Six ways we put senior engineers on your team
Pick the engagement model that matches your situation. Or talk to us — we'll help you choose.
Side-by-side comparison
| Direct Hire | EmbedMost popular | Trial Hire | Match | Build | Squad | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineer status | Your employee | Our employee | Our employee → your employee | Independent contractor | Our team (vendor) | Our employee |
| Who pays the engineer | You | Us | Us → you at conversion | You | Us | Us |
| Commitment | Permanent | Month-to-month | 3–6 months + option to convert | Defined term | Fixed scope | Month-to-month |
| Start time | 2–4 weeks | 10 days | 10 days | 1–2 weeks | Scoped | 2–3 weeks |
| Guarantee | 90-day replacement | 30-day replacement | 90-day post-conversion | — | Scope guarantee | 30-day replacement |
| Best for | Known permanent roles | Speed + flexibility | Evaluating before committing | Specialist or short-term | Defined deliverables | Scaling a function |
Direct Hire, Embed, and Trial Hire
These three cover 90% of what startups need. The right choice depends on how permanent the role is and how much time you have to evaluate.
Direct Hire
They join your team, full-time. We do the search.
We handle sourcing, screening, technical interviews, and reference checks. You meet only the finalists. The engineer joins your payroll as a full-time employee — with your benefits, your equity, your culture. We disappear after placement, with a 90-day replacement guarantee.
- Engineer becomes your employee
- You handle salary, benefits, equity
- 90-day replacement guarantee
- Typically 2–4 weeks to finalists
- One-time placement fee (15–20% of first-year salary)
- Best for: roles you know are permanent
Quick summary
Direct Hire
Embed
Our engineer, your team, your project.
The engineer is on our payroll. We handle salary, benefits, taxes, equipment, time off — everything employment-related. They embed with your team in your Slack, your sprints, your repo. You direct their work. They feel like a hire, without the long-term commitment.
- Engineer is on our payroll
- You direct all day-to-day work
- Month-to-month, 15-day exit notice
- Engineers placed within 10 days
- 30-day replacement guarantee
- Best for: needing flexibility and speed
Quick summary
Embed
Trial Hire
Test the fit. Convert when ready.
Start with the engineer as an Embed placement (on our payroll). At any point in the first 3–6 months, you can convert them to a permanent hire on your team. The transition is seamless — they keep working without interruption. The lowest-risk path to a full-time hire.
- Starts as Embed, converts to Direct Hire
- 3–6 month evaluation period
- Convert anytime within trial window
- Placement fee applies at conversion (contract fees credited)
- 90-day replacement guarantee post-conversion
- Best for: evaluating before committing
Quick summary
Trial Hire
Match, Build, and Squad
For situations where Embed or Direct Hire isn't quite the right fit.
Match
Independent contractor placement.
We source and vet an independent contractor from our network for a defined engagement. The contractor works directly under your agreements — not on our payroll. Best for short-term or specialist needs where full employment isn't required.
- Contractor works under your agreements
- You handle payments directly
- Good for specialist or short-term work
Build
Fixed-scope projects with defined deliverables.
We assemble a small team to deliver a specific outcome: a test automation suite, a CI/CD pipeline, a performance audit. Scoped, priced, and delivered. You get the output and the docs — we own delivery.
- Fixed scope and timeline
- We own delivery and quality
- Deliverables and documentation handed off
Squad
Dedicated multi-engineer team, month-to-month.
A dedicated group of 2–6 engineers embedded together into your team. Good for scaling a specific function (e.g., all your QA, a full feature team) without managing individual placements separately. Month-to-month, same as Embed.
- Dedicated group of 2–6 engineers
- Functions as a cohesive team
- Month-to-month, 15-day notice
Not sure which model fits?
Book a 30-minute call. Tell us the role, the situation, and the timeline. We'll recommend the right model — and tell you honestly if we're not the right fit.