ABOUT US - Our Experience and Leadership

Top Tier Talent is a specialized recruiting firm focused exclusively on manufacturing - we don’t work across industries—we only live and breathe manufacturing. Our experience in the industry spans 24 years placing hundreds of high-impact leaders across the U.S. manufacturing landscape. 

Our expertise is focused on finding elite talent in Automation, Engineering, Reliability, and Environmental Health and Safety.  Our specialty is in working with small to mid-sized manufacturers that need to scale quickly and compete against larger companies for critical hires.However, we have worked with Multi-national fortune 1000 companies also. 

What sets our Automation recruiting apart:

•  Deep talent pool of automation pros from food, chemical, packaging, and other advanced manufacturing industries
•  Regular contact with passive candidates via LinkedIn, email, and direct outreach
•  Familiarity with platforms like Allen Bradley, Rockwell, Siemens, Ignition, Wonderware, AVEVA and DCS systems 
• Strong track record placing automation leaders who modernize systems and reduce downtime

Why we have such great success recruiting engineering talent:  

• Deep understanding of engineering positions, responsibilities and technical specifications
• Plant operations experience has driven our understanding of all engineering fuctions and the roles they play in operations
• Our understanding of maintenance and reliabilty operations in TPM, CMMS, and predictive technologies
• Connections built over two decades through referrals, direct outreach, and industry presence

Our knowledge of EHS in manufacturing gives us a key advantage 

• Sourcing certified safety professionals (CSP, ASP, PSM) and environmental managers with industry-specific experience
• Experience recruiting in PSM, FDA-regulated, and high-risk environments
• A national network of EHS talent in both plant-level and corporate roles 
• Candidates who blend compliance knowledge with hands-on, people-first leadership
  

We are not a transactional recruiting agency. We operate as a consultative talent partner, integrating deeply with our client’s culture, teams, and business objectives. Acting as the face of your employer brand, we help you attract candidates who wouldn’t otherwise consider making a move—those passive, high-performing professionals who never apply to job boards.

Our Priority Search model is designed for urgency and precision. More than 75% of all searches use the Priority Search model. Priority Search is a mutually committed focused, targeted, and proactive search campaign, conducted by a dedicated team to specifically identify, qualify, and acquire passive candidates from identified companies. With a 96% success and retention rate and a 12-month replacement guarantee, our clients trust us not just to fill jobs, but to build teams that drive performance.

Mike Santiago brings over 35 years of experience in Senior Management Roles in Operations, Engineering, Product Management, Marketing and Sales. 

Mike has built Engineering, Sales, Marketing and Operations teams for major companies. As a former Vice President and General Manager of a $200 million-dollar division of an international publicly held company, he managed the entire operation which included engineering, manufacturing, product management and support. 

Mike has successfully guided Top Tier Talent Advisors to 24 straight profitable years. He has personaly placed over 300 Senior and mid-level manufacturing professionals in multiple dicplines.