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Here are the top 13 sites to hire freelance Software engineers:

Based on facts publicly available as of 01.01.2023

1. Toptal

Toptal is a leading name for top talents in the software development niche. Each talent undergoes a thorough screening process, which ensures high-caliber developers.

Only 3% of potential candidates make it to the Toptal final roster of developers. Freelancers pass various language skills, reviews, live screening, and test projects, which are more involved than the vetting processes of other platforms.

Connecting with world-class talents on Toptal can take less than 48 hours. Benefits include a flexible and scalable service with no strings attached. Reaching out to their tech industry experts gives you direct contact with a personalized freelancer with a 98% trial-to-hire success rate.

2. X-Team

X-Team is another great website where you can hire a software developer or software engineer. They vet their candidates to ensure they have the right skill set before they’re made available on the site.

X-Team also supports its developers, funds their learning and growth, and gives them a remote environment that inspires and motivates them daily.

They’ve worked with some of the big brands such as Riot Games, Fox Broadcasting, Kaplan Inc., Coinbase, Google, Twitter, Beachbody and more.

3. Gun.io

The primary focus of Gun.io is to help you hire the right software developer for your team. All the applicants at Gun.io are thoroughly vetted, verified, and ready to go.

Hiring a software developer or engineer from the website is a simple process. Register your account as an employer, set your project’s time scale between 1 month to 1 year, decide on a rate, and the team will send you candidates.

4. Hired

Hired works on similar principles as the other websites wherein the candidates get vetted before they can join the website. However, the platform offers further assessments for you to find the best software engineer even if you don’t know much about the industry.

Finding talent here is easy--you set your requirements, geographical location, language and experience level, and Hired’s algorithm will find the candidates for you. The whole process can take up to 25 days.

Hired is great for hiring a more permanent resource. If you’re looking for freelance software engineers who can be a part of your team for the long term, then Toptal and Gun.io are great options.

5. Fiverr Pro

While Fiverr offers gigs for as little as $5, Fiverr Pro sets it up a few notches. Every software engineer on Fiverr Pro is thoroughly vetted and verified to ensure they deliver top-quality work.

Only freelancers with the highest feedback scores are allowed to join the Fiverr Pro program ensuring you get the cream of the crop.

Unlike Toptal and Gun.io, where you share the details of the job and the freelancers pitch to you. Therefore, it is important that you write a detailed job description to find the best software developer. It’s a little more work for you but still delivers quality freelancers.

6. Upwork

Upwork is one of the largest freelance marketplaces consisting of millions of professionals. Being so popular, the platform offers a number of features making it easy for you to hire a software developer.

You can browse through hundreds of profiles, check their work history, comments, feedback, and reviews. Upwork also offers a unified workspace where you can collaborate and use the platform’s secure payment system.

Upwork is a general freelance marketplace, but you should be able to find quality tech talent there. The only caveat being the software developers on Upwork aren’t vetted so you’ll have to take care of that.

7. Gigster

Gigster is a recruiting platform very similar to companies such as X-Team. It understands your goals and connects you with a qualified team of software engineers.

The process of hiring a software developer through Gigster is easy. You are set up with a project manager who will act as a liaison between you and the developers. This makes the process of hiring a lot smoother and effective.

Gigster will help you save time as compared to a recruitment agency. However, they do not offer a 48-hour guarantee. If you want good quality developers in the least amount of time, then matching services such as Toptal can help.

8. Dice

Dice is a tech and IT career board. The board attracts professionals from all walks such as software engineers, developers, QA testers, and more. Dice has more than 10 million unique tech candidate profiles, so your job posting will most definitely find a lot of relevant responses. Posting a job on the website costs a few hundred dollars but the investment reaps its returns.

9. Guru

Guru has a large global network of freelancers—but not as large as Upwork’s. You can browse through the profiles of almost 2 million experts, propose projects, and find the perfect software developer for your team. Guru also offers a secure SafePay system to make payments easy.

Guru is a slightly more general freelance marketplace and isn’t specifically focused on developers or engineers. So, you’ll have to narrow your search depending on your requirements. The professionals are also not vetted by the platform so that’s something you’ll have to account for.

10. Codeable

Codeable developers are thoroughly vetted, monitored, and ensured to deliver top-quality work. To hire a software developer, all you have to do is a brief and scope of work with the team.

Codeable then gets back to you with a list of the top recommended profile for your project. The limited number of profiles allows you to hire someone in under one day. You can collaborate with your developer on Codeable’s shared workspace and their Escrow system ensures secure and fast payments.

11. Arc.dev

Arc.dev is an on-demand marketplace for software developers. Get live one-on-one help from expert developers. To get started, share the details of your job, timeline, and budget. Arc.dev then recommends its top developers with whom you can chat and discuss your project to see if they’re a good fit. Once you find a good fit, you can hire the developer and get started. Arc.dev's escrow system ensures secure and fast payments.

12. Remoteok.io

Are you building a new software product for your business? Hiring remote software developers is a smart option. With RemoteOK, you can hire software developers across fields of expertise and experience levels relatively easily. RemoteOK is home to a vast pool of talented remote software developers from across the globe.

Whether you’re building an iOS software, a hybrid product, a dedicated back-end system, RemoteOK has the talent to bring your software to life. From Java specialists to CSS programmers to app developers to software engineers to front-end experts, RemoteOK has them all. In fact, leading global brands like Microsoft, Stripe, and Starbucks place their trust in RemoteOK’s software developers.

13. Authentic Jobs

Authentic Jobs is a job board for leading web, design, and creative talent. It has been steadily gaining popularity and is used by The New York Times as part of its acquisition process.

Since development involves both creative and technical expertise, Authentic Jobs is a great place to find and hire software developers. You can include remote or local in your job posting, depending on your needs.

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Guide to hiring great freelance Software engineers

Software engineering is a rapidly growing field of development, and the demand for great software engineers is on the rise. With the right resources, finding talented freelancers can be an efficient way of augmenting your team quickly and with minimal investment.

Whether you’re an experienced hiring manager or just starting out, hiring freelance software engineers can be a fruitful endeavor if done correctly. Here's a guide on how to find trustworthy and skilled software engineers that can help bring your product ideas to reality.

What Is Software Engineering?

Software engineering is the application of engineering principles and practices to the design, development, and maintenance of software systems. It involves the process of developing computer software systems to meet specific needs. It includes activities such as analyzing user requirements, designing and coding software solutions, testing and validating these solutions, and maintaining existing applications. Software engineers also develop programs to increase system functionality, reliability, usability, maintainability and scalability for customers.

What Are Software Engineers and What Do They Do?

A software engineer is a programmer who is responsible for designing, testing, and evaluating software. They use their knowledge of computer programming to solve complex problems and create applications that meet the needs of businesses and their customers. Software engineers need to be proficient in multiple programming languages, know how to work with databases, understand user interface design principles, and have strong analytical problem-solving skills.

The programming languages depend on the industry they are working in and the software they are developing. However, the most common languages are:

SQL
JavaScript
Microsoft C#
Git
DevOps
Java
Python
Linux
Oracle
HTML

Software engineers today are some of the most vital people in the economy. Tech hiring continues to gain momentum in the U.S. with software developers and engineers accounting for about a third of job postings.

The technology, telecommunications, and media industries will face a talent shortage by 2030. Besides, hiring an in-house engineers for short-term projects may be too expensive for you.

One solution to overcome the tech talent shortage is to find and hire freelance software engineers.

Software Engineers vs Software Developers

Event that often times, these two roles seem to be used interchangeably, it's important to know that there is difference between a software developer and engineer.

The main difference between a software developer and software engineer is in the scope of work that each performs. A software developer is someone who writes and tests code to create programs, while a software engineer designs large-scale systems. Software engineers have more responsibilities such as creating frameworks and architectures, designing algorithms, conducting system performance evaluations, creating specifications for systems, and providing advice on security measures.

When Should I Hire a Dedicated Software Engineer?

A company should hire a software engineer when it wants to develop new software projects or improve existing products. A software engineer will be responsible for researching, designing, coding and testing the application. They can help take your company to the next level, by building new features and taking on challenges that may require creative problem solving.

An expert software engineer can help you in the following ways:

Improve your existing product or service
Develop new features
Automating your processes and workflows to reduce costs
Increasing employee productivity and satisfaction
Increase your options for serving customers better
Enhancing security to reassure clients, employees, and partners

What Skills to Look for When Hiring a Software Engineer

It's not only about coding skills. Software engineer candidates should be able to understand business goals and how they translate into technical requirements. He/she must also have soft skills such as strong problem solving skills, be comfortable working independently, and be able to work well under pressure. Additionally, during the interview process they should demonstrate excellent communication skills, be flexible, creative, and organized, and be able to handle multiple projects simultaneously. Some technical or engineering skills you need to include in your job description are:

Experience with web development languages (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
Experience with application frameworks (e.g., AngularJS, ReactJS).
Knowledge of database technologies (SQL, NoSQL).
Familiarity with cloud services (AWS, Azure) is also helpful.

How to Recruit and Hire Great Software Engineers

Are you looking to hire a software specialist who can help take your business forward? If so, try one of the following three options: full-time, part-time and freelance. A lot of businesses hire contractors because they are often cheaper than full-time employees. They also offer greater flexibility and don't require benefits or an office space.

How to Succeed at Onboarding Your Software Engineer?

Here are some onboarding techniques for your remote development team to promote a sense of camaraderie, improve performance, and reduce turnover:

Use remote-access software—Solutions such as documented platforms, conference agenda services, and video codecs can help the freelancer seamlessly engage in practical business activities.
Quick messaging services—Quick messaging technologies can help improve office communication and productivity. A communication strategy is critical for creating a collaborative environment.
Allow flexible working—Flexible work schedules and temporal zones will help promote professional habits, improve growth performance, and make freelancers more content.
Plan regular video calls—Teleconferencing will help resolve many issues with supervising your remote engineering team. Video calls encourage interaction, ensure business objectives are clear, and help get the freelancer’s opinions when getting feedback.
Clarify project scope—Set up specific expectations for clean-cut communication. The objectives will help you focus on what the freelancer achieves versus how long it takes them to accomplish the same.
Provide resources and support—Assign a coach to guide new team members from their first task and to check in regularly. Provide links to templates, tools, and systems they may require during the onboarding process.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Software Engineer?

Junior software engineering role earns an average annual salary of $65,000 by November 2022, mid-level experts with five to nine years of experience earn over $85,000, and senior ones $100,000.

According to a BLS report the annual wage for software engineers is $105,071. However, the salaries depend on education, experience, industry, and location. The more experience the talent can demonstrate, the more competitive salary they can request.

Where to Find Software Engineers For Hire?

In today’s day and age, the need for software developers and engineers is high because it is impossible to build a long-term successful brand without a great online presence. Hiring process can be frustrating but not being able to find the best talent can cost you valuable resources.

Assessing whether someone is good for your project or is he thoroughly vetted is a lot of work that takes up time that can be better used somewhere else. This is why there are websites and platforms that can help ease your hiring process.

Finding a great software expert shouldn’t be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. There are great matching services such as Toptal that take care of the initial work of interviewing and vetting the candidates. Depending on your needs, they recommend the top software engineer making your hiring process a breeze.

Dedicated and qualified talent spend a lot of their time on sites such as these to hone their skills so their talents can be a great use to your company.

You can also consider going for more general marketplaces such as Upwork and Fiverr if you want to save costs but invest more time finding, vetting, interviewing potential hires.

Ultimately, your choice will depend on multiple factors such as:

How quickly do you need to hire an engineer
What kind of experience and qualification should they have
Whether you’re qualified enough to assess their skills
How important is quality to you
Whether you’re looking for local or remote workers

The best sites to hire freelance software engineers above and tips for picking the ideal candidate will help you locate talented programmers that meet your business or project requirements.

FAQs

What is software engineering?: Software engineering is the process of developing, designing, deploying and maintaining software applications. It involves design principles, tools, techniques and methods that are employed in the development cycle of software applications. Software engineers work on a variety of tasks such as analysis, design, testing and maintenance in order to deliver perfect software solutions. They use various programming languages, databases, operating systems and other technologies.