Connecting the best people to Web3 companies doing great things.
We only recruit for companies we believe in. If we wouldn't take the job ourselves, we won't ask anyone else to.
A $185,000 base salary gives a $38,300 fee. It's funded into the smart contract when the offer is accepted, then released to PeopleOnChain at day 14 ($5,000), day 30 ($14,150), day 60 ($9,575), day 90 ($9,575).
Placements that can settle onchain in USDC
Senior Software Engineer, Rust
$185,000 base, $38,300 fee
Each release is final the moment it lands.
You work with us, not a platform
20 years in recruiting, the last five filling some of the hardest roles in Web3.
We've hired the people Web3 companies fight over: protocol and smart contract engineers, security, compliance, product and developer relations. We know what good looks like, what it costs, and who is quietly open to a move.
Every search is run by one of us or a recruiter we've vetted and stand behind. You sign with PeopleOnChain, and we answer for the result from the first call to day 90.
Ryan Hill
Co-founder, CEO
Recruiting technical talent for 19 years, and in crypto since 2013.
LinkedIn profile of Ryan Hill, opens in a new tab“I recruited myself into Circle because I believed it would change the global financial system for the better.”
Tom Fitzgerald
Co-founder, COO
Circle's second engineering recruiter. Over five years he helped build Engineering, Data and Product, and recruited for all of Product as it went global.
LinkedIn profile of Tom Fitzgerald, opens in a new tab
Why Web3 teams hire through us
Web3 moves money across the world in seconds. Recruiting still runs on invoices and 60-day terms. We changed the part we could.
- We only take searches we believe in
- We've both recruited for companies we didn't believe in, and we won't do it again. So when we pitch your role to a candidate, the conviction is real, and the people who say yes are joining your mission, not just a job.
- We know the work
- We've filled these roles from the inside, at a company that moves real money onchain. You get a recruiter who can tell a strong engineer from a fluent one in the first call.
- You pay as the hire works out
- Our fee releases at day 14, 30, 60 and 90. If the hire leaves inside 90 days, what hasn't been paid comes back to you automatically. We only do well when your hire does.
- One firm, on rails it can't bend
- We're your agency of record, and we answer for the search. The smart contract is the part we can't touch: once it's funded there's no admin key and no override.
Three commitments, one smart contract
Employers commit money
A $5,000 retainer before the search starts, and the full fee funded when an offer is accepted.
Recruiters commit capacity
A hard cap on how many searches each recruiter runs at once, so yours gets real attention.
Candidates commit consent
No submission without their click, and every consent recorded onchain.
Every step leaves a receipt. The smart contract enforces the schedule so nobody chases an invoice.
How a placement settles
You fund a $5,000 retainer when the search starts. It's credited to the fee. If you close the search before a hire, you pick a reason and it comes back to you straight away.
When someone accepts, the full fee goes into a smart contract whose dates are fixed the moment it's funded. It releases to PeopleOnChain at day 14, 30, 60 and 90, and every release is final.
If the hire leaves inside 90 days, you file the departure before the next release date. Whatever hasn't released comes back to you. Nobody at PeopleOnChain has a key that can change the smart contract.
A disputed departure goes to arbitration under our services agreement.
- Search startsRetainer funded, credited to the fee$5,000verified onchain
- OfferFull fee funded, retainer included$38,300verified onchain
- Day 14Released to PeopleOnChain$5,000verified onchain
- Day 30Released to PeopleOnChain$14,150verified onchain
- Day 60Released to PeopleOnChain$9,575verified onchain
- Day 90Released to PeopleOnChain$9,575verified onchain
- Released to PeopleOnChain, final
- $38,300
- Comes back to you
- $0
- Search startsRetainer funded, credited to the fee$5,000verified onchain
- OfferFull fee funded, retainer included$38,300verified onchain
- Day 10Hire leaves; you file the departureverified onchain
- Day 14Returned to you$5,000verified onchain
- Day 30Returned to you$14,150verified onchain
- Day 60Returned to you$9,575verified onchain
- Day 90Returned to you$9,575verified onchain
- Released to PeopleOnChain, final
- $0
- Comes back to you
- $38,300
- Search startsRetainer funded, credited to the fee$5,000verified onchain
- OfferFull fee funded, retainer included$38,300verified onchain
- Day 14Released to PeopleOnChain$5,000verified onchain
- Day 30Released to PeopleOnChain$14,150verified onchain
- Day 45Hire leaves; you file the departureverified onchain
- Day 60Returned to you$9,575verified onchain
- Day 90Returned to you$9,575verified onchain
- Released to PeopleOnChain, final
- $19,150
- Comes back to you
- $19,150
- Search startsRetainer funded, credited to the fee$5,000verified onchain
- OfferFull fee funded, retainer included$38,300verified onchain
- Day 14Released to PeopleOnChain$5,000verified onchain
- Day 30Released to PeopleOnChain$14,150verified onchain
- Day 60Released to PeopleOnChain$9,575verified onchain
- Day 75Hire leaves; you file the departureverified onchain
- Day 90Returned to you$9,575verified onchain
- Released to PeopleOnChain, final
- $28,725
- Comes back to you
- $9,575
Verified onchain
For employers
One firm, one contract, one recruiter per search. A second can join only if no qualified candidate has reached you within 14 days.
How a search runs| Base salary | Rate on that slice |
|---|---|
| First $120K | 20% |
| $120K – $200K | 22% |
| $200K – $300K | 25% |
| Above $300K | 33% |
| Most a hire can costReached at $553K base | $150,000 |
Each slice of base is charged at its own rate, so crossing a band never jumps the fee. Above $300K the slice is priced like executive search, and no hire costs more than $150,000.
For recruiters
You recruit as a subcontractor to PeopleOnChain, on searches that are already paid for.
Join the recruiter network- Exclusive searches
- A search you're selected for is yours alone, with a funded retainer behind it.
- Consent first
- You never submit a candidate. They see the role and approve it themselves.
- Paid on the same dates
- PeopleOnChain pays your share as each release lands. No invoices, no chasing.
- A desk you can handle
- You run a few searches at a time, and more as you fill them.
- Every role is one we'd take ourselves
- We only work with companies whose mission we believe in.
- Nothing goes out without your yes
- You see the role and the company before anything is sent. Your click is the submission.
- You never pay anything
- Working with us costs you nothing, start to finish.
- Look quietly
- Keep a private profile and let an agent of your own watch for roles that fit. Opening by invitation.
Our mission
To bring hiring into the blockchain era, with trust and transparency baked into the protocol and predictable outcomes for employers, recruiters, and candidates.
Built by people who love Web3.
Questions we hear first
What does it cost, and is there a cap?
A fee on the hire's base salary, charged in brackets from 20% to 33%, and never more than $150,000 per hire. The $5,000 retainer is credited to the fee.
What happens if a hire leaves early?
Inside 90 days, you file the departure and whatever hasn't released comes back to you automatically. What has already released stays released.
Who controls the money? Can PeopleOnChain change the smart contract?
The smart contract does. Its terms and dates are fixed the moment it's funded, and there's no admin key: we can't speed up a release, hold one back or redirect it.
How many recruiters work my search?
One, chosen by you after an intake call. A second can join only if no qualified candidate has reached you within 14 days.
Will you take any search?
No. We work with companies whose mission we believe in, and we pass on the rest, whatever the fee.
What if we disagree about a departure?
A disputed departure goes to arbitration under our services agreement, and the award is carried out by the parties.
Do candidates pay anything?
No. Candidates never pay.
Do I need crypto or a wallet to hire?
Fees settle in USDC. If you don't hold it yet, we'll walk you through funding on the first call.
Can I check the smart contract myself?
Yes, once it's deployed: we'll publish the contract address, its source code and an explorer link here, and every release, return and departure will be a public transaction.
Book a conversation
45 minutes with Ryan and Tom: your hiring plans, and how a search would run here. Pick a time and the calendar invitation follows from us.