Sonas Technical recruits quantity surveyors for main contractors, subcontractors, developers, consultancies and public bodies across Ireland. Permanent, executive search and contract hiring.
Quantity surveyors are the hardest commercial hire in Irish construction. The pool is small, almost everyone good is in post, and a QS who is unhappy will take a counter offer rather than leave. Advertising a QS role and waiting rarely works.
The levels we recruit
- Graduate and assistant QS. Measurement, valuations, subcontractor payments, support to a senior.
- Quantity surveyor. Running packages, procurement, variations, monthly valuations, cost reporting.
- Senior quantity surveyor. Owning the commercial position on a project, subcontract negotiation, final accounts, claims.
- Managing quantity surveyor and commercial manager. Multiple projects, commercial team leadership, reporting to the board.
- Estimator. Pre-construction, tender pricing, subcontractor enquiries, bid strategy.
We cover contractor side, consultancy side (PQS) and client side, including public bodies.
What to look for, by sector
QS experience does not transfer evenly. A QS who has run fit-out packages is not automatically the right person for civils, and a consultancy PQS moving contractor side is a real adjustment.
- Civils and infrastructure. Look for measurement against civils forms, target cost and NEC experience, and comfort with variation heavy jobs.
- Pharma and data centres. M and E package value dominates. Ask what proportion of the spend they were commercially responsible for.
- Residential. Volume, repetition and subcontractor management. Different skill to a one-off commercial build.
- Public sector. Public works contract familiarity and the discipline that goes with it.
What a QS hire actually takes
Notice periods in Irish construction, by seniority:
| Level | Typical notice |
|---|---|
| Graduate to junior, 0 to 3 years | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Mid level, 3 to 8 years | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Senior, 8 to 15 years | 2 to 3 months |
| Director level | 3 to 6 months |
Add search and interview time on top. A senior permanent QS is a four to six month exercise from brief to start date. If you need someone on site in six weeks, run a contract hire for the gap and the permanent search in parallel.
Two things that lose QS hires
A slow process. A good QS in the Irish market is usually in more than one process. If you take three weeks between interview and offer, they are gone.
An offer priced on last year. Commercial salaries have moved. Benchmark before you go out, not after you are rejected. Our 2026 Salary & Benefits Guide carries over 300 benchmarks including QS and commercial roles by level and region.
How we work with you
- Permanent recruitment. A search commencement fee, then a placement fee when your hire starts. Committed search time, a mapped market and a shortlist rather than a pile of CVs.
- Executive and senior search. Confidential, mapped and fully managed, for roles you cannot advertise.
- Contract and temporary staffing. An hourly or daily charge rate with pay, employer PRSI, holiday pay, insurance and payroll inside it.
See the fees page. Public bodies, see public sector recruitment.
Hiring a quantity surveyor?
Tell us the level, the sector and whether it is permanent or contract. You will hear back within 24 hours.
Send us your requirement or call 01 443 3917.