How to Hire Software Developers: A Guide for US and UK Companies

Ways to Hire Software Developers: Comparison Table

US and UK companies usually choose between four hiring options. In-house hiring gives the most control but is the slowest and most expensive upfront. Freelancers are fast for short tasks. Staff augmentation adds vetted engineers to your team quickly, and a dedicated team gives you a managed group for long-running work.

Freelancers suit one-off tasks but can be hard to keep for long projects. If you need several engineers working only on your product, a dedicated software development team is often quicker to set up than building one yourself. Our guide to software staff augmentation explains how the augmented option works in detail.

The Cost of Hiring a Software Developer

The cost of hiring a software developer is the salary plus everything around it: recruiting fees, benefits and payroll taxes, equipment and software, onboarding time, and the hours your team spends managing the new hire. In both the US and the UK, these extras add a large share on top of the base salary in year one.

The benefits and tax lines are where US and UK costs differ most. In the US, health insurance is usually the biggest extra. In the UK, employer National Insurance and pension contributions are set by law, which makes them easier to budget.

Software Developer Salaries in the US and UK by Seniority

Software developer salaries rise sharply with seniority in both countries, and US salaries are well above UK salaries at every level. Use the table below as a starting point for budgeting, then check current data for your city and tech stack, since location and specialism can move a salary a long way.

A senior software developer salary in a major tech hub such as San Francisco, New York or London can sit well above these figures. At the other end, entry-level and junior software developer salaries sit closer together, since the two titles often overlap.

The Software Developer Hiring Process, Step by Step

A good hiring process for software developers has seven steps: define the role, write the job description, source candidates, run a technical assessment, hold interviews, make an offer and plan onboarding. Skipping any of them, especially the role definition or the technical assessment, is the most common reason a hire doesn't work out.

1. Define the role. Write down what this person will build in their first six months, the skills it needs, and the seniority you actually require. Many teams hire a senior when a mid-level developer would do, or the reverse.
2. Write the job description. Lead with the work and the problems they'll solve, not a long list of every technology you've ever used. Include the salary range: candidates expect it, and in some US states it's a legal requirement.
3. Source candidates. Combine LinkedIn and general job boards, specialist tech job boards, referrals, GitHub and developer communities, local meetups and, if needed, a recruiter. Hiring remotely within your own country widens the pool without adding time zone problems. Referrals from your existing engineers are often the strongest source.
4. Run a technical assessment. Use a short, realistic task that reflects the actual job. Long unpaid take-home tests put off the best candidates, so keep it short or pay for it. A live pair-programming session or a review of their existing code also shows how they think and explain decisions.
5. Hold interviews. Include a technical conversation about their past work, a session with the team they'll join, and a conversation about how they communicate and handle feedback.
6. Make an offer. Move quickly once you've decided. Strong developers often have several offers, and delays lose candidates.
7. Plan onboarding. Have access, equipment, documentation and a first small task ready for day one, plus a named person to answer questions.

Tips for Hiring a Software Developer at a Startup

The best tips for hiring a software developer at a startup are to hire for your current stage, start with one focused role, test candidates with a short paid trial task, and consider a dedicated team before building a full in-house team. Early hires shape your product and culture, so take time over the first few.

• Hire for the stage you're in. Before product-market fit, you need generalists who can ship quickly and handle many roles. Specialists make more sense once the product and team grow.
• Start with one focused role. Rather than hiring three people at once, hire one strong developer for your most important need, such as building your MVP, and learn from that first hire.
• Use a paid trial task. A short, paid piece of real work tells you more than any interview, and it shows candidates you respect their time.
• Use equity and contract-to-hire to stretch your budget. Equity can help attract strong developers when cash is tight, and a contract-to-hire period lets both sides test the fit before a permanent offer.
• Consider a dedicated team first. Hiring a dedicated software development team can get a startup building in weeks rather than months, without long-term employment commitments before funding and direction are settled.

Example: Consider a seed-stage startup with a validated idea and no engineers. Instead of spending months recruiting a full team, it brings in a small dedicated team to build the first version. Once the product is live and the next funding round closes, it hires a lead engineer in-house to take ownership.

Red Flags When Hiring Developers or Development Partners

The biggest red flags are vague answers about past work, unwillingness to do any practical assessment, poor communication during hiring, and, for partners, no clear terms on code ownership, replacements or exit. How a candidate or company behaves during hiring is usually how they'll behave once the work starts.

When hiring developers:

• They can't explain their own role in past projects, or only talk about the team's work.
• They refuse any practical assessment, even a short, paid one.
• They're slow or unclear in communication during the hiring process.
• Their portfolio or code samples don't match the experience they claim.

When hiring a development partner:

• They quote a price before understanding your requirements.
• They can't name who will actually work on your project.
• They're vague about who owns the code and IP.
• They have no clear process for replacing an engineer who leaves.
• They won't let you speak to current clients.

When It Makes Sense to Hire Through a Partner

Hiring through a partner makes sense when you need developers faster than you can recruit them, need skills you can't find locally, need capacity for a set period, or don't yet have the engineering management to build a team. A partner handles recruiting, payroll and replacements, so you can focus on the product.

Hiring directly still makes more sense for core long-term roles, such as a CTO or lead engineer who will own your architecture. Many companies combine both: a small in-house core team supported by engineers from a partner. Choosing the right engagement model for hiring depends on your scope, budget and management capacity. Our guide to engagement models in the IT industry covers each option in more detail.

How Does CodeFulcrum Help Companies Hire Developers?

CodeFulcrum helps US and UK companies add vetted software developers to their teams without the delays and overheads of direct hiring. Founded in 2019, CodeFulcrum has a 4.8 rating on Clutch. We work through three models: staff augmentation for adding engineers to your team, and fixed price or time and material for defined projects.

We handle recruiting, payroll, equipment and replacements, so you can focus on the work. If you're not sure whether to hire in-house, augment your team or outsource a project, we'll help you weigh it up honestly.