IND Recognised Sponsor for Highly Skilled Migrant visas. In-house 30% ruling processing. Own operational entities in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, not a partner network.
39+
Years of HR expertise
6
European markets
35+
Nationalities on our own staff
Why Octagon for technology
Global EOR platforms compete on country count, marketing SaaS dashboards and subcontracted local partners. Tech scale-ups hiring senior engineers in Europe need something different: an IND Recognised Sponsor that can land non-EU talent on Dutch payroll in days, not months, and in-house 30% ruling processing so the offer is already optimised when the engineer signs. Octagon runs both, alongside own operational entities in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. That is a direct contract with an established HR firm, not a reseller agreement with a local partner you have never met.
What makes us different
Tech scale-ups competing for research-grade engineers against US offers do not win on speed by emailing a remote platform. They win by working with an IND Recognised Sponsor whose HSM files sit inside the IND's two-week service standard (statutory maximum 90 days) and who prepares the joint 30% ruling application with the Belastingdienst in-house.
Octagon runs that stack directly from Dutch and UK legal entities, with named contacts who know the hire, the immigration path, and the employment structure. Not a ticket queue. Not a subcontractor chain.
The typical approach
4 vendors. 4 contracts. No single owner.
The Octagon approach
1 partner. 1 contract. Full accountability.
Playbook
Four phases from sourcing to full operational delivery.
Recruitment
4-8 weeksSource ML engineers, research scientists, quantum physicists, chip architects, medtech regulatory specialists, and technical leadership from European research communities, university spin-out networks, and our proprietary database of deep-tech candidates across the continent.
HR consultancy
2-4 weeksEmployment contract design for technical roles, salary benchmarking, benefits advisory, 30% ruling assessment, and compliance mapping for each target jurisdiction. We work upstream of the hire so onboarding is clean.
Employer of Record and payroll
OngoingCompliant employment across NL, UK, DE, FR, IT, and CY without requiring local entities. Octagon acts as the legal employer, handling payroll, social contributions, pension, 30% ruling administration, and IND Highly Skilled Migrant visa sponsorship.
Managed Specialist Teams
OngoingEmbedded operational teams for programme management, data analytics, finance operations, or technical administration. Recruited, employed, and managed by Octagon within your organisation. Your managers direct the work; we handle everything else.
Ideal for
AI scale-ups, quantum computing firms, deep tech hardware, health tech and medtech, European research spin-outs
Employer of Record
Technology companies routinely hire talent across multiple European countries before they have established legal entities in each market. Octagon holds IND Recognised Sponsor status, enabling fast-tracked Highly Skilled Migrant visa processing in approximately two weeks. We administer the 30% tax ruling for eligible expats, reducing employer costs and improving net take-home pay. Technical professionals employed through Octagon sit on permanent or fixed-term European employment contracts with full social security, pension, and statutory protections. For scale-ups competing for research-grade engineers against US offers, that legal stability is often the difference between closing the hire and losing them.
Expertise
AI labs, scale-ups, research institutes
We recruit ML engineers, research scientists, data scientists, NLP specialists, and AI product managers for companies building intelligent systems across Europe. Our network spans PhD-level researchers from leading European AI labs, production engineers who build scalable training and inference infrastructure, and technical leaders who can bridge research and commercial deployment. We source, employ, and manage, not just introduce.
Quantum, photonics, semiconductors, robotics
Chip architects, ASIC designers, quantum physicists, algorithm designers, photonic IC engineers, robotics specialists, and advanced materials scientists. The talent pool for deep tech hardware is genuinely scarce across Europe, and filling these roles requires direct access to research communities, university spin-out networks, and candidate relationships built over years. We recruit within this space and handle the full employment stack once we find the right people.
Medtech, digital health, biotech
Medical device companies, digital health platforms, and biotech firms face a unique combination of technical and regulatory HR demands. We recruit biomedical engineers, clinical data scientists, regulatory affairs specialists familiar with EU MDR and IVDR, and software engineers building CE-marked products. A misclassified regulatory affairs contractor can create a submission delay, and we structure employment accordingly.
NL, UK, DE, FR, IT, CY
Technology companies routinely hire talent across multiple European countries before they have established legal entities in each market. Our Employer of Record service enables compliant employment in the Netherlands, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Cyprus without entity setup. We handle payroll, social contributions, benefits, 30% ruling administration, and IND visa sponsorship, so your technical team is employed correctly from day one, regardless of where they are based.
Managed Teams
Some technology organisations need more than individual placements. They need a partner who recruits the team, employs every member on a compliant local contract, and takes ownership of the delivery structure: work packages, reporting lines, KPI tracking, and knowledge transfer. We currently operate managed teams across five European countries, covering programme management and controls, data analytics and machine learning operations, finance and accounting operations for scale-ups, and regulatory affairs support for medtech organisations.
The IND service standard for recognised-sponsor HSM applications is a decision within two weeks (legal maximum 90 days). As a long-term recognised sponsor with a clean submission record, our files sit in the expedited lane, which matters when you are hiring non-EU engineers against US offers.
Generic staffing agencies refer the 30% ruling to a tax firm. We prepare the joint Belastingdienst application in-house, which means the offer lands with the ruling already optimised and administered. Five-business-day onboarding for senior engineers is a direct consequence of that.
We sign employment contracts from Dutch and UK legal entities we operate, not from a partner network. For scale-ups running cross-Channel teams, that removes a full layer of subcontracting and keeps the legal relationship with the firm you actually met.
Wet ketenaansprakelijkheid exposes the hiring company to unpaid wage tax and premiums up the contracting chain. Octagon uses G-account payments and documented withholding practices to reduce that exposure, which matters when your finance team reads the tax risk register.
Most EOR platforms are under a decade old. Octagon has run Dutch employment since 1987. For a scale-up board structuring an eight-year workforce plan, the difference between a 39-year operator and a Series C SaaS vendor is not subtle.
Track record
Anonymised engagements across AI, deep tech, and health tech. Specific client names available under NDA.
Building an applied research division across Europe
Octagon provides recruitment, Employer of Record services, and multi-country payroll for an applied research team of ML engineers and research scientists hiring across the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom. We manage IND Highly Skilled Migrant visa sponsorship and 30% ruling administration for international hires.
Roles we fill
University-backed startup expanding from the Netherlands
A seed-stage quantum computing company needing its first formal employment structure. Octagon provided Employer of Record services, employment contract design, and recruitment of early engineering hires. We handled the transition from academic affiliation to commercial employment for several founding researchers.
Roles we fill
Scaling regulatory capacity for EU MDR uplift
A medical device firm with a short-staffed regulatory affairs team preparing for EU MDR submissions. Octagon recruited regulatory affairs specialists and clinical documentation professionals, managed employment across three European offices, and provided HR consultancy for the expanded regulatory function.
Roles we fill
Opening a Netherlands operation
A UK-headquartered deep tech hardware firm establishing a Netherlands presence. Octagon delivered Employer of Record services for the initial Dutch hires, HR consultancy for operational setup, and recruitment of the first engineering team in Eindhoven and Delft, all under a single contract and without requiring a Dutch entity.
Roles we fill
Telemedicine platform scaling beyond the Netherlands
A digital health company scaling telemedicine services beyond the Netherlands into Germany and Italy. Octagon managed cross-border employment, CE-marking regulatory recruitment, and multi-country payroll for clinical and technical teams operating under different healthcare regulatory regimes.
Roles we fill
Policy-facing research group hiring across EU capitals
A European AI safety research organisation hiring policy researchers, legal scholars, and technical AI safety professionals across multiple European capitals. Octagon provided Employer of Record services, multi-jurisdiction compliance, and recruitment support for a multi-national research team.
Roles we fill
Vacancies
Insights
Octagon combines automation with human expertise. Our head of technology shares how we use technology to improve accuracy, speed, and compliance without losing the personal touch that international employees need.
From digital nomad visas to AI-driven payroll, international HR is shifting rapidly. Our experts share perspectives on what the next five years hold for cross-border employment.
The Hague hosts over 200 international organisations. What makes the Netherlands so attractive, and what does this mean for employers looking to tap into this unique talent pool?
Whether you are hiring a single principal engineer or standing up a cross-border technical team, Octagon handles the recruitment, employment, compliance, and operational support. With a personal touch that a staffing agency cannot match.
