The best engineering staffing agencies in Houston in 2026 are Apollo Technical, Burnett Specialists, TRS Staffing Solutions, Kelly Engineering, Actalent, NES Fircroft, Airswift, Brunel, Petroplan, Insight Global and PEAK Technical.
Houston has a higher concentration of engineers than the national average and the largest cluster of petroleum engineers in the country, so the best agency for you depends on whether you are hiring for a refinery turnaround, an LNG project, a manufacturer or a design firm.
Below we compare all 11 on Houston presence, hiring models, disciplines and honest limitations.
A note on bias: Apollo Technical wrote this list and ranks itself first. We list our own limitations the same way we list everyone else’s. Facts about every other firm come from its own website or a named source, checked in September 2026. No firm paid to be included.
Key takeaways
- Best specialist for Houston engineering hires outside pure oil and gas contracting: Apollo Technical, which recruits only engineering, IT and supply chain talent and offers contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire.
- Best Houston-headquartered firm: Burnett Specialists, in business since 1974.
- Best for EPC and capital projects: TRS Staffing Solutions, a Fluor company.
- Best for energy contractors at scale: NES Fircroft and Airswift.
- Architecture and engineering jobs are 2.4 percent of Houston employment versus 1.7 percent nationally, with a mean wage of $54.26 an hour (BLS, May 2025).
Houston engineering staffing agencies at a glance
| # | Agency | Houston presence | Hiring models | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apollo Technical | Houston recruiting team, 832.519.1704 | Contract, contract-to-hire, direct hire | Specialist engineering and CAD hires across industries |
| 2 | Burnett Specialists | Houston HQ, four metro offices | Direct hire, temp-to-hire, contract, payrolling | Local SMB and engineering firm hiring |
| 3 | TRS Staffing Solutions | Briarpark Drive, Westchase | Contract, craft, MSP, embedded delivery | EPC and capital projects |
| 4 | Kelly Engineering | Kelly Houston branches | Contract, direct placement, projects | Chemical, manufacturing and aerospace sites |
| 5 | Actalent | Houston West, Katy Freeway | Contract, direct, engineering services | Volume contract engineering |
| 6 | NES Fircroft | Memorial City, Americas hub | Contract, permanent, EOR, MSP, RPO | Energy contractors at scale |
| 7 | Airswift | Post Oak Boulevard, Uptown | Contract, direct, executive search, EOR | Supermajor and offshore projects |
| 8 | Brunel | Katy Freeway, Americas head office | Contracting, direct hire, RPO, mobility | Experienced and cross-border specialists |
| 9 | Petroplan | Briarpark Drive, Westchase | Contract, direct, executive search | Energy contract specialists |
| 10 | Insight Global | Post Oak Boulevard, Uptown | Contract, contract-to-hire, direct, RPO | Fast utility and energy contract hires |
| 11 | PEAK Technical | Serves Houston remotely (HQ Pittsburgh) | Temp, temp-to-hire, permanent, MSP, payroll | Managed programs covering engineering and IT |
The Houston engineering hiring market in 2026
| Houston engineering fact | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture and engineering share of jobs | 2.4 percent (US: 1.7 percent) | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Mean A&E wage, Houston vs US | $54.26 vs $51.36 an hour | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Petroleum engineers in metro Houston | 5,850, most of any US metro, mean $160,670 | BLS OEWS, May 2023 |
| Fortune 500 headquarters in the metro | 26, of which 19 are energy-related | Dallas Fed, 2025 |
| Clean hydrogen hub | Largest of seven US hubs selected in 2023 | Dallas Fed, 2025 |
| Biomedical cluster growth, 2016 to 2023 | 34 percent, fastest-growing cluster | Dallas Fed, 2025 |
Energy still dominates, but Houston engineering demand now also comes from LNG export projects, carbon capture and hydrogen, NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the Texas Medical Center. Many of the agencies below are energy specialists, so employers outside oil and gas should check that a firm actually recruits in their industry.
The 11 best engineering staffing agencies in Houston
1. Apollo Technical
Apollo Technical recruits only engineering, IT and supply chain professionals, and its Houston recruiters place engineers and CAD designers across energy, petrochemical, manufacturing, construction, data center and medical device employers. We rank it first because Houston employers outside pure offshore contracting often need a specialist that covers more than oil and gas.
- Houston presence: Houston recruiting team at 832.519.1704, serving Houston, Katy, Spring, The Woodlands, Conroe, Baytown, La Porte and the Ship Channel. Headquarters in metro Atlanta; founded in 2010.
- Hiring models: contract/temporary, contract-to-hire, direct hire and payroll services.
- Disciplines: chemical and process, mechanical, electrical and power, controls and instrumentation, civil and structural, piping design, quality, medical device and data center engineering, plus CAD designers in AutoCAD Plant 3D, SmartPlant, CADWorx, Revit and SolidWorks.
- How you pay: no retainer or upfront fee for direct hire; you pay only when you hire. Contractors are Apollo W2 employees, E-Verified, with payroll taxes and workers compensation covered.
- Strength: specialist screening across industries with every hiring model. Apollo states it typically presents qualified candidates within 24 to 48 hours.
- Limitation: smaller than the global energy staffing firms below, and it does not mobilize large offshore crews, run international assignments or manage large contractor programs.
- Best for: Houston manufacturers, petrochemical plants, engineering and design firms, and technology and medical employers making specialist engineering hires.
See Apollo’s Houston engineering recruiters, plus local pages for Katy, Spring and Baytown.
2. Burnett Specialists
Burnett Specialists was founded in Houston in 1974 by Sue Burnett and is employee-owned.
- Houston presence: 9800 Richmond Avenue in Westchase, plus Downtown, Northwest and Southeast offices.
- Hiring models: direct hire, temp-to-hire, temporary/contract and payrolling.
- Disciplines: process, chemical, petroleum, reservoir, offshore, instrumentation, controls, civil, structural, environmental and renewable energy.
- Strength: five decades of Houston relationships and four metro offices.
- Limitation: a generalist agency that also staffs IT, HR and office roles, and it works only in Texas.
- Best for: Houston small and mid-size companies and engineering firms.
3. TRS Staffing Solutions
TRS Staffing Solutions is a business line of Fluor and has staffed capital projects since 1984.
- Houston presence: 3151 Briarpark Drive, Suite 850.
- Hiring models: contract workforce, craft labor, engineering and project controls staff, MSP and embedded delivery.
- Disciplines: upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas, LNG, petrochemicals, power, energy transition and hyperscale data centers, from front-end design through commissioning and shutdowns.
- Strength: EPC project staffing expertise from inside a major engineering and construction company.
- Limitation: built for large projects, with no small-business or direct-hire focus shown for Houston.
- Best for: owners and EPC contractors staffing Gulf Coast LNG and petrochemical projects.
4. Kelly Engineering
Kelly Engineering is the engineering practice of Kelly Services, founded in 1946 and headquartered in Troy, MI. Kelly says it recruited more than 2,500 engineering professionals last year.
- Houston presence: Kelly branch offices in Houston.
- Hiring models: contract, direct placement and outcome-based projects.
- Disciplines: chemical and energy, advanced manufacturing and automation, semiconductor and electronics, automotive and aerospace, and medical device.
- Strength: national engineering scale that reaches beyond oil and gas into manufacturing, aerospace and medical work.
- Limitation: one unit inside a very large workforce company, with no Houston-specific engineering page.
- Best for: chemical, manufacturing and aerospace employers with Houston sites that want a national engineering vendor.
5. Actalent
Actalent is the largest US engineering staffing firm by SIA’s ranking, formed from Aerotek’s engineering and sciences business in 2021.
- Houston presence: Houston West, 11750 Katy Freeway, Suite 600.
- Hiring models: contract and direct staffing plus engineering and sciences services.
- Strength: a large national talent pool backed by Allegis Group.
- Limitation: its Houston page gives little local engineering detail, and service typically runs through national account structures.
- Best for: mid-to-large manufacturers and energy companies wanting volume contract engineering.
6. NES Fircroft
NES Fircroft formed in 2020 from the merger of NES Global Talent, founded in 1978, and Fircroft. Its Americas hub has been in Houston since 2001.
- Houston presence: One Memorial City Plaza, 800 Gessner Road.
- Hiring models: contract, permanent, executive search, employer of record, MSP, RPO and payroll.
- Disciplines: oil and gas, LNG, chemicals, renewables, mining and power.
- Strength: a deep energy contractor bench, with more than 3,000 contractors in the Americas according to the firm.
- Limitation: mostly energy, and a poor fit for aerospace, medical or general manufacturing engineering.
- Best for: energy operators and EPCs needing contract engineers at scale.
7. Airswift
Airswift, which merged with Swift Worldwide Resources in 2016, has run a Houston hub since 2001.
- Houston presence: 3050 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 1450.
- Hiring models: contract, direct hire, retained and executive search, EOR, RPO and MSP.
- Disciplines: process, project, drilling and completions, subsea, HSE, QA/QC, construction and commissioning, and renewables.
- Strength: says it works with all of the energy supermajors.
- Limitation: mostly contract work for large energy clients.
- Best for: supermajors, EPCs and owners staffing offshore and petrochemical projects.
8. Brunel
Brunel, founded in Amsterdam in 1975 and publicly listed, has operated on the Gulf Coast since 1994.
- Houston presence: Americas head office at 10100 Katy Freeway.
- Hiring models: compliant contracting, direct hire, RPO, executive search and global mobility.
- Disciplines: LNG, oil and gas, EPC, mining, life sciences and renewables.
- Strength: global mobility and compliance for specialists sourced from abroad.
- Limitation: aimed at mid-to-senior specialists, not entry-level engineers or designers.
- Best for: operators and EPCs needing experienced or cross-border hires.
9. Petroplan
Petroplan, part of TXM Group, is a UK-rooted energy recruiter with more than 45 years in the sector, according to its site.
- Houston presence: 3151 Briarpark Drive, Suite 1250.
- Hiring models: contract, direct hire, executive search and workforce management.
- Disciplines: oil and gas, renewables and energy infrastructure.
- Strength: a long-standing energy specialist with a dedicated Houston team.
- Limitation: narrowly focused on energy, with little Houston-specific detail published.
- Best for: energy companies needing contract specialists and contractor payroll.
10. Insight Global
Insight Global, headquartered in Atlanta, runs a Houston office serving energy, utilities and IT.
- Houston presence: 2200 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 1225.
- Hiring models: contract, contract-to-hire, direct hire, RPO and managed services.
- Strength: speed and scale for contract needs.
- Limitation: led by IT and professional staffing; engineering is not its core Houston practice.
- Best for: utilities and energy companies needing quick contract hires in engineering-adjacent roles.
11. PEAK Technical Staffing USA
PEAK Technical, founded in Pittsburgh in 1968, serves Houston, The Woodlands and Sugar Land through remote recruiters.
- Houston presence: a dedicated Houston page, but no published Houston street address.
- Hiring models: temp, temp-to-hire, permanent, MSP, payroll and RPO.
- Disciplines: process, mechanical and electrical engineers for refineries and chemical plants, civil and structural, plus IT and OT roles.
- Strength: more than 50 years in engineering staffing and managed program options.
- Limitation: no verified physical Houston office.
- Best for: companies consolidating engineering and IT contractors under one program.
Which Houston agency fits your hiring need
| If you need to hire | Start with |
|---|---|
| A hard-to-fill engineer or CAD designer | Apollo Technical |
| A contractor you may convert to permanent | Apollo Technical, Burnett Specialists |
| Engineers for a manufacturer, medical device or data center employer | Apollo Technical |
| Staff for an LNG, refinery or EPC project | TRS Staffing Solutions, NES Fircroft, Airswift |
| Offshore, drilling or subsea specialists | Airswift, NES Fircroft, Brunel |
| Specialists relocating from abroad | Brunel |
| Volume contract engineering | Actalent, Insight Global |
| A local firm for mixed engineering and office hires | Burnett Specialists |
What Houston engineering staffing costs
Houston agencies price direct hire as a one-time fee based on first-year salary and contract engineers as an hourly bill rate that covers pay, payroll taxes, insurance and margin. Energy contractors are often paid overtime or per diem, so confirm how those are billed. Compare the fee, the replacement guarantee and the conversion terms in writing. See how a staffing agency works and W2 vs 1099 vs corp to corp.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best engineering staffing agency in Houston?
For specialist engineering and CAD hires across industries, we recommend Apollo Technical. For EPC and capital projects, TRS Staffing Solutions. For large energy contractor needs, NES Fircroft and Airswift. For a local Houston-headquartered firm, Burnett Specialists.
Are Houston engineering recruiters only for oil and gas?
No, but many are energy specialists. Employers in manufacturing, medical devices, aerospace or data centers should choose a firm that recruits across industries, such as Apollo Technical, Actalent or Burnett Specialists.
How much do engineers earn in Houston?
Architecture and engineering occupations in metro Houston averaged $54.26 an hour in May 2025, above the national mean of $51.36. Petroleum engineers in Houston averaged $160,670 a year in BLS’s May 2023 data.
Who pays the engineering staffing agency?
The employer. Engineers should never pay a fee to be placed.
Sources
Facts checked September 2026. Firms can request a correction through our contact page.
