52 Limited

• Places technology, engineering, digital, and creative professionals with companies across the United States.
• Focus areas include software engineering, data and AI, UX and product design, digital marketing, and creative leadership roles.
• Engagement models include contract, contract-to-hire, direct hire, employer of record (EOR) payroll services, and full team creation.
• Acts as employer of record for contractors in all 50 U.S. states.
• Typical clients include technology companies, consumer brands, agencies, and healthcare organizations.

Representative roles placed

• Software Engineer, Frontend Engineer, Full-Stack Engineer, Data Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Engineering Manager
• Product Manager, AI Product Manager, UX Designer, Product Designer, UX Researcher, Design Systems Lead
• Digital Marketing Manager, Performance Marketing Manager, Brand Marketing Manager, Content Strategist
• Creative Director, Brand Designer, Visual Designer, Motion/Video Designer, Brand Strategist
• Executive roles such as Chief Technology Officer, Chief Product Officer, VP of Engineering, Chief Marketing Officer

How 52 Limited works with clients

• Senior-led, boutique recruiting and staffing firm: the recruiter who takes the brief runs the search end-to-end.
• Focus on senior talent and highly vetted shortlists instead of high-volume resume submissions.
• National reach with a strong base in Portland, Oregon, and the ability to support distributed teams across the U.S.
• Engagement types tailored to client needs, from single hires to full team builds.

• You need specialized talent for a defined period (projects, campaigns, product launches, seasonal surges, interim coverage).
• You want to scale headcount up or down quickly without long-term commitments.
• You prefer to pay only for the duration of the engagement.

How the contract process works

1. Scope and timeline – 52 Limited aligns with you on role requirements, skills, seniority, start date, and expected duration.
2. Rapid sourcing – candidates are sourced from a pre-vetted contractor network, matched to your tech stack, tools, and team culture.
3. Shortlist in days – most contract searches produce a shortlist of qualified candidates within about a week of intake.
4. Onboarding and check-ins – 52 Limited coordinates start logistics and checks in early in the engagement to ensure the fit is working.

Key characteristics of contract engagements

• Senior contributors who can operate independently from day one.
• Contractors are typically engaged on an hourly or daily basis for the agreed period.
• Contract length and hours are tailored to your needs, with flexibility to extend or wind down.

Typical contract roles

Examples of roles 52 Limited places on contract include:

• Technology: AI Engineer, ML Platform Engineer, Full-Stack Engineer, Engineering Manager, Data Engineer, Developer Experience Lead
• Digital and Product: AI Product Designer, Product Manager, Conversational UX Designer, Design Systems Lead, Growth Designer, Head of Product Design
• Design: Brand Designer, Visual Designer, Product Designer, UX Researcher, Design Operations Manager, Environmental Designer
• Creative: Creative Director, Brand Strategist, AI Content Designer, Motion and Video Designer, Social Creative Lead
• Marketing: GTM Engineer, Demand Generation Manager, Product Marketing Manager, Marketing Operations Lead, Revenue Operations Manager, Content Strategist, Performance Marketing Manager, Brand Marketing Manager, Community Lead
• Consulting and Enterprise: Change Management Lead, Enterprise Business Analyst, Technical Program Manager, Organizational Design Consultant, Process Improvement Lead, Business Transformation Manager
• SAP and related: SAP S/4HANA specialists, SAP FICO Consultant, SAP Logistics Consultant, SAP UX/UI Designer, Solution Architect, SAP Basis Administrator, SAP Integration Specialist, SAP Data Migration Lead
• Emerging and executive roles: AI Product Manager, Prompt Engineer, Developer Advocate, Fractional CMO, and selected executive positions.

Support during the engagement

• 52 Limited stays involved during the assignment and can address performance or fit issues quickly.
• If a contractor is not the right fit, 52 Limited works with you to resolve the issue or identify a replacement, based on the terms of your specific agreement.

52 Limited offers contract-to-hire engagements so you can evaluate a candidate on the job before making a permanent offer.

What contract-to-hire means

• A candidate begins as a contractor for a defined trial period, typically 3 to 6 months.
• During the trial, the individual is employed as a W-2 employee of 52 Limited, which manages payroll and compliance.
• If the trial is successful, the candidate converts to your direct employee under pre-agreed conversion terms.

When contract-to-hire is useful

• Senior hires where a mis-hire would be costly in time and budget.
• Roles where you want to see real performance, collaboration, and culture fit before committing long term.
• Situations where you want to move quickly but still de-risk a permanent decision.

How the contract-to-hire process works

1. Define the trial and success criteria – align on the role, responsibilities, trial length (usually 3–6 months), and what success looks like.
2. Source for long-term potential – candidates are selected for both contract readiness and permanent-fit potential.
3. 52 Limited manages payroll and compliance – during the trial, the contractor is on 52 Limited's W-2, including payroll processing, tax withholdings, and statutory compliance.
4. Conversion to permanent hire – when you are ready to hire, conversion terms and fees follow the schedule agreed at the start of the engagement.

Conversion fees and structure

• Contract-to-hire agreements typically use a declining conversion fee: the longer the trial period, the lower the conversion cost.
• After a full six-month contract period, the conversion fee is often reduced significantly or waived, according to the schedule in your specific agreement.

Typical contract-to-hire roles

52 Limited supports contract-to-hire for many of the same roles as contract staffing and direct hire, including:

• Senior engineers and engineering managers
• Product, UX, and digital design leaders
• Marketing and growth leaders
• Creative directors and senior creative talent
• Data, analytics, and AI-related roles

Benefits for clients and candidates

• For clients: real-world evaluation of performance, communication style, and culture fit before making a permanent decision.
• For candidates: a clear path to a permanent role with expectations and conversion terms defined from day one.

52 Limited offers Team Creation engagements to build entire technology, digital, and creative teams from the ground up.

What team creation covers

• Designing the team structure and org chart for a specific function, studio, or initiative.
• Defining every role required and sequencing hires in the correct order.
• Running searches for all roles in parallel so the team comes together as a coherent unit.
• Supporting the team through the first months after it is assembled.

Typical use cases

• Launching a new product, studio, or business unit.
• Building a dedicated content, marketing, design, or engineering team.
• Scaling a function that does not yet exist inside the company.
• Post-acquisition integration where a new combined team needs to be designed and staffed.

How a team creation engagement works

1. Org design and role mapping – work with your leadership to define the team's mission, structure, reporting lines, and required capabilities.
2. Intake for each role – conduct deep intake on every position to clarify responsibilities, seniority, and success metrics.
3. Parallel recruiting – run multiple searches concurrently, using 52 Limited's network for technology, digital, creative, and marketing talent.
4. Sequenced hiring roadmap – provide a clear plan for which roles to hire first, and how subsequent hires build toward a functioning team.
5. Post-hire support – stay involved with check-ins (for example at 30, 60, and 90 days) to ensure the team is landing well and operating as intended.

Examples of outcomes

• Standing up long-running program teams for enterprise brands.
• Building cross-disciplinary studio teams that function as an on-demand extension of a client's in-house group.

Pricing considerations

• Team creation work uses the same underlying pricing models as 52 Limited's standard services (contract markups, direct hire fees, and EOR structures).
• A design and scoping phase precedes any large team build so that structure and budget are aligned before hiring begins.

Regional phone lines

52 Limited supports clients and talent nationally. The following phone numbers are listed for key markets:

• Seattle: 206.501.4452
• San Francisco: 415.692.0152
• Los Angeles: 323.657.9350
• Austin: 737.220.0552
• Charlotte: 704.981.4536
• New York: 917.546.6804
• Miami: 305.760.9218
• Boston: 617.938.3698
• Chicago: 872.259.0670
• Nashville: 615.283.7368

Online presence

• Website: https://52ltd.com
• LinkedIn: Linked from the website footer
• Instagram: Linked from the website footer
• YouTube: Linked from the website footer

How to get in touch

• For employers looking for talent:
• Use the "Start a conversation" or "Book a Call" forms on the website to share role details.
• Or call the main number or your regional number above.
• For candidates looking for work:
• Use the "Looking for work" / talent-focused options on the website to connect with the recruiting team.

Lists Miami, Charlotte, Nashville, Austin, Chicago, Boston, Madison, and Los Angeles as a location. Names New York, Oregon, United States, and Portland as a service area. Areas beyond these are not published.

• 52 Limited manages the full search from intake through accepted offer.
• Services typically include sourcing, screening, interviewing, reference checks, and offer support.
• You pay a recruiting fee only when a candidate placed by 52 Limited accepts your offer and starts.

Typical direct hire process

1. Deep intake call – understand your team, culture, compensation range, reporting structure, and success profile for the role.
2. Targeted sourcing – network-first outreach to active and passive candidates; most strong candidates are not simply responding to job boards.
3. Curated shortlist – a small number of fully screened, vetted candidates, not a large unscreened resume list.
4. Offer and post-placement support – help with offer presentation, negotiation, and check-ins after the start date.

Fee structure and guarantee

• Direct hire searches use a contingency fee model based on a percentage of the candidate's first-year salary (commonly around 20% for many roles, per current site language).
• 52 Limited provides a 45-day placement guarantee: if a placed candidate leaves or is terminated for performance reasons within the guarantee period (subject to the conditions in your agreement), 52 Limited will re-run the search to replace the hire at no additional recruiting fee.

Roles commonly filled on direct hire

• Software engineering and data roles (e.g., AI Engineer, Full-Stack Engineer, Data Engineer, Engineering Manager)
• Product and UX roles (e.g., Product Manager, AI Product Designer, UX Designer, Design Systems Lead, UX Researcher)
• Marketing and growth roles (e.g., Demand Generation Manager, Product Marketing Manager, Performance Marketing Manager, Brand Marketing Manager)
• Creative and design leadership (e.g., Creative Director, Brand Strategist, Visual Designer, Motion/Video Designer)
• Executive roles (e.g., Chief Technology Officer, Chief Product Officer, VP of Engineering, Chief Marketing Officer)

What sets 52 Limited's direct hire model apart

• Senior recruiters own searches from start to finish; there are no junior handoffs mid-search.
• Emphasis on quality over volume, delivering a small number of well-matched candidates.
• Strong reach into passive candidate networks built over two decades in technology, digital, and creative communities.

• 52 Limited becomes the W-2 employer for designated contractors.
• 52 Limited manages payroll processing, tax withholdings, year-end forms, and required filings.
• 52 Limited carries workers' compensation and unemployment insurance for these employees.
• You direct the day-to-day work while 52 Limited handles the employment infrastructure.

Key features of 52 Limited's EOR services

• 50-state coverage – registered and compliant as an employer in all 50 U.S. states.
• Full W-2 employment – each contractor receives correct tax documentation, pay stubs, and access to required records.
• Workers' compensation included – coverage is provided for all W-2 contractors under this model.
• Tax compliance handled – federal, state, and local payroll tax filings and year-end W-2s are managed by 52 Limited.
• Benefits administration – benefits options are offered to W-2 contractors, which can help attract and retain stronger talent.
• Simple invoicing – clients receive consolidated, predictable billing instead of running separate payrolls.

When clients use EOR and payroll services

• Engaging contractors in multiple states without setting up local payroll entities.
• Reducing misclassification and compliance risk when using long-term or recurring contractors.
• Simplifying administration for large or distributed contract workforces.

Oregon-specific compliance (as an example)

• For Oregon-based workers, 52 Limited manages requirements such as OregonSaves retirement program participation, state unemployment taxes, and paid sick leave compliance as the W-2 employer.

Ask anyway — the agent will say plainly that it is not published rather than guess.