Sanford Rose Associates

Most IoT and Edge AI roadmaps hit the same wall: the product is ready, but the team is not executing. That is where Sanford Rose Associates (SRA) creates lasting value. Kris Watson is a specialist recruiter and search firm owner at SRA, with 12 years of focus in the IoT and Edge AI ecosystem, building foundational commercial teams, and placing operators who turn connected-device ambitions into IPOs and acquisitions.

Companies engage SRA when critical roles remain open too long, when a new region must be built from the ground up, or when a founder needs an informed hiring partner. Five years ago, SRA helped build Soracom’s Americas team ahead of its IPO, with seven key hires, and has since supported other IoT and Edge AI teams scaling across Europe and North America.

What They Do

SRA operates as a true search partner. They know the IoT and Edge AI landscape well enough to talk credibly with candidates about connectivity stacks, edge inference, and the commercial realities of selling into industrial and enterprise buyers. That domain fluency and startup cultural expertise, is what lets them surface people who’d never show up in a keyword search, and convince them to take the job.

Talent Scout

Targeted executive search and direct-hire recruiting for the hard-to-fill roles: Inbound / Outbound Sales, BD, Marketing, Product, Customer Success, Channels, Partners, Sales Engineering (Individual Contributor to CxO)

TA Build Out

Beyond individual placements, SRA helps companies build full talent acquisition functions and processes, from a U.S. commercial organization for a European manufacturer, to a founding go-to-market team for a new product line. The work is structured as a best-in-class program, such as decreasing time to fill by 60%, and increasing average tenure by 2.5x 

Industry Specialization

IoT and Edge AI are the foundational focus of the business. That specialization supports an always-warm network across connectivity, hardware, software, services, cyber and AI, along with a sharper view of who is truly exceptional, not simply available.

Where SRA Fits

SRA typically engages at key inflection points: when a venture-backed company needs to scale headcount rapidly without misfires, when a European module or platform vendor is opening a U.S. office and needs its first country GM and sales engineer, or when an established integrator is expanding into Edge AI and needs proven product talent. In each case, the bottleneck is talent and TA process. The opportunity is to accelerate growth with measurable results, such as 10x revenue increase in 2 years leading to an IPO.

Better Together With Soracom

SRA’s relationship with Soracom is grounded in direct execution, including the seven key hires placed there five years ago. Kris Watson and his team helped build Soracom’s Americas organization, bringing an insider’s understanding of the product, key decision makers, customer profile, and the kinds of talent that succeed in this category. That shared history makes SRA a strong first call for Soracom customers facing complex hiring challenges.

Get In Touch

Want to win the war for talent? Reach out to get connected with Kris at SRA, and start the conversation.