About Our Digital Recruitment Agency

The Talent Driven Agency built on trusted partnerships. TDA is a community led hiring partner for senior design, product and technology roles.

TDA's
Mission

We help forward-thinking organisations build leadership teams with clarity, pace and discretion, backed by 20+ years of trusted delivery. US led, with global reach. We work primarily with teams in the United States, while supporting organisations internationally when the role and the impact demands it.

1200+
Placements

150+
Clients

Global Recruitment
Award Winners

Why it
Matters

In today’s fast moving digital economy, finding and retaining the right talent is a critical competitive advantage. At TDA, we help our clients turn hiring into strategic value: not just filling seats, but building teams that drive innovation, deliver impact, and scale. Likewise, for candidates we provide meaningful opportunities aligned with their expertise, growth ambitions and values.

Accelerate time to hire

Acces to top 5% of talent

Augmenting internal talent teams

The Minds Behind TDA

Dave Draper

Co-Founder

Dave has spent two decades building trusted hiring partnerships across design, product and technology. He’s known for high-quality networks, a calm, direct approach, and delivering senior hires that stick.

Andy Smith

Co-Founder

Andy brings 20+ years’ experience partnering with ambitious organisations to build teams through growth and change. He’s focused on clarity, craft, and creating hiring processes that work for both sides.

Client
Success

Paypal

VP of Design

“Having partnered with TDA for exceptional design talent many times in the past, I knew they would be a great partner to PayPal. They hit the ground running immediately, helping us to hire 9 superb designers at the Lead, Principal and Director level, nailing the briefs immediately. They have again proven to be the trusted go-to talent partner, seamlessly integrating and working well both with our internal TA teams and VPs of design. TDA have deep roots in the design community, allowing them to unearth top-tier talent, especially helpful in connecting us to passive candidates. Taking another step with us to build design culture, they are now partnering with PayPal, delivering onsite events that help us showcase PayPal’s design perspective, further enhancing our ability to secure the best talent for our teams. I would highly recommend TDA as your design talent partner of choice.”

BP

Chief Design Officer

“TDA are an exceptional design talent partner who truly understand the nuances of finding the right fit for creative teams. They have a great eye for top talent and a smooth, efficient approach to the recruiting process that makes everything easier. I especially love how they take time to build genuine relationships, ensuring that both the candidate and our company are aligned for success. If you’re looking for a reliable and skilled recruiting partner who knows the design world inside out, I highly recommend Andy and the TDA team.”

Google

Design Director

“Andy and the TDA team are fantastic. I began working with them in 2011 to help grow my UX team and have continued to partner with them since. They are organised, reliable, professional and find the best passive candidates in design through their community driven approach. I love working with them.”

Goldman Sachs

Global Head of Design

"TDA has been a fantastic design talent partner over many years and have been integral to building out my central design org at Goldman Sachs. They have a real sense of the creative community and have been able to find diverse design talent in a competitive market."

American Express

Vice President of Design

“Over the past 15 years, my association with TDA has been truly remarkable. I have worked with TDA as a candidate, successfully securing a position. Now, in my role as a hiring manager responsible for building my design teams, TDA continues to excel. They are not merely a recruitment agency; they are exceptional in their commitment to supporting the broader design community. Through organizing events, meet-ups, and their own Future of Design Forum, they demonstrate their dedication. I wholeheartedly recommend TDA to other companies seeking a long-term, trusted talent partner.”

BlackRock

SVP, UX Design

“For the last decade, I've partnered with TDA on several design talent searches. Without fail, TDA have skillfully navigated the market, consistently identifying the ideal candidates that matched or exceeded our requirements. They exhibit deep expertise in the design field, thoroughly comprehending the role and our organization before commencing the search. I enthusiastically endorse them as invaluable talent growth partners.”

First Republic Bank

Head of Design

"It had been a six-month search with 100’s of candidates and 4 search firms that didn’t deliver. TDA really pulled through for a very critical role for us and have since continued to provide us with exceptional talent since."

Morgan Stanley

ED of Design

“TDA remains my trusted destination for sourcing UX design and development talent. Over the past 15 years, they’ve consistently connected me with exceptional professionals who have elevated our projects. TDA's deep understanding of the UX discipline ensures a carefully curated pool of candidates, perfectly tailored to our requirements. I look forward to a long-lasting partnership with TDA.”

BCG

MD & Design Leader

"TDA has been an excellent partner in finding exceptional talent both for full-time or contract hires. TDA have a broad and deep network and personally invests the time to deeply understand the needs of all parties to determine the best and most sustainable fit. TDA are great listeners and extremely genuine when it comes to talent. It is a true pleasure to work with TDA, and I appreciate their hard work ethic and sincerity - thank you for all that you've done for us and the amazing talent you have found for us!"

Fortis Games

VP Global Talent Acquisition

"The TDA team is fantastic to work with. Finding strong creative talent in the entertainment and gaming space takes time. If I need to augment staffing efforts to scale a global product and design group, I can count on TDA to help because they are highly networked and have their finger on the pulse of solid design and product talent. On a recent project, the team filled several key roles within our company. He made the process of working with the TDA team smooth and efficient. It’s been great having an external partner like TDA that can quickly understand the business's needs and deliver outstanding results."

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Get in touch

TDA's Mission

1200+ Placements

150+ Clients

Global Recruitment Award Winners

Why it Matters