Home/Services/Recruitment & Staffing/Co-Managed Engineers

Co-Managed Network Engineers

You need a specialist for eighteen months, and hiring permanently is the wrong instrument.

Lumensoft employs the engineer and carries payroll, benefits and employment administration. You direct the technical work and own the output, exactly as you would with your own staff.

Scope a Co-Managed requirement →See the Dedicated model instead →

7-day shortlist guaranteeNo upfront hiring feeFree replacement for the life of the project

Co-Managed is the model for work that is real but finite — a migration, a rollout, a period of load — where hiring permanently is the wrong instrument and an unscreened contractor is the wrong risk.

Lumensoft remains the employer and carries payroll, benefits, HR and performance accountability. You direct the technical work and own the output, exactly as you would with your own staff.

Bought as a monthly rate with no upfront hiring fee. Carries a 7-day shortlist guarantee and free replacement for the life of the project.

Recruitment & Staffing — the first of three service lines. Recruitment gives you the people; Professional & Managed Services does the work for you; Consultancy decides what work should be done.

What that costs you

The cost of the wrong instrument.

Projects stall while a requisition sits open for a role you did not want to make permanent.
Senior engineers absorb the overflow, delaying the work only they can do.
Short contract hires create employment and compliance administration disproportionate to the engagement length.
When the contractor leaves, the operational knowledge leaves with them.

Why the usual answer fails

Contract hiring, and what it leaves with you.

	Conventional contract hiring	Lumensoft Co-Managed
Technical validation	Recruiter screen and resume match	A practicing Solution Architect conducts the technical interview
Time to capacity	Open-ended	7-day shortlist guarantee from a scoped requirement
Employment administration	Yours to carry	Lumensoft carries payroll, benefits and HR
If it does not work out	You restart the search	Free replacement for the life of the project
Performance accountability	Yours alone	Lumensoft addresses it directly
Cost structure	Upfront fee plus overhead	Monthly rate, no upfront hiring fee

How we work

We carry the employment. You direct the work.

Lumensoft employs the engineer under a company-to-company arrangement and carries payroll, benefits, HR, accommodation and performance management. You set priorities and direct the work. If performance falls below the engagement standard, we address it — which is the practical difference between this and a contractor.

Before scoping a Co-Managed role we usually ask:

How long does this genuinely run — and if the answer is "probably permanent," should this be a Dedicated hire instead?
Who on your side gives this person direction day to day, and is that person's time actually available?
What access will they need, and how long does your onboarding process take to grant it? That often sets the real start date, not the shortlist.
Does the work require someone on-site, or has that requirement been inherited rather than examined?

What you receive

What the engagement includes.

Solution Architect Validated™ Cisco, Avaya and Microsoft Teams engineers
A 7-day shortlist guarantee — from fully scoped requirement to your first candidate interview
No upfront hiring fee; a monthly rate only
Payroll, benefits, HR and employment administration carried by Lumensoft
Free replacement for the life of the project if the engineer leaves or underperforms
Optional conversion to a direct hire later, by mutual agreement
Remote, or on-site at a Lumensoft facility, as defined in the statement of work

How it is bought

A monthly rate, scoped to the role.

A monthly rate scoped to the role, driven by specialization and seniority. No upfront hiring fee. Engagements typically run three months and upward. Pricing is confirmed in the proposal within 24 hours of the assessment.

Specializations

Platforms we recruit against.

Cisco CCNA / CCNPAvaya CM / AuraMicrosoft Teams Direct RoutingSBC — AudioCodes, Ribbon, CUBELAN/WAN routing & switchingNetwork automation — Ansible, Terraform

Who it's for

MSPs

Bandwidth that scales up and down with client workload.

Staffing agencies

Technical delivery on Cisco, Avaya and Teams roles.

Enterprise IT

Project-duration capacity with no permanent requisition.

Transit agencies

Specialist cover for time-bound network or voice initiatives.

Typical buyer situations

You are likely in scope if any of these is true:

The work runs six to eighteen months and then genuinely ends.
You want the engineer directed by your team but employed by someone else.
Employment administration for a short engagement costs more than the engagement justifies.
You have been burned by a contractor who left and took the operational knowledge with them.

What happens next

1Scope the requirement on a 30-minute call — environment, duration, and what the engineer will own.
2Within 7 business days of that requirement being fully scoped, your first candidate interview takes place. That interview is the shortlist being delivered.
3You direct the work from day one. We remain the employer and carry payroll, benefits, HR and performance accountability.

7-day shortlist guarantee. Free replacement for the life of the project if the engineer leaves or underperforms. The engineer is background screened and works on credentials you issue.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions.

What does the 7-day shortlist guarantee commit to?

From a fully scoped requirement, your first candidate interview happens within 7 business days. That interview is what constitutes the shortlist being delivered. This guarantee applies to Co-Managed roles only.

What does "Lumensoft manages the engineer" mean day to day?

We handle payroll, benefits, HR and employment administration, and we address performance if it falls below standard. You direct the technical work. You manage the work, not the employment.

What is the minimum engagement?

Typically three months. Shorter is possible but rarely makes sense once onboarding is accounted for.

Can we convert the engineer to our own payroll?

Yes, by mutual agreement after a defined period, with terms set in the original statement of work.

On-site or remote?

Both. Remote, or on-site at a Lumensoft facility, defined in the statement of work.

What if the engineer leaves mid-project?

Replacement is free for the life of the project. Continuity is our obligation, not your risk.

What is a co-managed network engineer?

A co-managed network engineer is employed by Lumensoft and directed by you. We carry payroll, benefits, HR and performance accountability; you set priorities and own the output. It suits work that is real but finite, where a permanent hire is the wrong instrument and an unscreened contractor is the wrong risk.