Specialist Headhunting for U.S. Infrastructure, Built Environment & Utilities
Finding the people businesses need to deliver, lead and grow.
TURNING POTENTIAL INTO PROGRESS
A Considered Approach to Recruitment
A difficult hire can slow delivery, stretch a team and leave a business without the experience it needs when the pressure is already on. I work directly with hiring managers to understand what is driving the need, what the person needs to achieve and the environment they will be joining before I start searching.
Understand the Business
A job description only tells part of the story. I want to understand what the business is trying to deliver, where the pressure sits, how the team is structured and what the right person needs to change or improve. That gives me a clearer picture of who will actually fit the role.
Find the Right People
I combine direct search, market knowledge and relationships built through years of conversations across U.S. engineering, construction and infrastructure. I look beyond active jobseekers to people who are performing well where they are and may only move for the right opportunity.
Qualify & Introduce
Before I make an introduction, I want to understand experience, motivation, location, compensation and circumstances on both sides. I would rather introduce three people worth meeting than send ten resumes just to show activity.
Core Markets
Torpai works across three connected markets where the right experience can have a direct impact on project delivery, client commitments and growth. I recruit from technical specialists through to senior leaders across U.S. infrastructure, built environment and utilities.
Infrastructure
- Transportation
- Rail & Transit
- Aviation
- Highways & Bridges
- Heavy Civil
- Tunneling
- Maritime
- Major Programs
I recruit the engineers, project leaders and senior people needed to move complex work from design through delivery.
Built Environment
- Architecture
- Buildings
- MEP
- Facilities
- Data Centers
- Mission Critical
- Industrial
- Advanced Manufacturing
From specialist design and engineering hires through to project, operations and leadership appointments.
Utilities
- Water & Wastewater
- Environmental Services
- Power & Energy
- Electrical Infrastructure
- Transmission & Distribution
- Renewables
- Utility Networks
I support organizations where technical depth, delivery experience and leadership directly affect reliability and growth.
The People Behind the Projects
From the engineer solving the technical problem to the leader responsible for a program, business unit or region, Torpai recruits the people behind the projects, teams and businesses shaping America’s built environment.
Engineering & Design
Civil, structural, geotechnical, environmental, mechanical and electrical engineering, architecture and specialist design. I recruit technical people who can solve problems, lead disciplines and turn complex requirements into deliverable solutions.
Project & Program Delivery
Project and program management, construction management, project controls, estimating and scheduling. These are the people carrying responsibility for cost, schedule, risk, coordination and ultimately getting the work delivered.
Operations & Commercial
Operations, commercial management, contracts, procurement and business development. I work on hires that help businesses run better, protect margin, strengthen client relationships and support sustainable growth.
Executive Leadership
Directors, business unit leaders and senior executives responsible for people, performance and growth. These searches are usually less about filling a vacancy and more about where the business needs to go next.
Why Torpai?
I’m Kester Quarmby, a UK-based headhunter working exclusively across the U.S. market. I spent part of my early life in Southern California and still have family and friends in the States, so America is a market I know personally as well as professionally.
I started Torpai to build a business around the way I believe recruitment should work: understand the need properly, know the market and make introductions that are worth people’s time.
Torpai means “next step” in Thai. The name reflects my Thai roots and what I want the business to help people and companies achieve: progress.
Torpai is founder-led, so clients and professionals work directly with me throughout the search.
Good relationships, useful conversations and helping people and businesses move forward. That’s what I want Torpai to be about.
Beyond Recruitment
Recruitment is at the heart of Torpai, but I want the relationship to go further than filling a role.
The conversations I have with business leaders often cover growth plans, upcoming projects, market movement, team structure, succession, new markets and where the right introduction could open a door.
I can bring more than a search process. I bring market knowledge, a broad U.S. network and a commercial understanding of the businesses, projects and people operating across infrastructure, the built environment and utilities.
Where it makes sense, I’m happy to make strategic introductions, share what I’m seeing in the market and help connect businesses with people or opportunities that could move something forward.
The aim is to become a trusted partner who understands the business, not someone who only appears when there is a vacancy to fill.
Let’s Talk
Whether you have a difficult hire, are planning ahead for a growing team or simply want to compare notes on the market, I’m always happy to have a conversation.
Contact Details
Kester Quarmby
Founder & Headhunter
+1 (646) 921-5509
kester@torpaiconsulting.com
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