TIC Executive Search

Executive Search across Testing, Inspection & Certification (TIC), from asset integrity and nondestructive testing on pipelines, power and process plant through code compliance and certification. Vice president to C‑suite.

Key roles we place ↓

Overview

What we do in Testing, Inspection & Certification

Metric Geo places senior and executive leaders in Testing, Inspection & Certification businesses. That covers asset integrity and nondestructive testing, inspection of power, pipeline and process plant, building and code compliance inspection, and the certification bodies that sign off equipment, systems and sites. Searches run from vice president through C-suite.

This is a different market from construction inspection on public programs. The work is recurring, it is often won on long framework agreements with asset owners, and it depends on certified technicians in the field. Leaders here have to keep utilization high across a dispersed workforce while protecting the accreditation that lets the business trade at all. We look for people who have done both.

Roles

Roles we place

Chief Executive Officer Leadership of a TIC business or a buy and build platform.
Chief Operating Officer Field operations, utilization and service delivery across regions.
General Manager Profit and loss leadership for a division, region or service line.
VP Operations Technician workforce, scheduling and delivery across multiple sites.
Technical Director Methods, procedures and technical authority across service lines.
Head of Quality & Accreditation Accreditation, audits and the quality system the business trades on.
Director of Asset Integrity Integrity programs and inspection strategy for major asset owners.
VP Business Development Framework agreements, key accounts and new service lines with asset owners.
Head of Health & Safety Field safety for inspectors and technicians working on live assets.

+ many others

Within this sector

The TIC businesses we recruit for

Asset Integrity & NDT

Firms running nondestructive testing, corrosion and integrity programs on pipelines, plants and structures.

Energy & Utility Inspection

Inspection and testing providers serving power generation, transmission, oil and gas and renewables.

Building & Code Compliance

Code, fire, elevator and life safety inspection firms working for owners, operators and authorities.

Certification & Accreditation

Certification bodies and management system auditors, and the accreditation they trade on.

Market

Hiring right now

Demand for inspection follows the age of the assets and the rules around them. Much of the grid, pipeline network and industrial base is decades old, inspection intervals keep tightening, and new renewables and Data Center power add assets that need testing from day one. There is no shortage of work, and the limit is people.

Certified technicians are the hard constraint. The ASNT Foundation’s 2025 Economic Impact of NDT report counts 89,800 NDT professionals in the US and expects the market to more than double, from $3.3 billion to nearly $7 billion by 2035. The sharpest shortages are among Level II technicians, who make up 55% of that workforce. Level III practitioners, certified inspectors and the managers who can lead them take years to develop, so leaders who can grow and keep that workforce are worth more than those who can only sell to it.

Consolidation is changing the brief. Much of the sector has grown through acquisition, so many searches are for people who can bring acquired businesses together, standardize how work is delivered and run a network of locations as one business.

Common questions

TIC hiring questions

What clients ask most often before briefing a testing, inspection or certification search.

What does a TIC Executive Search firm do?

A TIC Executive Search firm finds senior leaders for Testing, Inspection & Certification businesses, from general managers and technical directors to the chief executive. Metric Geo does this for TIC firms that serve Infrastructure, energy and industrial assets. Most shortlists start from people our consultants already know in the sector, and talent mapping covers the rest so nobody credible is missed.

How long does a TIC Executive Search take?

Metric Geo works to seven days to a shortlist on most Testing, Inspection & Certification searches. How long the whole search takes depends on the role and on notice periods, so we set out a realistic timeline at the start.

Why are Level III NDT leaders hard to hire?

Level III certification in nondestructive testing takes years of field experience and examination, so few people hold it, and every TIC firm needs them to approve procedures and oversee technicians. Most are already employed and rarely look for roles. Metric Geo finds them by mapping the market directly, not by waiting for applications.

How is Metric Geo's TIC work different from Metric Bio's?

Metric Geo covers Testing, Inspection & Certification of physical assets, such as pipelines, power plants, structures and building systems. Metric Bio covers laboratory testing and certification for pharmaceuticals, food and consumer products. Leaders do move between the two, and when a search sits across both, we draw on both teams.

Does Metric Geo hire below vice president in TIC?

Metric Geo focuses on vice president and above in Testing, Inspection & Certification, but takes on director and senior manager searches where the role is critical, such as a Level III NDT lead or the quality manager an accreditation depends on.

Sector specialists

Testing, Inspection & Certification team

Harry Woolfall

Director, Metric Exec

Deo Addison

Group Business Manager

Louis Elsom

Business Development Lead

Meet the team →

Let's build together

Ready to brief us on a TIC search?

Tell us about the role and we'll give you a clear read on the market, the people worth speaking to and how quickly we can move.