Table of Contents
[toc headings="h2" title="Table of Contents"] In today's world, tech companies aren't the only ones hiring software developers. Today's consumers expect convenience, and businesses across industries aim to meet these expectations with mobile apps, self-service portals, and other digital offerings. To do that, they need to hire candidates with software engineering experience, UX expertise, and programming skills, adding more demand to an already strained developer talent pool. A recruiter dedicated to IT staffing can help employers build a better development team regardless of what industry the business is in. In fact, recruiters can often be even more impactful for companies in non-technology fields, whose lack of knowledge about IT roles and what job seekers in this sector look for can be an impediment to finding the right people. Before you post your next software developer job opening, consider whether one of the staffing agencies below could be a better way to hire the right candidate.
The top 10 software development recruiting firms
1. Nexus IT Group
Nexus IT Group is a leading national recruiter of high-quality information technology professionals. Their software development recruitment team finds talent solutions for employers ranging from tech startups to Fortune 500 companies, quickly filling their positions with software engineers well-versed in programming languages, Unix, user experience, and other key skills. Their decades of experience recruiting IT professionals are a key advantage for the more than 1,000 customers they've worked with, giving them a broad candidate network and an efficient hiring process that lets them quickly identify the best fit for the company's needs. Read more about Nexus IT Group
2. 180 Engineering
Founder Joe Coletta started 180 Engineering to address the talent acquisition weaknesses he observed during his previous career as a technical leader in Fortune 500 companies. That hands-on understanding of the technology industry is what makes them so successful as software engineering recruiters. Their recruiting process is goal-oriented, with a commitment to filling challenging executive and engineering roles and an emphasis on building relationships with both clients and candidates. Their tech expertise makes them more than a staffing agency, allowing them to serve as a consulting partner to identify where in your tech stack you need talent and making the ideal placement in that position. Read more about 180 Engineering
3. Ursus
Ursus is a creative and IT recruiter dedicated to improving the candidate and client experience. They aim to connect organizations with employees that will take their business to the next level, working with hiring managers to develop better recruitment strategies and optimize their team's performance to scale their business impact. Their recruiters have both tech and hiring expertise, understanding the niche skills and specific terminology of each role in the industry. They put the same effort into understanding the organization culture and values, with a particular focus on DEI, helping their clients attract all the talent they need to succeed. Read more about Ursus
4. DevTalent
Based in Toronto, Canada, DevTalent is a technical recruiting firm with a reputation for finding the best talent, not just in Canada but across North America. They recruit for a range of roles in software development and tech sales, aiming to help companies solve complex technical problems by hiring the right IT professionals. Since their recruiters all come from a tech background, they bring first-hand experience to every job search, allowing them to fully understand the requirements of each role and relate to the software engineer candidates they source. Read more about DevTalent
5. Tiger Recruitment
With offices in Zurich, Dubai, and the UK as well as their main location in New York City, Tiger Recruitment is the leading staffing firm for connecting with international software professionals. They recruit for a range of technology roles, including software engineers, creative and design professionals, and leadership roles across the technology field. They have established divisions in both permanent placement and temporary staffing, giving them the capability to meet any career or workforce need. Both divisions utilize their customized hiring process and innovative sourcing methods, with the result of delivering ideal candidates for every search. Read more about Tiger Recruitment
6. Expect Technical Staffing
Expect is a staffing firm that specializes in connecting companies with technical talent across disciplines, from electrical, civil, and manufacturing engineers to technicians, developers, and machine learning talent. As a software development recruiter, they can fill positions on a full-time or contract basis with professionals well-versed in modern programming languages and hands-on knowledge of databases, frameworks, and other key skills for these roles. For all roles, they serve as a trusted business partner, identifying the unique culture, mission, and job requirements of each candidate they work with to make timely placements of ideal employees. Read more about Expect Technical Staffing
7. Empowered Staffing
The recruiting experts at Empowered Staffing don't just find talent for tech businesses. They specialize in finding top technical and SaaS talent for organizations across industries, including real estate, healthcare, finance, and event management. One of their unique benefits is their talent database, which proactively sources applicants based on the strategic and tactical needs of their clients. With offices in Chicago and Miami, Florida, they're an ideal fit for organizations in the Midwest or Southeast US who need to hire the best developer talent. Read more about Empowered Staffing
8. Harvey Thomas
For companies that need to hire in the UK and beyond, Harvey Thomas is the leading global SaaS software recruitment specialist. Their extensive network of international talent gives their clients access to thousands of candidates with the right skills for their roles, including passive job seekers who aren't yet on the market. In addition to software engineering recruitment, they also fill roles in sales, marketing, project management, and customer success, allowing them to fully-staff every stage of the software product lifecycle. Read more about Harvey Thomas
9. Game 7 Staffing
Strategic engineering recruiting is all they do at Game 7 Staffing. Their software engineering division fills roles in application, game, web & mobile, firmware, and security software development, as well as specialties like embedded systems, middleware, data science, and cloud computing. With contract staffing solutions as well as full-time recruitment services, Game 7 is among the top software staffing agencies in the US, delivering top developers that fit the technical requirements of your role to a T. Read more about Game 7 Staffing
10. RedShift Recruiting
RedShift Recruiting has more than 40 years of experience helping companies hire the right technology talent. The agency was co-founded by a former CIO, with a team of developer recruiters who have similarly hands-on tech expertise. This background allows them to serve as a strategic partner for companies who need tech talent, with an in-depth understanding of the terminology and skills needed for each developer role they fill. Their staffing solutions are ideal for roles such as web developers, front end developers, UX designers, full stack engineers, and project managers. Read more about RedShift Recruiting
Types of software development recruiting services
All software recruiters do the same basic things: they identify the best professionals in the field and match them to the positions that clients have hired them to fill. The main difference between recruiting firms comes down to how they conduct their screening and hiring processes. For permanent positions, software recruiters work on a retained or contingency basis. A retained search is an exclusive agreement, with a single recruiting firm working to find the right talent. The recruiter is paid a flat fee, often on an ongoing basis. This is most common for executive searches, or for companies that have a variety of specialized roles requiring niche skills that can be difficult to find in the talent market. The main advantage of a retained search is that they develop a long-term relationship with the client, often giving them deeper insights into the company culture, mission, and business needs. Contingency recruiters, on the other hand, essentially work on commission. They're paid at the successful conclusion of a search, with their fee normally based on a percentage of the new hire's first-year salary. Since their pay is determined by results, contingent recruiters are driven to fill open roles quickly, and many offer a placement guarantee that serves as extra motivation to hire the right person for the role. Contingency recruiters are often the most cost-effective option, especially for companies that have multiple roles to fill at various levels of the organization. In addition to permanent placements, many software recruiters also offer contract or temporary staffing services. This is a great option for one-off projects, like the development of a new user interface, web application, or internal system. Typically the recruiting firm handles all the administrative details of managing this short-term staff, overseeing their onboarding and payroll and reducing the workload on in-house HR staff. That makes temporary staffing a convenient choice for growing businesses with workload spikes, in addition to those with one-time development projects.
Factors to consider when choosing a recruiting firm
The first thing you want to look at when deciding on a recruiting firm is their area of specialization. Software development is a broad field. Some recruiters fill a range of roles within this sector, while others focus on a niche or sector. Perusing the agency's recent placements, current openings, and client list can help you identify their specific area of expertise and whether it aligns with your hiring needs. Your budget is also often a factor when deciding on a recruiter. Hiring a recruiter typically lowers both the cost and time required to fill a position compared to filling it in-house, but only if you choose the right firm. As a general rule, retained executive search firms will have the highest costs, while contingency staffing firms focused on mid-level and entry-level roles will be the most affordable. Aligning the recruiting firm to your staffing needs can help ensure you're not spending more for your search than necessary. Finally, you want to make sure you choose a recruiting firm that you'll work well with. The best way to discover this is to have a conversation with their team to get insights into their recruiting process and how they communicate with clients. You can also check out reviews and testimonials from past clients, or reach out to some of these clients to hear about their experience with the company. Recruiting success is often a direct result of strong relationships, and you want to work with a staffing agency that you feel understands your company and needs. Having a conversation with the recruiter can give you a sense of their communication style, along with insights into their sourcing and screening process that can help you decide on the best fit for your organization.
Solving your software recruiting challenges
As long as businesses need to develop new software for their customers, clients, and processes, software development talent will continue to be in high demand. An experienced software recruiter is the best way to navigate this challenging recruitment landscape, particularly for startups and smaller companies that lack the resources and reputation to attract the best talent on their own.
In today’s world, tech companies aren’t the only ones hiring software developers. Today’s consumers expect convenience, and businesses across industries aim to meet these expectations with mobile apps, self-service portals, and other digital offerings. To do that, they need to hire candidates with software engineering experience, UX expertise, and programming skills, adding more demand to an already strained developer talent pool.
A recruiter dedicated to IT staffing can help employers build a better development team regardless of what industry the business is in. In fact, recruiters can often be even more impactful for companies in non-technology fields, whose lack of knowledge about IT roles and what job seekers in this sector look for can be an impediment to finding the right people. Before you post your next software developer job opening, consider whether one of the staffing agencies below could be a better way to hire the right candidate.
The top 10 software development recruiting firms
1. Nexus IT Group
Nexus IT Group is a leading national recruiter of high-quality information technology professionals. Their software development recruitment team finds talent solutions for employers ranging from tech startups to Fortune 500 companies, quickly filling their positions with software engineers well-versed in programming languages, Unix, user experience, and other key skills. Their decades of experience recruiting IT professionals are a key advantage for the more than 1,000 customers they’ve worked with, giving them a broad candidate network and an efficient hiring process that lets them quickly identify the best fit for the company’s needs.
Read more about Nexus IT Group
2. 180 Engineering
Founder Joe Coletta started 180 Engineering to address the talent acquisition weaknesses he observed during his previous career as a technical leader in Fortune 500 companies. That hands-on understanding of the technology industry is what makes them so successful as software engineering recruiters. Their recruiting process is goal-oriented, with a commitment to filling challenging executive and engineering roles and an emphasis on building relationships with both clients and candidates. Their tech expertise makes them more than a staffing agency, allowing them to serve as a consulting partner to identify where in your tech stack you need talent and making the ideal placement in that position.
Read more about 180 Engineering
3. Ursus
Ursus is a creative and IT recruiter dedicated to improving the candidate and client experience. They aim to connect organizations with employees that will take their business to the next level, working with hiring managers to develop better recruitment strategies and optimize their team’s performance to scale their business impact. Their recruiters have both tech and hiring expertise, understanding the niche skills and specific terminology of each role in the industry. They put the same effort into understanding the organization culture and values, with a particular focus on DEI, helping their clients attract all the talent they need to succeed.
4. DevTalent
Based in Toronto, Canada, DevTalent is a technical recruiting firm with a reputation for finding the best talent, not just in Canada but across North America. They recruit for a range of roles in software development and tech sales, aiming to help companies solve complex technical problems by hiring the right IT professionals. Since their recruiters all come from a tech background, they bring first-hand experience to every job search, allowing them to fully understand the requirements of each role and relate to the software engineer candidates they source.
5. Tiger Recruitment
With offices in Zurich, Dubai, and the UK as well as their main location in New York City, Tiger Recruitment is the leading staffing firm for connecting with international software professionals. They recruit for a range of technology roles, including software engineers, creative and design professionals, and leadership roles across the technology field. They have established divisions in both permanent placement and temporary staffing, giving them the capability to meet any career or workforce need. Both divisions utilize their customized hiring process and innovative sourcing methods, with the result of delivering ideal candidates for every search.
Read more about Tiger Recruitment
6. Expect Technical Staffing
Expect is a staffing firm that specializes in connecting companies with technical talent across disciplines, from electrical, civil, and manufacturing engineers to technicians, developers, and machine learning talent. As a software development recruiter, they can fill positions on a full-time or contract basis with professionals well-versed in modern programming languages and hands-on knowledge of databases, frameworks, and other key skills for these roles. For all roles, they serve as a trusted business partner, identifying the unique culture, mission, and job requirements of each candidate they work with to make timely placements of ideal employees.
Read more about Expect Technical Staffing
7. Empowered Staffing
The recruiting experts at Empowered Staffing don’t just find talent for tech businesses. They specialize in finding top technical and SaaS talent for organizations across industries, including real estate, healthcare, finance, and event management. One of their unique benefits is their talent database, which proactively sources applicants based on the strategic and tactical needs of their clients. With offices in Chicago and Miami, Florida, they’re an ideal fit for organizations in the Midwest or Southeast US who need to hire the best developer talent.
Read more about Empowered Staffing
8. Harvey Thomas
For companies that need to hire in the UK and beyond, Harvey Thomas is the leading global SaaS software recruitment specialist. Their extensive network of international talent gives their clients access to thousands of candidates with the right skills for their roles, including passive job seekers who aren’t yet on the market. In addition to software engineering recruitment, they also fill roles in sales, marketing, project management, and customer success, allowing them to fully-staff every stage of the software product lifecycle.
9. Game 7 Staffing
Strategic engineering recruiting is all they do at Game 7 Staffing. Their software engineering division fills roles in application, game, web & mobile, firmware, and security software development, as well as specialties like embedded systems, middleware, data science, and cloud computing. With contract staffing solutions as well as full-time recruitment services, Game 7 is among the top software staffing agencies in the US, delivering top developers that fit the technical requirements of your role to a T.
Read more about Game 7 Staffing
10. RedShift Recruiting
RedShift Recruiting has more than 40 years of experience helping companies hire the right technology talent. The agency was co-founded by a former CIO, with a team of developer recruiters who have similarly hands-on tech expertise. This background allows them to serve as a strategic partner for companies who need tech talent, with an in-depth understanding of the terminology and skills needed for each developer role they fill. Their staffing solutions are ideal for roles such as web developers, front end developers, UX designers, full stack engineers, and project managers.
Read more about RedShift Recruiting
Types of software development recruiting services
All software recruiters do the same basic things: they identify the best professionals in the field and match them to the positions that clients have hired them to fill. The main difference between recruiting firms comes down to how they conduct their screening and hiring processes.
For permanent positions, software recruiters work on a retained or contingency basis. A retained search is an exclusive agreement, with a single recruiting firm working to find the right talent. The recruiter is paid a flat fee, often on an ongoing basis. This is most common for executive searches, or for companies that have a variety of specialized roles requiring niche skills that can be difficult to find in the talent market. The main advantage of a retained search is that they develop a long-term relationship with the client, often giving them deeper insights into the company culture, mission, and business needs.
Contingency recruiters, on the other hand, essentially work on commission. They’re paid at the successful conclusion of a search, with their fee normally based on a percentage of the new hire’s first-year salary. Since their pay is determined by results, contingent recruiters are driven to fill open roles quickly, and many offer a placement guarantee that serves as extra motivation to hire the right person for the role. Contingency recruiters are often the most cost-effective option, especially for companies that have multiple roles to fill at various levels of the organization.
In addition to permanent placements, many software recruiters also offer contract or temporary staffing services. This is a great option for one-off projects, like the development of a new user interface, web application, or internal system. Typically the recruiting firm handles all the administrative details of managing this short-term staff, overseeing their onboarding and payroll and reducing the workload on in-house HR staff. That makes temporary staffing a convenient choice for growing businesses with workload spikes, in addition to those with one-time development projects.
Factors to consider when choosing a recruiting firm
The first thing you want to look at when deciding on a recruiting firm is their area of specialization. Software development is a broad field. Some recruiters fill a range of roles within this sector, while others focus on a niche or sector. Perusing the agency’s recent placements, current openings, and client list can help you identify their specific area of expertise and whether it aligns with your hiring needs.
Your budget is also often a factor when deciding on a recruiter. Hiring a recruiter typically lowers both the cost and time required to fill a position compared to filling it in-house, but only if you choose the right firm. As a general rule, retained executive search firms will have the highest costs, while contingency staffing firms focused on mid-level and entry-level roles will be the most affordable. Aligning the recruiting firm to your staffing needs can help ensure you’re not spending more for your search than necessary.
Finally, you want to make sure you choose a recruiting firm that you’ll work well with. The best way to discover this is to have a conversation with their team to get insights into their recruiting process and how they communicate with clients. You can also check out reviews and testimonials from past clients, or reach out to some of these clients to hear about their experience with the company. Recruiting success is often a direct result of strong relationships, and you want to work with a staffing agency that you feel understands your company and needs. Having a conversation with the recruiter can give you a sense of their communication style, along with insights into their sourcing and screening process that can help you decide on the best fit for your organization.
Solving your software recruiting challenges
As long as businesses need to develop new software for their customers, clients, and processes, software development talent will continue to be in high demand. An experienced software recruiter is the best way to navigate this challenging recruitment landscape, particularly for startups and smaller companies that lack the resources and reputation to attract the best talent on their own.