Estonia’s 20 Go-To Recruiters for IT Professionals
Meet the standout tech recruiters driving Estonia’s IT hiring success, handpicked for their influence and proven track records. ↓
Estonia’s tech sector is powered not only by world-class developers but also by the recruiters who connect them to the right opportunities.
Behind every successful software team, there’s often a sharp-eyed talent partner who knows the market inside out. This curated list highlights Estonia’s most respected IT recruiters — from agency founders and in-house talent leads to freelance headhunters and employer branding strategists. These individuals have earned their reputation through a mix of strategic thinking, cultural fluency, sourcing expertise, and an unmatched commitment to building great teams.
- Helo Tamme
- Samira Soltani
- Uwanma Odefa
- Heleen Anderson
- Inge-Helene Pello
- Timo Kukk
- Kristel Kraag
- Paula Pascual Núñez
- Kadi Poll
- Nelja Kornfeld
- Anita Kirotar
- Reet Kaurit
- Triin Juurma
- Eero Veider
- Kersti Vannas
- Marian Kuusemäe
- Christoph Wiederhold
- Karoli Hindriks
- Stina Abner
- Jelena Laudver
Each entry includes a brief explanation of why they are among the best, followed by their social media profiles.
Helo Tamme
Helo is a prominent HR leader who has greatly impacted IT recruitment in Estonia. As Global People Partner at Wise and President of the Estonian HR Society, she champions people-centric hiring practices.
Helo has 20+ years in HR and was featured among Estonia’s top LinkedIn voices for her insightful posts on culture and talent. She actively promotes diversity in tech – for example, celebrating women in engineering and cross-cultural teams. Helo’s tenure as Wise’s talent partner saw the company rapidly scale its engineering and product teams while maintaining a strong culture.
Her industry influence and thought leadership make her a go-to expert on modern recruitment and retention strategies.
- LinkedIn: Helo Tamme
Samira Soltani
An IT talent sourcer-turned-recruiter, Samira has 5+ years of experience delivering successful tech hires across Europe. Originally from Iran, she has made Tallinn her base and helped Estonian startups find international talent in software development and data science.
Samira’s expertise lies in sourcing: she leverages her multilingual skills and networks to uncover candidates in tricky markets. She has filled roles in industries from fintech to gaming, and her ability to adapt recruitment strategies to different cultures has been a key asset. Samira is active on LinkedIn’s recruiting groups, where she shares sourcing hacks and encourages recruiters to embrace global talent pools when local supply is tight.
- LinkedIn: Samira Soltani
Uwanma Odefa
Uwanma is a talent acquisition consultant with over 15 years of experience recruiting globally. Now freelancing in Estonia, she brands herself as an “experienced niche-recruiter” who designs recruitment strategies aligned with business culture and values.
Uwanma has held senior TA roles in Africa and Europe – notably as Group Head of Talent Acquisition for an international gaming company, where she hired CTOs, engineers, and marketers across 10+ countries. Her focus on efficiency and quality in hiring is well-known; she often writes about metrics-driven recruiting and has given talks on optimizing recruitment processes for scale-ups.
Bilingual in English and Estonian, Uwanma contributes to local HR forums and helps Estonian firms broaden their hiring horizons to more diverse markets.
- LinkedIn: Uwanma Odefa
Heleen Anderson
An independent tech recruiter with a decade of experience, Heleen has a track record of building high-performing software teams for startups and scaleups.
She was integral in expanding a Danish edtech firm’s presence in Estonia, personally recruiting 20+ key hires and earning praise for her efficient and methodical approach. Formerly with CVO Recruitment, Heleen was recognized as Estonia’s “Recruiter of the Year” in 2019 for her outstanding results in IT hiring.
Known for her thought leadership on LinkedIn and as a data-driven talent strategist, she advocates innovative recruitment practices to improve hiring ROI.
- LinkedIn: Heleen Anderson
Inge-Helene Pello
Inge-Helene is an HR Manager and career counselor who has made a name by bridging recruitment and career coaching. A member of the Estonian Association of Career Counselors, she often appears in media giving job-seekers advice on interviewing and CVs.
Inge-Helene previously worked as a recruiter at a digital agency, where she refined their hiring processes and mentored hiring managers on interviewing techniques. She remains very visible publicly: moderating panels at HR conferences, freelancing as a work-life journalist, and running webinars on topics like “How to prepare for a job interview”.
This mix of hands-on recruiting and public career education makes Inge-Helene a unique influencer in Estonia’s HR sphere.
- LinkedIn: Inge-Helene Pello
Timo Kukk
A tech recruiter since 2011, Timo has a wealth of experience both in agency and corporate environments. He describes himself as “extremely motivated to constantly develop my skills and grow professionally”, which reflects in the varied roles he’s taken on – from hiring software engineers for startups to recruiting IT project managers for large enterprises.
Timo is particularly strong in sourcing developers. He has a background in IT studies which helps him connect with engineers on a technical level. He’s active in Estonia’s developer community events (like DevClub), often volunteering as a career advisor to junior programmers. Timo’s LinkedIn content is a mix of tech hiring memes and thoughtful posts demystifying the recruitment process for candidates.
- LinkedIn: Timo Kukk
Kristel Kraag
Lead tech recruiter at SMIT (the IT and Development Centre of the Ministry of Interior), Kristel was named Estonia’s Best Recruiter of 2020 for her exceptional candidate-centric approach.
Colleagues praise her warm and calming demeanor – she’s known to put even nervous candidates at ease with her supportive communication. At SMIT, Kristel has helped grow critical IT teams in the public sector, hiring developers and specialists for national e-government systems. She emphasizes values-fit in hiring, ensuring new tech hires not only have the skills but also strengthen team culture.
- LinkedIn: Kristel Kraag
Paula Pascual Nunez
Early Careers Recruiter at Wise, Paula is an expatriate talent professional who has significantly contributed to Estonia’s fintech talent pool.
With a background in psychology and HR, she focuses on diversity and inclusion in tech hiring. Paula has led Wise’s graduate and entry-level engineering recruitment, helping the company scale its teams sustainably. She was among the nominees for 2022’s Best Recruiter, recognized for innovative hiring campaigns and her engaging presence at university career events.
Bilingual and active on LinkedIn, Paula shares tips on breaking into tech and relocating for jobs.
- LinkedIn: Paula Pascual Núñez
Kadi Poll
The Global Employer Branding Manager at Bolt, Kadi has merged marketing savvy with recruitment. Formerly Bolt’s Head of Talent Acquisition, she has been instrumental in attracting top tech talent during the unicorn’s hyper-growth.
Kadi’s creative recruitment marketing earned a Golden Egg award (Estonia’s top creative prize) for employer branding. She served on the jury of Estonia’s 2024 recruitment awards, reflecting her influence in the industry. On LinkedIn, Kadi is a thought leader in employer branding – sharing “behind the scenes” strategies on how Bolt’s culture and values are communicated to candidates.
- LinkedIn: Kadi Poll
Nelja Kornfeld
Nelja is an HR manager-turned-recruiter with extensive global experience. She has led recruitment and HR teams in multiple countries, giving her a strategic and culturally savvy approach to connecting talent with companies.
In Estonia, Nelja has been particularly active in the fintech and telecom sectors, hiring specialists and executives while aligning talent strategies with business goals. Her strength lies in employer branding – she’s managed campaigns that boosted her employers’ reputation among tech professionals. Nelja frequently contributes to HR panels about cross-border recruitment and has advocated for Estonia to adopt more remote-work friendly policies to attract foreign IT talent.
Her LinkedIn often features content on leadership hiring and the importance of onboarding and retention after the recruitment “sell” is done.
- LinkedIn: Nelja Kornfeld
Anita Kirotar
Anita is a Talent Acquisition Specialist at Kõu Mobility Group (formerly Comodule), one of Estonia’s leading IoT and mobility tech companies. Wearing multiple hats in HR and people operations, Anita has helped Kõu Mobility rapidly staff up its engineering, product, and design teams.
Her innovative approaches – such as organizing makeathon-style interviews for hardware engineers – earned her a nomination as a Recruiter of the Year finalist in 2022. Colleagues commend Anita’s passion for tech and how she immerses herself in the product to pitch roles authentically to candidates. She often engages on LinkedIn with content about emerging tech roles (like EV infrastructure specialists) and how to attract talent to new fields.
Anita’s public enthusiasm for both the company mission and the people she recruits makes her stand out in the industrial tech sector.
- LinkedIn: Anita Kirotar
Reet Kaurit
Co-founder and Recruitment Partner at TalentHub, Reet brings over a decade of HR and headhunting experience to Estonia’s startup ecosystem.
She and Käthe-Riin Tull launched TalentHub to rethink agency recruiting, and Reet has since led key tech hiring projects for clients in fintech and SaaS. Previously at an executive search firm, Reet combines a consultative approach with startup agility. Her public activity includes co-hosting the “Värbamisest ja kasvust startup’ides” (Recruitment and Growth in Startups) podcast, where she discusses hiring trends and challenges for early-stage companies.
Reet’s engaging LinkedIn content on talent strategy and candidate experience has made her a respected voice among in-house and agency recruiters alike.
- LinkedIn: Reet Kaurit
Triin Juurma
An independent headhunter (founder of Agent Triin OÜ), Triin has earned a reputation for swiftly finding niche IT specialists. With past experience in corporate HR, she now helps companies on a project basis to fill tough technical roles.
Clients praise Triin’s ability to deeply understand their needs – “each new recruitment project has been solved professionally and personally, which is why I always turn to Triin first”, one testimonial notes. She is highly active in networking circles and often shares advice on optimizing hiring processes and improving employer appeal. Triin’s personal blog and seminars cover practical tips from talent mapping to interview best practices.
- LinkedIn: Triin Juurma
Eero Veider
Modern recruitment is about flexibility — the best companies tap into global networks, not just local talent pools.
The co-founder & CEO of Relancer, Eero has innovated how companies connect with freelance recruiters. A former tech recruiter himself, he previously built and led an HR startup to help tech companies find talent.
Through Relancer’s platform, Eero has enabled dozens of Estonian firms to tap into a global network of specialized recruiters on demand. He also hosts the Relancer Podcast, where he interviews expert recruiters worldwide on topics like AI in sourcing and mental health in recruiting.
Eero’s thought leadership – from blog posts on agency vs. in-house strategy to talks at HR conferences – has made him a key influencer shaping modern recruitment in Estonia.
- LinkedIn: Eero Veider
Kersti Vannas
A pioneer in employer branding and recruitment marketing, Kersti is the co-founder and CEO of Instar. While not a classical recruiter, she has transformed how companies attract IT talent through branding.
Kersti has organized Estonia’s annual Recruitment Marketing Awards (KICKOFF) for six years, shining a spotlight on the nation’s top recruiters and hiring campaigns. Her influence is evident in how organizations now treat talent attraction as a strategic, year-round effort – as Kersti notes, “employer branding gives organizations a strategic edge in hiring”.
She mentors recruitment teams on data-driven marketing, and her LinkedIn posts often share success stories of innovative hiring tactics across various industries.
- LinkedIn: Kersti Vannas
Marian Kuusemäe
Marian is an HR and recruitment partner with 10 years in the field, known for her ability to scale engineering teams from scratch. She has served as Head of Talent for a cybersecurity startup, where she hired 40+ developers within a year, establishing the entire recruitment funnel and employer brand in the process.
Marian now consults growing companies on recruiting strategy and often steps in as an interim talent partner during rapid growth phases. She is a proponent of evidence-based hiring, using data and structured interviews to reduce bias. Marian shares actionable hiring tips on social media – from how to write inclusive job ads to the latest trends in tech salaries – which have earned her a following among Estonia’s startup HR community.
- LinkedIn: Marian Kuusemäe
Christoph Wiederhold
Christoph is the co-founder of HappyHire, a boutique recruitment agency in Tartu focused on impact-driven tech companies (e.g., clean-tech and sports-tech startups).
Originally from Germany, Christoph brought his recruitment expertise to Estonia and even served on the board of HappyHire OÜ since 2016. He was a 2022 Best Recruiter nominee for his work in matching talent with mission-based companies. Christoph is also an angel investor in climate-tech startups, which gives him a unique network and insight into the specialized talent those companies need.
On social media, he shares content about value-based recruiting – ensuring candidates align with a company’s impact goals – and remote hiring, as many of his client companies operate internationally.
- LinkedIn: Christoph Wiederhold
Karoli Hindriks
The founder and CEO of Jobbatical, Karoli is a global voice in tech talent mobility. While an entrepreneur rather than a recruiter, her work relocating IT professionals to Estonia has made a profound mark on the local tech scene.
She launched Jobbatical in 2014 as an “international recruitment platform” and relocation service, and through it has helped countless startups hire and relocate skilled engineers from around the world. Karoli is also a media personality and keynote speaker on future of work – advocating that spreading knowledge workers across borders fuels innovation. With 30k+ LinkedIn followers, she shares inspiring content about company culture, remote work, and making global hiring more human.
- LinkedIn: Karoli Hindriks
- X (Twitter): @karolihindriks
Stina Abner
An independent senior recruiter, Stina has a rich agency background and now consults for tech companies on tough hires. She describes herself as a recruiter who’s “led recruitments at agency, now working independently”, helping businesses in Estonia and abroad.
Stina is valued for her strategic approach – she not only fills roles but advises startups on market talent trends and employer branding tweaks to attract candidates. Active in the local startup scene, she frequently speaks at Garage48 and Startup Day events about how early-stage companies can compete for talent against big players.
Stina’s engaging LinkedIn posts (marked with #recruiterlife) often share candid stories from the hiring trenches, resonating with HR peers and founders alike.
- LinkedIn: Stina Abner
Jelena Laudver
With 20 years of recruitment experience, Jelena is one of Estonia’s most seasoned IT headhunters. Her career spans HR consulting and in-house roles where she delivered top talent in IT, engineering, finance, and more.
Jelena currently operates as an independent recruiter-for-hire, tackling executive searches and senior engineering roles for tech companies in the Baltics. She brings a strategic, tailored approach to matching exceptional talent with the right opportunities, honed from placing hundreds of candidates over the years.
Jelena is also an active member of the Estonian Recruiter’s Association and contributes to trainings for up-and-coming recruiters, sharing lessons from her extensive experience.
- LinkedIn: Jelena Laudver
Wrap Up
While these individuals offer valuable industry expertise, deep networks, and a track record of working with startups and tech firms in Estonia, their services often come at a premium price tag or with limited availability.
For fast-moving teams seeking a more responsive and cost-effective alternative, EchoGlobal Tech can be an option. Contact us today!
Note: We’ve dedicated significant time and effort to creating and verifying this curated list of top professionals. However, if you believe a correction or addition is needed, feel free to reach out. We’ll gladly review and update the page.
Lou Reverchuk