Hire offshore developers: How-to guide
If you’re reading this guide, you’re ready to hire offshore developers. You just need some help on how and where to find the right talent.
That’s what we specialise in at The Scalers. Over the past 10 years, we’ve built 130+ tech teams for organisations seeking the people and skills they can’t get at home. In this article, we’ll draw from our experience and show you exactly how to hire elite professionals and assemble a dedicated development team built to last.
But first, let’s ensure we’re on the same page when discussing what an offshore developer (really) is and what they can do for your business.
What (really) is an offshore developer, and what do they do?
An offshore developer designs, builds, and maintains software for Western companies, working from fast-growing tech hubs like India, Poland, and Colombia. They’re known for being top performers with strong technical and communication skills.
These specialists aren’t freelancers or outsourced vendors but full-time, dedicated team members who work exclusively for an organisation.
Why businesses are hiring offshore developers in 2025
Most companies hire offshore programmers today for two main reasons:
- They can’t find the talent they need at home.
- They have already tried outsourcing, nearshoring, or other hiring models and didn’t get the expected results.
These were precisely Preqin’s challenges, a UK-based FinTech that struggled to hire the right engineers in the UK. That’s when the company’s leadership decided to go offshore and build a dedicated team in India.
Once they found the right offshore development partner, Preqin went from having a four-person scrum team to scaling to a 450+ person R&D centre in five years. This team played a critical role in launching and enhancing their flagship product, Preqin Pro.
The benefits of hiring developers offshore
Offshore developers bring advantages you simply won’t get by keeping operations in-house, hiring freelancers, or relying on short-term outsourced support.
World-class talent
Offshore teams include engineers who possess excellent proficiency in in-demand programming languages and emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning, and blockchain. Many have deep experience in specific industries or domains, like finance, healthcare, and logistics, which gives your business an edge you may not find locally.
Take India, a top offshore destination with the highest AI skill penetration worldwide (2.8 times the global average). AI expertise is deeply integrated across jobs and occupations, making the country a hub for future-proof engineering talent.
Great value for money
By going offshore, you can maximise your budget without compromising on quality. You’re getting top engineers who match or exceed local talent skills, but at much more competitive rates.
High level of commitment and cultural alignment
Since offshore developers work just for your business, they’re fully dedicated to your success. They propose solutions, challenge assumptions, and actively look for ways to improve how things are done.
With the right model, you can hire offshore programmers who are culturally aligned with your company values, mission, and vision from day one. These professionals work like your in-house team, even if located thousands of miles away from your headquarters.
Faster turanaorund times
Time zone differences may look like a challenge, but in reality, they’re one of offshoring’s biggest advantages.
Think about it this way: while your in-house team is offline, your offshore team can push code, fix bugs, or make progress on ongoing tasks, keeping the cycle moving and reducing idle time.
This leads to faster delivery, shorter feedback loops, and a smoother release process.
High level of scalability
Offshoring enables you to scale your team quickly, without slowing down your core business.
Let’s say you need to expand your team with 10 or more engineers to build and maintain a new product. Your offshore partner can ramp up fast, finding the right talent in a matter of weeks, not months.
Beyond just adding developers, offshoring provides flexibility to build full Scrum teams, expand into areas such as data or machine learning, or bring in support roles like QA and DevOps, all under one roof.
Discover where Australian CTOs are building and scaling their teams
DOWNLOAD WHITEPAPERWhere to hire offshore developers: Why India is an excellent destination
You can hire offshore developers in various countries, including India, Colombia, and Poland, all of which have strong talent pools.
From these popular offshore destinations, India leads the way. It has the largest engineering workforce, deep specialisation across tech stacks, and the infrastructure to support long-term, large-scale offshore teams.
India
India is home to the world’s second-largest community of software engineers, trailing only China and surpassing the US.
With 5.8 million engineers living and working in tech hubs like Bangalore, the nation has become an attractive destination for organisations seeking developers with in-demand, niche skills and high English proficiency.
The country’s ecosystem continues to grow fast. India has more than 1,800 Global Capability Centres (GCCs), with over 120 new centres established in 2024 alone. The sector has experienced 17% YOY workforce growth, adding 180,000 new jobs in the past year.
Colombia
Colombia has become a popular offshoring location in Latin America over the past decade. The country has around 85,000 developers spread across metropolises like Bogota and Medellín.
The region’s tech growth and dedication to innovation can’t be fully understood without acknowledging its startup ecosystem.
In 2025, Colombia climbed to 36th place in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index — its fourth consecutive year of growth — with an ecosystem expansion rate of over 22%, the fastest in Latin America.
Medellín grew by more than 40%, the highest growth rate among South America’s leading ecosystems and the strongest of any Colombian city, reinforcing its position as a rising innovation hub with a solid pool of engineering talent.
Poland
Poland’s software engineering talent pool comprises approximately 500,000 professionals. Most of them are located in Warsaw and Kraków, the country’s two largest cities and tech hubs.
As per the N-iX Tech Market in Poland: 2024 Analytical Report:
- Warsaw is home to over 103,000 developers, nearly 25% of Poland’s entire tech workforce.
- Kraków has more than 56,000 software developers, with its tech talent pool growing at 10% annually.
- Warsaw produces over 3,000 ICT graduates every year, fueling a steady pipeline of junior engineers.
- Kraków ranks #1 among large European cities for human capital and business friendliness.
Despite its attractiveness and top-tier talent pool, rising costs of living and salaries similar to Western countries have reduced Poland’s appeal as an offshore destination.
How we helped a fitness manufacturing company accelerated its delivery with an offshore team
DOWNLOAD CASE STUDYHow to hire offshore developers in 3 steps
Now that we’ve discussed what offshore developers are, the benefits they can bring you, and top locations where to find them, it’s time to go through the three steps you must take to build a quality team.
1. Set your needs and goals
Before building an offshore development team, define what you require to meet your business objectives. Otherwise, you might end up guessing and picking the wrong approach.
First, consider whether you need to go offshore.
For example, if you’re looking for a few developers to complete a three-month project, we recommend outsourcing instead of offshoring. Why? Outsourcing is the perfect solution for businesses looking for short-term help.
However, offshoring is the way to go if you need a dedicated development team for a long-term collaboration. When done well, offshoring allows you to hire tech talent focused 100% on your company, adding an in-house feeling you won’t get with other models.
Once you’ve decided to go offshore, consider the size of your team and the skill set/technologies you want the developers to be proficient in.
2. Evaluate offshore development partners
A crucial step to hiring offshore developers is to choose a reliable offshore development partner that can help you build your team and assist with setting up operations abroad.
Make sure your partner ticks all of these boxes before signing the dotted line and starting to collaborate with them:
- They follow a model that sources the best talent available.
- They offer you the chance to scale your team as you grow.
- They follow security best practices and have official certifications that prove it.
- They have a portfolio demonstrating extensive experience hiring offshore developers.
- They have a strong management team that understands your industry and unique requirements.
When an offshore development company meets these criteria, you’re in good hands. It means they’ll build a world-class dev team for you and do all the heavy lifting so you can focus on your product.
3. Choose the right offer
After meeting with potential partners, you’ll likely have more than one solid proposal on your table. Now comes the tricky part: picking the right one.
When you’re down to your final choices, look for those unique advantages that make all the difference. Sure, all your shortlisted partners might source great talent and offer competitive rates, but what sets them apart?
Maybe it’s an online portal where you can monitor your team recruitment, get an overview of your employees’ profiles, and track invoices all in one place. Or perhaps it’s a dedicated Chief Happiness Officer (CHO) responsible for keeping your engineers motivated.
The best partners go beyond just filling roles. They offer insights about local talent pools and provide tools that make managing your offshore team as easy as managing your in-house staff.
Remember, you’ll be working with this partner for years, so choose the one that doesn’t just meet your requirements but contributes to your long-term success.
Can’t find the skills you need at home? Stop searching and start scaling
LEARN MOREHire offshore developers with a unique and proven model
At The Scalers, we’ve built an offshore model with unique advantages no other partner can offer you.
Our offshore model tackles the common issues and concerns tech leaders have about traditional offshoring and offers organisations, like yours, all you need to build a top dev team:
- You’ll get a fully dedicated development team sourced from the top 1% of Indian tech talent in Bangalore, ‘The Silicon Valley of Asia.’
- You’ll enjoy a dedicated office where your developers can work in a modern space and have access to the best equipment and tech appliances.
- You’ll have the ongoing support of a CHO, a professional responsible for your team’s daily well-being and for planning events, celebrations, and workations where you can meet your team in person.
But don’t just take our word for it. See what the COO of Colmore, a US FinTech, says about our model.
If you want to know more about our recruitment process and how we can help you hire offshore developers and build an A-team, fill out this form. One of our senior executives will contact you shortly to talk about your new tech team!
In summary
We hope this guide has helped you understand how to hire offshore developers for your business. We’ve compiled all the lessons we’ve learned since we started building dev teams back in 2014 and summarised them to make them as easy and digestible as possible.
If you want to learn more about how we collaborate with organisations of all sizes and industries, read how we’ve helped some of our partners succeed.
See you in the next one!
FAQs
Follow these steps to hire an offshore developer:
- Set your needs and goals: Decide on the size of your team and define the skills and technologies required.
- Evaluate offshore partners: Select a company that sources top talent, handles operations on your behalf, ensures quality services, and prioritises security.
- Pick the right offer: Choose the partner that gives you a unique advantage, that icing on the cake that no other company offers you.
Onshore developers work within the same country as your business, allowing for real-time communication. Offshore developers work from a different country, often offering cost-effective solutions and access to a broader talent pool.
In many cases, yes. Offshore developers often specialise in niche programming languages, frameworks, and technologies, which allows them to handle complex projects efficiently. However, developer quality and expertise depend on finding the right partner (with the right model) to secure highly skilled talent.
Yes, with the right offshore partner, you can scale your team on demand while your business needs evolve, ensuring you have the right talent at every stage of growth. Offshoring provides access to larger talent pools and sustained scalability, unlike outsourcing, which relies on a bench and struggles to attract talent as needs grow.
At The Scalers, we use modern asynchronous tools for task and communication management, along with regular check-ins. Bangalore teams adjust schedules for up to 4 hours of overlap with the UK, Europe, and AUS, while US organisations often have a team lead on-site for dedicated tasks. Our on-ground managers act as our partners’ eyes and ears, keeping everything on track.
