Last updated: February 2, 2026
Finding exceptional education technology talent is critical for edtech companies, online learning platforms, educational publishers, learning management system providers, and K-12 technology vendors seeking to transform learning outcomes and drive educational innovation. For edtech organizations seeking skilled professionals across all levels – from instructional designers and product managers to engineering leads and chief learning officers – partnering with specialized recruiting agencies can transform your hiring process. Whether you’re launching an adaptive learning platform in Boston, scaling a classroom management solution across the country, or building out the product team for an AI-powered tutoring system, the recruiting agencies on this list possess the industry expertise and extensive networks to connect you with top-tier education technology professionals.
The edtech recruiting landscape has evolved significantly, with firms now utilizing advanced candidate matching technology, virtual interviewing platforms, and skills assessment tools while preserving the relationship-focused approach that characterizes successful educational technology placement. This article identifies and profiles the top 10 recruiting agencies specializing in the education technology sector. Based on comprehensive research into firm reputation, placement success rates, industry specialization, and client testimonials, these agencies consistently deliver outstanding results for edtech organizations seeking talent across all operational levels.
The Best EdTech Recruiting Agencies in 2026
1. Redfish Technology
Redfish Technology stands as the premier edtech recruiting firm in North America, with specialized experience placing top talent across education technology companies, online learning platforms, educational content providers, and K-12 technology vendors. Founded with a deep commitment to transforming education through technology talent, Redfish has evolved into the education technology industry’s most trusted talent acquisition partner, with dedicated expertise serving every segment of the edtech sector.
What sets Redfish apart in the edtech recruiting landscape is their unparalleled understanding of the intersection between education and technology. Their team of recruiters brings insider knowledge of both pedagogical principles and technical innovation, enabling them to identify candidates who possess not just the software development skills or product management expertise but also the educational passion, learner-centered mindset, and understanding of teaching and learning essential for edtech success. From placing CTOs at venture-backed learning platforms to recruiting instructional design leaders for established publishers, Redfish has facilitated thousands of career-defining placements that have shaped the industry’s innovation trajectory.
Redfish excels across all edtech verticals including K-12 curriculum and instruction technology, higher education learning platforms, corporate learning and development solutions, adaptive learning systems, student information systems, learning management platforms, educational assessment technology, and classroom technology tools. Their extensive network of education technology professionals, combined with their reputation as the industry’s premier recruiting firm, gives clients exclusive access to passive candidates who aren’t actively searching but would consider the right opportunity to make an impact on education. This comprehensive approach and proven track record make Redfish the undisputed leader in education technology recruitment.
2. TalentFoot
TalentFoot has established strong expertise in edtech recruiting with particular focus on software engineering, product management, and design roles within education technology companies. Founded by recruiters with backgrounds in both technology and education sectors, TalentFoot understands the unique challenges of building product teams that must balance technical sophistication with educational efficacy and usability for diverse learner populations.
Their edtech specialization spans full-stack engineers with experience in learning platforms, product managers who understand pedagogical frameworks, UX designers focused on learner experience, data scientists working on adaptive learning algorithms, and technical leadership roles. TalentFoot’s recruiters understand the specific technical stack requirements common in edtech – including LTI integrations, SCORM compliance, accessibility standards like WCAG, and the data privacy requirements of FERPA and COPPA. With particular strength in recruiting for venture-backed edtech startups and growth-stage learning platforms, TalentFoot has placed hundreds of technical professionals who’ve built products impacting millions of learners.
3. Carrington & Carrington
Carrington & Carrington brings over two decades of specialized expertise in education sector recruiting with a strong edtech practice focused on executive leadership and senior management positions. Based in the Northeast with national reach, they’ve built an exceptional reputation for placing chief academic officers, chief product officers, VPs of curriculum and instruction, and senior learning science leaders in education technology companies.
What distinguishes Carrington & Carrington is their deep understanding of educational credentialing, pedagogical expertise, and the importance of hiring leaders who bring both technology vision and educational credibility. They’ve successfully recruited for edtech companies backed by premier venture capital firms, established educational publishers transitioning to digital-first strategies, and innovative startups disrupting traditional educational models. Their understanding of curriculum development, standards alignment, evidence-based instructional design, and learning outcomes measurement enables them to identify leaders who can build products that genuinely improve educational results while achieving business objectives.
4. MP Global Partners
MP Global Partners operates with significant focus on education and edtech recruiting, particularly valuable for companies at the intersection of education, media, and technology. Since their founding, they’ve built comprehensive networks spanning educational publishers, digital learning companies, education technology platforms, and content providers serving the education market.
Their database includes thousands of professionals with experience across educational content development, digital learning product management, education-focused software development, and learning science research. MP Global Partners excels at placing professionals who understand the complex education ecosystem – including procurement cycles in school districts, the adoption process for instructional materials, state standards alignment requirements, and the decision-making hierarchy in educational institutions. Their understanding of both the commercial dynamics of education sales and the educational impact requirements makes them valuable partners for edtech companies seeking talent that understands how to build and sell products that schools and districts will actually purchase and implement.
5. Academic Search
Academic Search brings unique perspective to edtech recruiting through their foundation in higher education leadership search combined with growing expertise in education technology. They understand the academic credibility, research background, and educational expertise that higher education institutions and professional learning companies seek when hiring for edtech leadership positions.
Academic Search’s strength in edtech lies in their ability to source candidates with advanced degrees in education, learning sciences, instructional design, or educational psychology combined with technology product experience. Whether recruiting a chief learning officer with a PhD in cognitive science for an adaptive learning company, a VP of academic partnerships who can build relationships with universities, or a director of learning research to lead efficacy studies, their academic networks deliver. They maintain specialized practices in higher education technology, professional and continuing education platforms, credentialing and certification systems, and corporate learning technology. Their expertise in placing leaders with deep educational credentials makes them valuable partners for edtech companies building research-backed learning products.
6. WittKieffer
WittKieffer brings distinguished expertise in executive search across education, nonprofit, and healthcare sectors with growing capabilities in education technology leadership. They understand the mission-driven nature of many edtech organizations and the importance of hiring leaders who are motivated by educational impact alongside business success.
What sets WittKieffer apart in edtech recruiting is their ability to identify executives who can navigate the unique challenges of the education market – including long sales cycles, the need for evidence of learning outcomes, complex stakeholder management across teachers, administrators, and parents, and the regulatory environment of education. Whether recruiting a CEO for a learning platform serving underserved student populations, a Chief Impact Officer responsible for demonstrating learning efficacy, or a head of government affairs to navigate education policy, they understand the specialized leadership competencies required. Their executive search division focuses on C-suite and board-level placements where educational mission alignment is as critical as business acumen.
7. Korn Ferry
Korn Ferry operates as a global recruiting and talent advisory firm with a dedicated education practice that includes significant edtech capabilities. Their global reach is particularly valuable for education technology companies expanding internationally, multinational educational publishers, and platforms serving the global learning market.
Korn Ferry’s education technology practice combines their assessment science expertise with understanding of the education sector. They utilize competency-based evaluation frameworks specifically designed for education technology roles, assessing candidates not just for technical skills but for learner empathy, educational impact orientation, and ability to design for diverse student populations. Their work spans executive search for edtech unicorns and publicly traded education companies, leadership assessment and development for education technology executives, and organizational consulting for edtech companies navigating growth or transformation. Their scale and research capabilities provide market intelligence on edtech compensation trends, talent availability across education technology hubs, and competitive landscape insights.
8. Edgility Consulting
Edgility Consulting specializes exclusively in education sector recruiting with strong capabilities across education technology companies, education-focused nonprofits, and social impact organizations improving educational outcomes. Their mission-driven approach resonates with education technology professionals seeking to make meaningful impact on teaching and learning.
What distinguishes Edgility is their deep immersion in the education ecosystem and their understanding of talent across the full education technology landscape – from instructional designers and curriculum developers to engineers building learning platforms to customer success managers supporting teachers in implementation. They’ve successfully placed talent at prominent edtech companies, education nonprofits building technology solutions, philanthropic organizations funding education innovation, and school systems implementing technology initiatives. Their understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion in education makes them particularly effective at helping edtech companies build teams that reflect and understand the diverse learner populations they serve.
9. Hunt Scanlon Ventures
Hunt Scanlon Ventures focuses on executive search for venture capital-backed companies with a strong practice in education technology startups. They understand the unique dynamics of recruiting for high-growth edtech companies that are simultaneously scaling their technology, proving learning efficacy, expanding into new markets, and raising capital.
Their recruiting expertise for edtech ventures includes founding team recruitment for new education technology startups, C-suite builds for Series A-C stage companies, revenue leaders with experience selling to schools and districts, and board member identification for edtech companies seeking educational expertise at the governance level. Hunt Scanlon understands the importance of hiring leaders who can operate in the ambiguity of startup environments while bringing rigor around learning outcomes, evidence generation, and product-market fit in education. They maintain close relationships with education-focused venture capital firms, enabling them to understand which talent profiles succeed in different edtech segments and growth stages.
10. Spelman Johnson
Spelman Johnson rounds out our top ten with their specialized focus on emerging education technology niches including AI-powered learning, immersive learning technologies, game-based learning, and learning analytics platforms. Understanding that the edtech industry is evolving rapidly with artificial intelligence, virtual reality, learning engineering, and data science transforming educational possibilities, Spelman Johnson recruits talent that can build the next generation of learning technology.
Their recruiting team stays ahead of education technology trends, understanding emerging roles like machine learning engineers developing adaptive learning algorithms, learning engineers designing evidence-based digital learning experiences, XR developers creating immersive educational content, and data scientists building predictive models for student success. Spelman Johnson’s network includes both experienced education technology professionals seeking to work on cutting-edge innovation and technical talent from adjacent industries bringing fresh perspectives to education challenges. This combination enables them to staff both traditional edtech roles and newly created positions that reflect the evolution of teaching and learning through technology.
Methodology & Data Sources
To ensure our “Top EdTech Recruiters” ranking is transparent and robust, we scored each firm against the following four quantitative criteria:
| Criterion | Weight | Data Source / Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Client Satisfaction | 40% | Anonymous surveys of 50 hiring managers (NPS scores), conducted December–January |
| Placement Volume | 30% | Publicly disclosed placement counts from firm press releases and annual reports (2026 Q1) |
| Industry Recognition | 20% | Inclusion in third‑party lists |
| Sector Specialization | 10% | Depth of practice areas (technology, life sciences, finance); verified via firm websites and LinkedIn |
When to Engage an EdTech Recruiting Agency
The decision to partner with an education technology recruiting agency should align with your organization’s specific talent needs and internal HR capabilities. Understanding when to leverage specialized edtech recruiting expertise can significantly improve your hiring outcomes while reducing time-to-fill and improving quality of hire.
Some situations where engaging an edtech recruiting agency makes strategic sense include:
- Product launches and new learning platform development. Building a new learning management system, launching an adaptive learning platform, or creating innovative assessment technology requires assembling product, engineering, and instructional design teams quickly with professionals who understand educational technology requirements from day one.
- Executive leadership searches. Finding your next Chief Academic Officer, Chief Product Officer, VP of Learning Design, or Chief Technology Officer requires recruiters who can identify candidates with both education expertise and technology leadership experience – a rare combination in high demand across the industry.
- Specialized instructional design and learning science roles. Positions requiring specific expertise – learning experience designers, curriculum developers with standards alignment experience, learning scientists with research backgrounds, accessibility specialists, or assessment developers – often require recruiters with deep networks in education and understanding of pedagogical credentials.
- Technical talent with education technology experience. Finding software engineers, data scientists, or product managers who understand the unique constraints of education – FERPA compliance, accessibility requirements, LMS integrations, diverse student populations – is challenging and benefits from specialized edtech recruiting.
- Market expansion and school district sales teams. Growing edtech companies entering new geographic markets or expanding K-12 sales need recruiters who can identify account executives, customer success managers, and implementation specialists who understand school district procurement and relationship-building with educators.
- Rapid scaling during growth rounds. Edtech companies that have raised Series A, B, or C funding and need to scale teams quickly benefit from agencies’ ability to manage volume hiring while maintaining quality and cultural fit across product, engineering, content, and go-to-market functions.
- Evidence and efficacy team building. Education technology companies increasingly need research teams to conduct efficacy studies, generate evidence of learning outcomes, and demonstrate impact. Finding researchers, data analysts, and learning scientists with both academic rigor and applied product experience requires specialized recruiting.
- Content and curriculum development at scale. Digital learning companies, educational publishers transitioning to technology, and platforms requiring large-scale curriculum development need recruiters who can identify teachers, subject matter experts, and content developers who can create high-quality learning materials.
The Benefits of Using an EdTech Recruiting Agency
Partnering with a specialized education technology recruiting agency provides unique advantages that can transform your talent acquisition outcomes and accelerate your company’s growth. In an industry where product quality directly impacts learning outcomes and where talent competition is fierce, these benefits are particularly valuable.
The most significant advantage is access to passive candidates – experienced education technology professionals who aren’t actively job searching but might consider exceptional opportunities to make greater impact on education. EdTech recruiting agencies maintain relationships with thousands of professionals, from accomplished learning designers to engineering leaders who’ve scaled platforms to millions of users, giving you access to talent that wouldn’t respond to traditional job postings. This hidden talent pool often includes the game-changing hires who can accelerate your product development and drive learning outcomes.
Industry intelligence specific to education technology is another crucial benefit. EdTech recruiters provide real-time insights on compensation trends across different edtech segments, competitor hiring patterns and product roadmaps, emerging talent pools from teacher transitions and university programs, and market dynamics affecting talent availability. They know which edtech companies are restructuring, which venture-backed startups are growing aggressively, which educational publishers are investing in digital transformation, and where acquisition activity might create talent opportunities. This intelligence helps you position opportunities competitively and anticipate hiring challenges before they impact your product roadmap.
The reduction in mis-hire costs is substantial in education technology. The wrong learning design leader can delay product launches by quarters. An engineering hire without understanding of accessibility can create compliance problems. A salesperson without education sector relationships may struggle for years to build pipeline. Specialized edtech recruiters understand the unique combination of educational knowledge and technology expertise required – the importance of teachers who understand pedagogy, engineers who appreciate diverse learner needs, product managers who can balance educator and student perspectives, and sales professionals who understand the school district decision-making process.
Types of EdTech Recruiting Agencies: Understanding Your Options
The education technology recruiting landscape includes various agency types and specializations, each serving different edtech segments and talent needs. Understanding these distinctions helps you select the right partner for your specific requirements.
Pure EdTech Specialists vs. Technology Recruiters with Education Practice
Pure edtech specialists focus exclusively on education technology companies, understanding the nuances of learning platforms, curriculum development, student data privacy, and the education market. These recruiters bring deep knowledge of pedagogical frameworks, instructional design methodologies, learning science research, and educational standards. They can discuss Bloom’s Taxonomy, Universal Design for Learning, and the difference between formative and summative assessment.
Technology recruiters with education practices come from broader technology recruiting backgrounds but have developed education specialization. These firms excel when you need technical talent – software engineers, data scientists, infrastructure engineers, security specialists – and can evaluate technical skills at the highest level while understanding enough about education to assess cultural fit and mission alignment.
K-12 EdTech vs. Higher Education Technology Recruiters
K-12 edtech recruiting specialists understand the unique dynamics of elementary and secondary education technology – state standards alignment, district adoption processes, teacher professional development, parent engagement, and classroom implementation challenges. These recruiters excel at finding talent who understand how teachers use technology, how students learn at different developmental stages, and how to navigate school district procurement.
Higher education technology recruiters specialize in learning platforms for colleges and universities, online program management, learning analytics for student success, and academic technology. They understand the higher education market dynamics, faculty governance structures, institutional research methodologies, and the growing focus on credential pathways and employability outcomes.
Executive Search vs. Volume Recruiting for EdTech
Executive search firms focusing on education technology concentrate on C-suite leaders, vice presidents, and senior directors who set strategic direction. These firms conduct comprehensive searches including portfolio review, product assessment, reference checks with board members and investors, and evaluation of both business leadership and educational impact orientation. Their processes often span 60-90 days but result in transformational leadership hires.
Volume recruiting agencies focus on building out product teams, engineering organizations, content development departments, and customer-facing roles. These agencies excel at efficiently managing multiple open requisitions simultaneously, building talent pipelines for ongoing hiring needs, and coordinating campus recruiting strategies. They understand the urgency of staffing a product release or building out teams after funding rounds.
Permanent Placement vs. Contract EdTech Staffing
Permanent placement agencies focus on finding career employees who will grow with your organization. They invest heavily in assessing cultural fit, mission alignment, educational passion, and long-term potential. These agencies typically charge 15-25% of annual salary but often guarantee placements for 90-180 days.
Contract edtech staffing agencies provide freelance instructional designers, contract developers, temporary curriculum writers, or interim executives. Particularly valuable for project-based work like curriculum development initiatives, website redesigns, or covering leaves of absence, these agencies handle employment administration while you access specialized expertise. Many offer contract-to-permanent conversions, allowing you to evaluate contractors in your environment before extending full-time offers.
Tips for Working With EdTech Recruiting Agencies
Maximizing the value of your education technology recruiting partnership requires strategic engagement and clear communication. These best practices will help ensure successful placements that strengthen your organization.
1. Clearly articulate your educational mission and learning philosophy.
Go beyond job descriptions to convey your company’s educational purpose, learning theory foundation, and approach to improving student outcomes. Share your product vision, learning efficacy data, customer testimonials from teachers, and your theory of change for education. Explain whether you focus on personalized learning, competency-based education, project-based learning, or social-emotional development. Discuss how you measure learning impact and what evidence guides your product decisions. The more accurately you convey your educational mission, the better recruiters can identify candidates who will be energized by your purpose and contribute to your learning outcomes.
2. Provide comprehensive product and technology context.
Help recruiters understand your technical environment. Share details about your technology stack, scale metrics (number of learners, schools, districts), product architecture, data infrastructure, and integration requirements. Explain your product development methodology, sprint structures, release cadence, and how you incorporate educator and learner feedback. Include information about technical challenges like personalization algorithms, real-time collaboration features, offline functionality, or accessibility requirements. This technical transparency ensures engineering candidates understand the interesting technical problems they’ll solve and instructional designers understand the platform capabilities and constraints.
3. Be realistic about compensation and equity structures.
Education technology compensation often balances market-rate salaries against mission-driven culture and equity upside potential. Be transparent about base compensation, equity grants, vesting schedules, and how your total compensation compares to consumer technology companies. Include unique benefits like mission alignment, professional development support, conference attendance, flexible work arrangements, or opportunities to directly impact students and teachers. Understanding that many edtech professionals prioritize meaningful work and learning impact helps recruiters present opportunities effectively and set appropriate expectations.
4. Incorporate authentic work samples and practical assessments.
For product and design roles, consider requesting portfolio reviews, design challenges, or product case studies. For instructional design positions, ask candidates to develop sample learning experiences or critique existing curriculum. For engineering roles, use coding challenges that reflect actual product challenges – perhaps building an accessible learning component or designing an API for LMS integration. However, be respectful of candidates’ time – don’t ask for elaborate multi-day projects without compensation. A focused 2-3 hour practical assessment provides valuable insight while respecting professional boundaries.
5. Invest in relationship building with edtech recruiters.
The best education technology recruiting partnerships develop over time. Invite recruiters to see product demos, participate in user research sessions with teachers or students (with appropriate permissions), or attend your education conferences and events. Give them opportunities to understand your product, meet your team, and appreciate your impact on learning. Share success stories of previous placements and provide feedback on why certain hires succeed or struggle in your environment. This investment in relationship building pays dividends through better candidate quality, faster time-to-fill, and recruiter advocacy within the education technology community.
Questions to Ask When Selecting an EdTech Recruiting Agency
Choosing the right education technology recruiting partner requires careful evaluation. These industry-specific questions will help you identify agencies that truly understand both education and technology.
What is your specific experience in our education technology segment?
Understanding an agency’s depth in your specific edtech segment is crucial. A recruiter who excels at placing engineering talent at K-12 learning platforms might struggle with higher education SaaS solutions, and vice versa. Ask about their track record in your segment – whether that’s adaptive learning, learning management systems, assessment technology, early childhood education technology, or corporate learning platforms. Request examples of similar placements, their understanding of relevant competitors, and their relationships with education technology professionals in your specific field.
How do you assess both technical skills and educational expertise?
Learn how agencies evaluate candidates across both dimensions essential for edtech success. Can they assess instructional design portfolios? Do they understand the difference between behaviorist, constructivist, and connectivist learning theories? Can they evaluate software architecture decisions for learning platforms? How do they assess a candidate’s ability to design for diverse learners, understand accessibility requirements, incorporate evidence-based practices, and balance educational efficacy with engaging user experience?
What is your network within the education technology ecosystem?
Understand their connections within universities with learning science programs, education conferences like ISTE or ASU+GSV, education technology associations, venture capital firms funding edtech, and professional communities of instructional designers, learning engineers, and education technology leaders. Strong ecosystem connections indicate deep market penetration and access to both emerging talent from academic programs and experienced professionals at established education companies.
How do you evaluate cultural fit for mission-driven organizations?
Education technology attracts professionals motivated by impact on teaching and learning, not just compensation maximization. Understand how agencies assess genuine passion for education, commitment to equity and access, patience for the education market’s complexity, and willingness to prioritize learning outcomes over feature velocity. Ask how they identify candidates who will thrive in mission-driven cultures and stay motivated through the challenges unique to selling to schools and districts.
What is your track record with education technology placements?
Request specific metrics on placement success rates, average tenure of placed edtech candidates, client retention rates, and diversity of placed candidates across dimensions important to serving diverse student populations. Ask for references from similar education technology companies. Understanding their guarantee periods and replacement policies is particularly important given the specialized skill combination required and the importance of finding professionals who genuinely connect with your educational mission.
How do you stay current with education and education technology trends?
The education technology industry evolves rapidly with new learning science research, emerging technologies like AI and VR, evolving regulations around student data privacy, and changing needs in K-12 and higher education. Understand how agencies stay informed about educational developments, evidence-based practices, new learning platforms and tools, and evolving skill requirements. Agencies that invest in education conference attendance, maintain relationships with academic programs producing edtech talent, and demonstrate genuine understanding of education demonstrate commitment to edtech specialization.
Finding Your EdTech Recruiting Partner
The education technology industry’s unique demands – from understanding pedagogical principles to navigating school district procurement to balancing learning efficacy with engaging user experience to operating within strict data privacy requirements – require recruiting partners who truly understand what makes education technology professionals successful. The agencies profiled in this guide represent the best of edtech recruiting, from established firms with decades of education relationships to innovative companies leveraging technology to transform education talent acquisition.
Success in education technology recruiting comes from choosing an agency whose expertise, network, and approach align with your organization’s specific needs. Consider your educational segment focus, product maturity stage, volume of hiring, and whether you need experienced education technology executives who can set strategic direction or engineering teams who can build scalable learning platforms. The investment in specialized edtech recruiting services pays dividends through reduced time-to-hire, improved quality of hire, stronger mission alignment, better retention, and ultimately better learning outcomes for students.
The education technology industry continues to evolve rapidly – with artificial intelligence personalizing learning, immersive technologies creating new educational experiences, learning science research improving instructional effectiveness, and the COVID-19 pandemic permanently expanding digital learning adoption. Talent challenges persist across all edtech segments, with experienced professionals who understand both education and technology increasingly difficult to find. Having the right recruiting partner helps you not just fill positions but build talented teams capable of delivering the educational innovations that improve learning outcomes, support teachers, expand access to quality education, and prepare students for future success.
As the education technology industry grows – with increased venture capital investment, more traditional education companies embracing technology, expanded corporate learning budgets, and greater demand for evidence-based learning solutions – partnering with specialized edtech recruiters becomes increasingly vital. Take time to evaluate your talent needs, understand your recruiting options, and select the agency that will best serve your immediate requirements while supporting your long-term growth. The right education technology recruiting partner doesn’t just fill positions – they help you build the talented, passionate teams that transform learning experiences, improve educational outcomes, and create the education innovations that give all students opportunities to reach their full potential.
Author
