How to Hire Ukrainian Developers: A Complete Guide

The Ukrainian IT market keeps thriving despite the complexities it has faced. Around 85% of companies have ensured business continuity and provided services without disruptions. Delivery stability, ongoing communication with clients, prompt relocation of teams, and high customer loyalty are the main reasons behind the successful adaptation.

By hiring Ukrainian developers, you do much more than supporting the Ukrainian economy. You get considerable business benefits for your company. Ukrainian software engineers are skilled, knowledgeable, loyal, and have many other merits to power your growth.

Learn more about why and how to hire Ukrainian developers in our guide.

IT Outsourcing Market in Ukraine: Facts and Reasons to Invest

Ukraine has been among the top preferred outsourcing destinations for years. Quality education, affordable rates, and geographical proximity have made it an enticing choice for customers from the US and Europe. In 2019-2021, the local IT industry grew by more than 50%, reaching $839 million in February 2022. Even now, the market continues to grow and attract investment.

So what makes Ukraine an attractive location for software development outsourcing? Discover the main benefits below:

Reasonable pricing

The average hourly rates of Ukrainian software developers range from $25 to 65, depending on experience and tech skills. It is much lower than US and European companies charge. Hence, by hiring Ukrainian developers, you can optimize your budget and get more for less. It is particularly crucial for startups that often have limited resources and need qualified specialists at an affordable cost.

Remarkable quality

While outsourcing to Ukraine does save you money, quality remains the primary reason to hire Ukrainian developers. Local software engineers have contributed to such world-renowned products as Grammarly, MacPaw, Reface, Wix, and thousands of other apps. They work with all leading global innovations, from IoT to robotic process automation or AI.

Large Talent Pool

The Ukrainian tech market unites over 285,000 tech specialists and keeps growing. Around 20,000 tech students graduate annually, and the number will reach 38,000 graduates in 2030. Also, in 2023, Ukraine saw a 7% rise in tech specialists. Furthermore, 36% of CEOs in Ukrainian tech firms aim to establish new offices in 2024. It means a continuous supply of qualified software engineers and a rich selection of tech talents. Ukrainian tech companies have all the resources to provide well-educated professionals within the shortest time since hiring is relatively easy.

Convenient time zone

Ukraine is a perfect destination for European companies and a favorable option for North America. It belongs to the Eastern European Time (UTC+2) zone, which is only one-two hours ahead of Europe and seven hours ahead of the US East Coast. Simply put, you will have enough overlapping hours to arrange calls and discuss the project at meetings.

English proficiency

Around 85% of Ukraine’s tech professionals have a high level of English proficiency. Upper intermediate or advanced English is a mandatory requirement to get hired by a Ukrainian IT company. Local tech providers focus on the Western markets and, therefore, ensure every team member can communicate in English.

Focus on outsourcing

Software development outsourcing companies dominate the Ukrainian IT market. Therefore, there is a well-established model of engineering services outsourcing. You will be guided on how to set up project management processes and don’t need to reinvent the wheel, losing precious time.

Government support

You won’t face any obstacles when choosing this destination for outsourcing. The authorities acknowledge the value of the IT segment to the economy and create favorable conditions for investors.

Developed tech community

Every large Ukrainian city has an IT cluster and multiple local meetups where software engineers exchange experience and network. Therefore, when you choose this destination for outsourcing or opening your office, you have a solid ground to build on.

Extensive tech stack

Local software engineers keep up with innovations to build competitive products and meet market demand. You can find specialists in core programming languages like C#, .NET, or PHP, or Ruby outsourcing as well as in narrow niche technology.

Intellectual property protection

Starting cooperation with any Ukrainian company, you will sign a non-disclosure agreement that indicates software ownership rights. A tech service provider will disclose only the information you allow them to and can ensure 100% confidentiality.

No cultural gap

Local software engineers share Western culture and values. They are committed to creating quality products and view close communication with customers as essential to successful project completion.

Main Tech Hubs of Ukraine: Kyiv, Lviv

Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Odesa have always been Ukraine’s tech hubs with the highest number of IT developers and companies. As the capital of Ukraine and the largest city, Kyiv had a leading position, followed by Kharkiv and Lviv.

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Ukraine’s tech market landscape in 2020

The Russian invasion has considerably changed the landscape of the Ukrainian IT market as many companies relocated to the country’s West. In particular, 88% of Kharkiv tech specialists moved to other parts of Ukraine. Since many plan to return home when it becomes safer, Eastern tech hubs will hopefully revive soon.

Migration of IT specialists in 2022

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Under current circumstances, Lviv and Kyiv have become the major Ukrainian IT market players, gaining even more impact than before.

Lviv

Lviv is an 800-thousand city located in the West of Ukraine, close to the Polish border, which makes it a safe spot. The local IT infrastructure has seen rapid growth lately when many software engineers have moved to the city. Besides, over 4000 students graduate from Lviv universities with a tech degree annually, ensuring a continuous inflow of qualified workforce.

Kyiv

Ukrainian capital belongs to the top 35 most developed urban startup ecosystems with numerous tech events, R&D centers, accelerators, and a large IT community. Despite all the challenges, Kyiv remains Ukraine’s largest software development hub.

10 Steps to Hire Software Developers in Ukraine

Once you have chosen Ukraine to hire software developers, you must decide on a company. It may be difficult since there are hundreds of local software development providers with versatile approaches and domain expertise. These steps should guide you through the hiring process.

1. Analyze your needs.

Understand your budget and business goals before hiring software developers. It is essential to know how many software developers you can hire and what scope of work they are expected to complete. Preliminary planning allows you to minimize business risks and formulate your expectations to potential software development providers.

2. Choose a service type.

You may need to outsource the software development process fully or find specific professionals to complete separate tasks. Depending on the project specifics, you will choose one of the following services:

• Outstaffing. Software engineers join your in-house team remotely to compensate for missing skills or resources.
• Outsourcing. You have a dedicated engineering team that completes your project from scratch or covers a part of the work.
• Consulting. A vendor consults you on how to handle engineering challenges, optimize your product, or solve other issues.

3. Research providers and shortlist a few.

Browse the web and websites like Clutch to find several Ukrainian IT companies that provide outsourcing services. Research their websites and client reviews to narrow down options.

4. Communicate with selected vendors to learn how they work.

Arrange short interviews with the shortlisted vendors to see who stands behind these companies. It will allow you to form the first impression and better understand their collaboration approaches.

5. Select the most suitable company to discuss your project.

Communicate with the most appropriate vendor more closely, sharing your project details. Tell them your expectations, scope of work, and technology stack. Stay open to feedback that can benefit your company.

6. Ask for initial estimates.

At this point, you can inquire about the price of the services, hidden costs, and approximate deadlines. If you don’t like the offer, you can return to the shortlisted companies and talk with another vendor to compare the quotes.

7. Choose a collaboration model.

A collaboration model determines how the vendor’s IT specialists will participate in your project and charge you. There are three core options:

• Dedicated team
• Fixed Price
• Time & material

Leobit offers a more customized approach for our customers, providing five main cooperation models you can check below. They cover projects with different duration, team involvement, and budget.

8. Sign an agreement.

If you are satisfied with the vendor’s offer and have clarified the terms of cooperation, sign a contract. The vendor will prepare the agreement for you and let you check it before signing. Be sure to thoroughly read the provisions and introduce changes or clarifications when needed.

9. Wait for interviews with selected software engineers.

Give the vendor some time to select software engineers for your project. The time usually depends on your technology stack and developers’ availability. Once the company chooses candidates, you can interview them.

10. Approve your team composition and project roadmap.

Grant the final approval to the offered candidates and start redistributing tasks. If a team is large, the vendor will assign you a project manager to control the project execution and ensure more productive communication.

How Long Does it Take to Hire Developers in Ukraine?

Even though you may think that hiring a remote team of developers takes a lot of time, it doesn’t. Outsourcing companies have a large internal talent pool and professional recruiters to quickly find the requested specialists. The average time to hire a software engineer reaches up to 6 weeks for core technologies and 7 weeks for rarer tech stacks. Ruby on Rails, C##, and Go usually take the most time.

The duration of recruitment also depends on the experience of hired software engineers. While senior specialists are in the highest demand and require more effort to engage, junior engineers are comparatively easy to find.

Software Development Rates in Ukraine

Hiring a skilled engineer in the US can exceed $100/hour and drain your budget. The rates in Western Europe and many other countries are also much higher than in Ukraine, while the quality of services is comparable. Of course, the actual rates depend on too many factors like the engineer’s experience, project scope, and market demand to be fixed. Here are approximate hourly rates in Ukraine for guidance.

How to Choose the Right Software Development Outsourcing Company

The company you will cooperate withholds a great deal of responsibility for your product’s market success and quality. Therefore, you must carefully choose a partner and gather as much information about them as possible. Consider the following:

Project Portfolio

Completed projects are more eloquent than any nice words on a corporate website. That’s why you should check the previous projects completed by the company to understand their approaches. A portfolio also demonstrates the complexity of custom software development projects the company can handle.

Tech Expertise and Domain

Outsourcing providers usually publish the core tech stack on their websites. Check it to ensure the company specializes in what you need. Besides, you may search for the specific technology use cases in a portfolio. If you need to hire developers proficient in a rarely used technology, contact the company directly to ask if they have such engineers.

Reviews and Track Record

Read what existing customers say about the vendor on third-party review websites and Google. Reviews should help you evaluate different companies and discover their flaws before starting a contract. You can even contact one of the past customers directly for more information and advice.

Data Security and Privacy

Since hired software engineers have access to confidential information about your business, you must be confident that it stays private. So don’t forget to discuss data security issues and sign an NDA when hiring a software development vendor.

Summary

The quickest and most effective way to hire Ukrainian software developers is a collaboration with an outsourcing company. It will study your requirements and provide suitable candidates from the in-house staff within the shortest time. The outsourcing vendor will also manage all administrative, legal, and accounting processes for you.

Are you interested in hiring software developers in Ukraine? Choose Leobit IT outsourcing provider as your partner. We unite over 170 developers and tech specialists and have offices in Austin (USA), Lviv (Ukraine), Tallinn (Estonia), and Krakow (Poland) that ensure the continuity of our services.

Fill out the contact form to get in touch with us.