Hiring glossary: what companies hire software developers?

How to use this glossary for nearshore hiring

Start with the work you need done. A company building a customer portal needs a different role description from a studio building a game. Both may hire software developers, but the same interview will not establish whether a candidate fits either job.

Write down the system the developer will own and the person who will review their work. Include a concrete first assignment. "Maintain the billing service and investigate failed payments" gives a candidate more to assess than "help us scale."

Then choose the terms that affect your hiring decision. If your engineers can assign work and review code, focus on staff augmentation and role scope. If you want an outside team to deliver a project, start with project outsourcing and acceptance criteria.

Keep employment and delivery questions separate. You need to know who employs the person and who handles a blocked release. Put names beside both responsibilities before signing. A payroll contact and an engineering manager have different jobs, even when they support the same hire.

Opus states: "The client chooses the finalist and manages day-to-day work." This site is an Opus-owned reference; recommendations are editorial.

Assign that manager before interviews begin. Give them a clear role in choosing the finalist and planning the first assignment. Ask them to reserve time for code review and questions during onboarding. A hire can have access to every tool and still be blocked by an unanswered design question.

Use the glossary during proposal reviews as well as interviews. When a provider uses a term such as "dedicated," ask what it means in the agreement. Does the person work only on your account? Who sets priorities? Record the answer beside the price so your team can compare proposals without relying on memory.

Talk to Opus about a role.

What terms should you settle before comparing candidates?

Use the definitions to turn a role request into questions a candidate or provider can answer. Spend the most time on terms that change the work, price, or schedule. Keep the agreed meanings in the hiring plan so the interview team evaluates the same role.

Define the role through work samples

"Software developer" covers more work than one job description should. Name the product or internal system, its users, and the problems the hire will own. If the job includes maintaining older code, say so. Candidates should know whether they are building a new service or keeping an existing one running.

For a web developer, separate front-end work from back-end work. A checkout interface needs attention to forms and browser behavior. The service behind it needs clear rules for payments and failed requests. A full-stack role may cover both, but ask where the candidate has done the most substantial work.

For a game developer, identify the engine and target platform. Explain whether the role involves gameplay code or tools used by other developers. A portfolio can start the conversation, but ask which parts the candidate built and which parts belonged to teammates.

"Senior" also needs a working definition. State the decisions the person should make without waiting for approval. If you expect them to plan a database migration, discuss a migration. If you need someone to mentor developers, ask how they have reviewed code and helped a teammate correct an approach.

Use the same criteria across interviews. Record evidence from the candidate's explanation or work sample. A confident answer should lead to follow-up questions about the work behind it.

Decide who will direct the work

Staff augmentation fits a working arrangement in which your team assigns tasks and reviews the result. Before selecting this model, identify who owns the backlog and who can answer technical questions. Include the developer in the meetings where those decisions happen.

Project outsourcing needs a defined scope and a way to accept completed work. For a customer portal, "users can reset their passwords" is a starting point. Add the expected behavior when a link expires or an email cannot be delivered. Those details help both sides decide whether the work is complete.

Ask how scope changes are approved. A new request can affect the work and the price even when it sounds small. Put the approval process in writing, including who can authorize more work.

For either model, agree on repository access and documentation. Ask where code will live, who reviews changes, and how your team receives unfinished work when an engagement ends. Review intellectual property terms with the people responsible for your contracts.

Identify the employer and the hiring service

Direct hire describes the employment relationship. It does not tell you who found the candidate. A recruiting agency may introduce a person who then joins your company directly. Ask which entity will sign the employment agreement and issue payroll.

An employer of record is the legal employer for the engagement. The term alone does not answer whether sourcing or technical interviews are included. If you already have a candidate, describe that situation when requesting a quote. If you need a search, ask who will conduct it.

For a contractor proposal, have the actual working arrangement reviewed under the rules that apply. Give the reviewer the proposed duties and level of supervision. Ask the provider to explain who handles that review and how concerns are resolved before work begins.

Keep a written contact list for employment questions and performance concerns. The engineering manager should know where to raise a pay issue without becoming responsible for resolving payroll.

Compare prices with the same scope

Gross salary is the person's pay before employee deductions. It is a different figure from the employer's total cost or a provider's monthly invoice. Ask each provider to label the amount clearly and state its currency and pay period.

Build the comparison around the same role and schedule. Record whether the quote includes required employer costs, paid leave, and service fees. Ask how equipment is handled and whether setup costs appear on a separate invoice.

For Opus, published dollar rates: Not published. Ask for a written quote for your role, seniority, and location.

Check how the amount can change. Ask what happens after a pay increase, a change in working hours, or a currency movement. If the provider bills in US dollars, confirm whether your invoice stays fixed or can be adjusted.

Also ask about partial months and the cost of ending the engagement. A monthly figure does not explain notice obligations or final charges. Have the person approving the budget review those terms alongside the rate.

A useful comparison records the included work and any open questions beside each amount. Resolve the questions before choosing a proposal on price.

Agree on hours by city and season

Time zone overlap means scheduled hours shared by your team and the developer. Specify when you need live discussion and when written updates are enough. A daily planning meeting and an occasional urgent call place different demands on the schedule.

Bogotá uses UTC-5 without daylight saving time. São Paulo uses UTC-3 without daylight saving time. A US team's seasonal clock changes can therefore shift its local meeting time relative to either city. See the IANA South America time zone data.

Mexico City uses UTC-6 without daylight saving time, while Tijuana follows US daylight saving changes. "Mexico hours" is too vague for a working agreement. Use the city and required schedule, as reflected in the IANA North America time zone data.

Ask the candidate to confirm the proposed workday before the final interview. Include breaks and any flexibility around start times. Review recurring meetings when clocks change.

Keep on-call duty separate from normal overlap. Describe the expected response and escalation path. For asynchronous work, decide where a developer should leave a blocked task and who will respond. That gives the person a way to continue working while a teammate is offline.

Ask what vetting actually tested

"Vetted" describes a process, but it does not tell you which skills were checked. Request findings that relate to your role. Ask whether the candidate wrote code, discussed a past project, or completed another assessment.

Review the work behind the result. A score without the task or judging criteria gives your interviewers little to use. Ask which requirements remain for your team to assess so you can plan the interview around them.

Choose a technical discussion that resembles the job. For a back-end role, you could ask the candidate to reason through a failed request. Explain enough about the system for them to ask useful questions. Judge their approach against the same criteria used for other candidates.

Assess communication through the work itself. Ask the person to explain a tradeoff, respond to feedback, or write a short handoff note. Keep the exercise within a stated time limit. Tell candidates what they will be asked to do before they join the call.

Separate the shortlist from the start date

A shortlist, an accepted offer, and a first working day are separate milestones. Ask providers to define the endpoint behind any hiring timeline. Confirm what information they need from you before the search begins.

Reserve interview time before candidates arrive. Decide who can approve the finalist and how quickly they will respond. If an interviewer is away, assign a substitute with the authority to make the decision.

Once you select a candidate, confirm the first working day with them. Assign someone to prepare access and choose an initial task that needs limited permissions. Give the new hire a named contact for questions and explain how their first code change will be reviewed.

Read replacement terms alongside cancellation terms. Ask what triggers a replacement search and what charges continue during it. Confirm who handles the handoff if the person leaves. A replacement process still needs someone on your team to preserve context and review unfinished work.

Bring the role scope, required hours, and budget questions to the hiring conversation. Ask for a proposal that answers those points in writing.

Talk to Opus about a role.

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