E3 Pathfinder is a New Zealand consultancy running two practices. One puts screened seasonal workers on orchards, in vineyards and inside packhouses. The other builds and automates the software that businesses run on.
Harvest, thinning, pruning, packhouse and coolstore crews — sourced, screened, inducted and managed through the season.
For growers and packhousesTest automation, AI-assisted workflows, custom software and integration — delivered by engineers who have run it in production.
For business and IT teamsSeasonal labour in New Zealand is a moving target — Central Otago is flat out while Bay of Plenty is quiet, and six weeks later it reverses. We plan crews against this calendar, not against a standing headcount.
| Region | Crop | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|
Tap any month to see which regions are at peak.
Every season the same problem repeats: the fruit is ready before the crew is. We build the crew ahead of your peak, verify every worker's right to work before their start date, and hold a replacement pipeline warm so gaps close within 48 hours.
| Model | How it works | Who employs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Placement | We source and screen; you employ the worker on your own agreement. | You | Growers with payroll and supervision already running |
| Managed crew | We supply a supervised crew and handle rostering and pastoral care. | You | Large packhouse or harvest intakes |
| Labour hire | We employ the crew and place them on your site, billed hourly. | We do | Short peaks and cover with no admin load |
| RSE support | Administration, accommodation, transport and compliance support only. | You | Accredited RSE employers |
RSE workers are tied by visa condition to the employer named on the Agreement to Recruit, so they cannot be supplied by a third party. For RSE employers we support the administration and fill the shoulder seasons.
We never take a fee from a worker. No registration fee, no placement fee, no processing fee, no deduction from wages — in New Zealand or offshore. Charging a premium for a job breaches section 12A of the Wages Protection Act 1983. Every dollar we earn comes from the employer.
We do not give immigration advice. Providing New Zealand immigration advice without a licence is an offence under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007. We recruit people who already hold valid work rights, and refer every visa question to a licensed adviser.
Built on two decades of enterprise software delivery — test automation and quality engineering in banking, and applied AI research. We take on the work that sits between a business process and the system meant to support it.
Half an hour on what is actually broken, not a capability pitch.
Fixed scope, fixed price where the work allows it, within five working days.
A small slice delivered first, so you can judge us on output rather than references.
Delivery in agreed increments, with handover documentation from day one.
E3 Pathfinder Limited is a New Zealand registered company based in Auckland, led by Dr. Ravi Kumar.
The two practices look unrelated and are not. Both are about getting capability to the place it is needed, on a deadline that will not move — a harvest window does not wait, and neither does a release date. The same discipline runs through both: verify before you commit, document what you did, and be straight with the client about what you cannot do.
Ravi holds a PhD in artificial intelligence and has spent more than eighteen years in enterprise software delivery, including software test automation in New Zealand banking. He has founded and run ventures across New Zealand, India, Singapore, Japan and the United States.
Tell us the crop, the site, the peak window and the headcount — or the system that is holding you up. We reply within one working day.