Everything You Need to Know About Working With ALAC

ALAC HR Solutions is a veteran-owned executive and technical search firm focused exclusively on defense tech, deep tech, aerospace, autonomy, AI infrastructure, and adjacent sectors. We place senior leaders and critical technical hires at pre-IPO companies that cannot afford a bad hire.

It means every search is run by people who have operated inside the industries we recruit for, not by career recruiters who learned the vocabulary last quarter. That firsthand context shapes candidate evaluation, client advising, and fit assessment.

Yes. ALAC was co-founded in 2022 by two military veterans, a 20-year Marine Corps veteran and a U.S. Navy veteran. That perspective shapes how we work, with rigor, accountability, and a bias toward mission fit over resume polish.

We work with companies in defense tech, aerospace, space, autonomous systems, AI and machine learning infrastructure, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, and dual-use deep tech. If your company sits at the intersection of national security and emerging technology, we are likely a strong fit. See our operator-led search page for more detail.

We are built for U.S. companies between Seed and Series C, typically 20 to 500 people. Those teams have critical technical or leadership roles, lean internal recruiting, and deadlines tied to testing, production, contracts, delivery, or a raise. We will tell you early if your search is better served elsewhere.

Three engagement models. Direct Search is pay-on-success work for one defined role, where you pay on placement. Embedded Recruiter puts one dedicated recruiter inside your team for a flat monthly cost, with no percentage on any hire. Embedded Pod adds an account manager and a pod of recruiters and sourcers when hiring runs beyond what one recruiter can carry. Military-to-civilian hiring is a capability inside the search practice rather than a fourth model.

Direct Search fits when you have one or a few important roles to fill and do not want to add headcount to do it. Embedded Recruiter fits when you are hiring roughly 4 to 18 roles this year and want talent acquisition to stay internal. Embedded Pod fits when hiring runs beyond what one recruiter can carry, roughly 18 or more standard roles or 12 or more niche or cleared roles in a year. If you are not sure, tell us what you are hiring for now and what you see coming, and we will tell you which one we would run and why. See embedded recruiting for how the embedded models work day to day.

ALAC averages 45 days from engagement to accepted offer. Timelines vary with clearance requirements, role specificity, and how fast your team can make decisions, and a cleared search plans differently than an open one. We tell you at kickoff what the realistic timeline looks like for your role rather than quoting an average and hoping.

Yes. We work with roles requiring active TS/SCI, TS, Secret, and Public Trust clearances. We screen for clearance eligibility and active clearance status during the intake process and will not present candidates who do not meet your stated requirements.

We offer a replacement guarantee of up to 12 months on direct-hire placements. If a placed candidate leaves or is let go within that window for reasons related to performance or fit, we will re-run the search at no additional fee. This does not cover restructuring, layoffs, or budget-driven role eliminations unrelated to the hire's performance. The exact term is set in your agreement, so check it there rather than assuming twelve months applies to every engagement.

Yes, as candidates. SkillBridge is a DoD program that lets transitioning service members intern with civilian employers for up to 180 days before separation. We recruit and place people coming through it, and we translate military and prime experience into terms your hiring managers can evaluate. We do not build or administer SkillBridge programs for employers, which is HR program work rather than search. See our military-to-civilian hiring page.

Direct Search is pay-on-success: a percentage of first-year base, due on placement, set by the guarantee term you choose. The embedded models are a flat monthly cost with no percentage on any hire. Exact rates depend on scope and we cover them on the call. There are no surprise fees. Book a call to get a specific quote.

Our fees are in line with the market for specialized search firms, and we cover them on the call rather than on a page, because the right structure depends on the role. The value case is the part worth stating here: a firm that presents faster but with weaker matches costs you the interview time, the months the role stays open, and sometimes the hire itself. We are priced for companies that have run that math.

It starts with a 30-minute discovery call to confirm fit. If we move forward, we conduct a deep intake session to define the role, team dynamics, and success metrics. We then build a target list, reach out to passive candidates, and present a vetted shortlist within two weeks. You interview, we advise, and we close.

Yes, for the right kind of role. Direct Search is pay-on-success work for a clear, well-scoped role where the profile is already defined, and you pay on placement. What we do not do is take a purely speculative assignment on a senior or hard-to-fill role, because that structure rewards speed over fit, which is the wrong trade-off when you are hiring a VP of Engineering or a cleared technical lead. Those searches run better under one of the embedded models, where the incentives line up with the outcome you actually need.

A job description is a starting point but not required upfront. More useful is an honest conversation about the problem you are trying to solve, the team the hire will join, the non-negotiables, and what has failed in past hiring attempts. The intake session is where we build the real search brief.

Share your profile through our candidate intake form. We review every submission and reach out when there is a relevant open role. We do not post most of our searches publicly, so submitting directly is the best way to get on our radar.

Yes, and this is a significant part of what we do. We actively source and place transitioning veterans and service members, including through SkillBridge. If you are within 180 days of separation and interested in defense tech or deep tech roles, we want to hear from you.

Never. Candidates pay nothing. Our fees are always paid by the client company. We will never charge you to submit a profile, interview, or be placed.

Your information is used solely to evaluate you for open roles and to contact you about opportunities. We do not sell or share your data with third parties outside of client engagements where you have been presented as a candidate. See our privacy policy for full details.