectorConstruction claims, commercial damages, cost overruns, delay and disruption, and litigation support. A specialised discipline requiring rare expertise.
Hire in this sectorEngineering and delivery of mission-critical infrastructure. One of the fastest-growing disciplines across the built environment.
Hire in this sectorOur Process
Every engagement follows the same rigorous process. It is designed to give you visibility at every stage and deliver a shortlist you can act on, not one you have to filter through.
A detailed briefing with your leadership team. We learn the firm, the team structure, the culture, and exactly what the right candidate looks like — technically and commercially. This is where most search firms shortcut. We don't.
Before the search begins, we map the competitive landscape. Compensation, team structures, and how your firm sits in the market relative to the firms competing for the same talent. You get a clear picture of what winning looks like before we start.
We identify and approach specific professionals with the right background. No job boards. No volume advertising. Direct, confidential engagement with people who match your brief — including those not actively looking.
A focused shortlist of qualified candidates, each assessed against your brief. Presented with full context on background, motivation, and fit — so you can make informed decisions quickly, not wade through CVs.
We manage the interview process, gather feedback, and support offer negotiation through to acceptance. Our work does not stop at introduction — we stay involved until the hire is made and settled.
Proprietary Market Intelligence
XTERNA Intel is the intelligence layer that runs beneath every search we conduct. Before a brief is signed, we already hold data on who is moving, what firms are paying, and how your competitors are building their teams. It is what separates a well-placed hunch from a decision grounded in current market reality.
XTERNA Insights
XTERNA Insights is a video podcast featuring senior leaders across facades, building enclosures, structural engineering, and forensic consulting. Career journeys told plainly. The decisions, trade-offs, and turning points that shaped where they ended up.
Latest Episode
Robert Hartley, PE, RA, QEWI of Ancora Engineering + Architecture talks about his journey from facade inspections to firm leadership — and what it really takes to make that transition.
"Leaving stability for growth never feels comfortable. Robert captured that moment perfectly — the 'warm hot tub' of a good job, and the cold shock of a new challenge."
— From Episode 1, XTERNA Insights
What People Say
FAQ
Answers to the questions we hear most from firms and candidates across the built environment.
Get in Touch
Whether you are actively hiring, thinking about a future appointment, or simply want a clearer picture of where your firm sits in the market, get in touch.
Principal
Ethan Randall
XTERNA Consulting