Exosens Imaging Belgium is part of a fast-growing high-tech company operating in the microelectronics and semiconductor industry.
In an industry where technological innovation depends heavily on access to highly specialized expertise, finding the right talent can quickly become a major growth challenge.
Exosens Imaging Belgium was looking for an IC Layout Lead based in Belgium, a highly specialized role combining deep technical expertise in integrated circuit design with technical leadership responsibilities.
The challenge? Professionals with exactly this combination of experience are extremely rare and highly sought after by semiconductor and technology companies around the world.
Why this hire was important
The IC Layout Lead plays an important role in the development of highly sophisticated microelectronics.
In simple terms, IC layout focuses on designing the microscopic internal structures of a chip: determining how its electronic components are arranged, connected and translated from an electrical design into a physical layout that can eventually be manufactured.
For Exosens Imaging Belgium, this meant they were not simply looking for an experienced electronics engineer.
They needed someone with extensive expertise in IC layout, nanoelectronics and microelectronics, combined with the ability to take technical ownership and provide leadership throughout the development process.
Securing this expertise was particularly important for a growing company operating in an innovative and highly competitive technology market.
The Challenge
This was an exceptionally narrow candidate market.
The ideal candidate needed to:
- Bring extensive experience in IC layout and microelectronics
- Understand highly specialized nanoelectronics technologies
- Combine hands-on technical expertise with leadership potential
- Work closely with highly specialized engineering teams
- Be willing to work regularly on-site in Belgium
- Consider relocating internationally if not already based locally
Only a relatively small number of professionals worldwide have this particular combination of expertise.
At the same time, these specialists are in extremely high demand and regularly receive opportunities from major international semiconductor and technology companies.
The required on-site presence in Belgium made the available candidate pool even smaller.
Our Approach
Our approach and the results
For a highly technical search like this, understanding the position properly was essential before approaching candidates.
We therefore started with an in-depth briefing with the Engineering Manager to understand the technical requirements, the technologies involved and the differences between genuinely relevant profiles and candidates coming from broader electronics backgrounds.
Because IC layout is such a specialized field, our recruiting team also invested significant time in developing a deeper understanding of the technology itself.
We conducted our own market research and used AI-supported learning and research to better understand the terminology, technologies and differences between potential candidate backgrounds.
This enabled us to assess profiles much more precisely and have more relevant conversations with highly specialized engineers.
Instead of limiting the search to professionals already living in Belgium, we also expanded the candidate pool internationally.
✅ International Active Sourcing
We identified and directly approached specialized professionals across different markets who had the required IC layout experience and could potentially consider relocating to Belgium for the right career opportunity.
✅ Highly targeted pre-screening
With such a specialized position, sending large numbers of profiles would not have helped the client.
Our focus was therefore on identifying a very small number of candidates with a genuinely strong technical and personal fit.
During our pre-screening process, we assessed their technical background, career motivation, leadership experience, relocation willingness and interest in joining Exosens.
Within 2 weeks, we presented two candidates
Despite the extremely limited candidate market, we were able to introduce two carefully selected and pre-qualified candidates within just two weeks.
One of them quickly proved to be an excellent match.
Rather than requiring the Engineering and HR teams to conduct dozens of interviews with partially suitable candidates, the hiring process could move directly from a highly targeted shortlist into interviews and ultimately to contract signature.
The result: One of two candidates hired
Exosens Imaging Belgium successfully filled this strategically important position with one of the two candidates we presented.
For the client, this meant securing highly specialized expertise while significantly reducing the internal time normally required for such a difficult search.
Instead of screening and interviewing a large candidate pool, the management and engineering teams could focus their time on candidates who had already been carefully evaluated against the technical and personal requirements of the role.
The successful hire now brings the expertise needed to support the continued development of Exosens’ chip design capabilities and technological growth.
For us, the candidate’s message after signing the contract was especially rewarding.
The successfully placed candidate shared:
“HR sent me the contract this afternoon, and I reviewed and signed it the same evening. Thank you once again for all your help and guidance from the very beginning. It has truly been a pleasure working with you throughout this process!”
Successfully placed candidate, IC Layout Lead
Conclusion: Recruiting highly specialized semiconductor talent
Recruiting in semiconductor and microelectronics markets requires a different approach from filling more broadly available engineering positions.
When the potential candidate pool is extremely small, success depends on understanding the technical requirements in detail, identifying candidates across international markets and approaching the right specialists with a compelling opportunity.
For Exosens Imaging Belgium, expanding the search beyond the local Belgian market was particularly important.
By combining an in-depth technical briefing, dedicated market research, international Active Sourcing and thorough candidate pre-screening, we were able to narrow an extremely specialized market down to just two relevant candidates.
One of them became the company’s new IC Layout Lead.
Looking to hire specialized semiconductor or engineering talent in Europe?
Whether you are searching locally or need to access specialized talent internationally, we can help you identify and approach the professionals your company needs to grow.
Get in touch with CareerBee to discuss your hiring project.
