How to Hire Software Developers in Ukraine (2024)

Updated: March 15, 2024

This article will discuss how to hire developers in Ukraine, what is better – to find a software development company or to hire a freelance developer or maybe hire a team and rent an office.

Also, we will provide average engineers’ salary ranges to help you make a decision. Why do companies from the U.S and Europe see Ukraine as a great destination to hire developers for their projects? Few factors make this option attractive:

• A high number of professionals
• Avia travel proximity
• Reasonable salaries
• Similar work cultures
• European time zone
• A large number of English speaking people
• Great experience in working with international clients and projects

Competitive prices for Ukrainian developers, an ever-growing talent pool, and extensive experience in this sphere skyrocketed the advancement of the local IT industry. Bid development hubs are located in Ukraine and employ thousands of developers who work on projects for Google, IBM, Panasonic, Mercedes-Benz, and more. This is a good indicator of the quality of code and management.

It indeed can be a good idea to check the Ukrainian IT sector and see if it can become a suitable solution for your project and your budget.

Why It Is a Good Idea to Hire Ukrainian Developers In 2024?

Despite the war, Ukraine remains an attractive and prospective location for recruitment. Our people have adapted to extreme working conditions, becoming highly flexible and motivated to excel. Additionally, the decrease in project availability has led to reduced salary expectations, making Ukraine a cost-effective hiring location in 2024.

Main reasons to hire developers in Ukraine in 2024:

• Ukrainian developers are highly flexible and motivated
• Ukrainian developers have reduced salary expectations due to decrease in number of projects and positions available – Ukraine became more cost-effective location today
• There are no power outages in Ukraine as it was in winter 2022/2023
• Ukrainians have adapted to extreme working conditions
• There are a lot of highly-skilled specialist available and ready to join new project – so the recruitment process takes little time

How Can You Hire Developers in Ukraine?

Clients may hire Ukrainian developers in four ways:

1. Hire offshore development company;
2. Hire freelancers;
3. Turn to recruitment agencies;
4. Search for proper talent at work search platforms directly;

Hire Offshore Development Company

How about dedicated team or project outsourcing? This is a model of employment presupposing cooperation with specialists, teams, or even entire companies on an hourly rate for development projects completion.

Project-based outsourcing is widespread in Ukraine. Project-based outsourcing is when a team works on your project, handling everything, from brainstorming to technical support. The software development company has all necessary specialists employed, and they add them to a team that works on your project when needed. Usually, those companies employ developers, UI/UX specialists, Business Analysts, QAs, PMs, and Account managers that will be your point of contact with a team. If you are not a techie and want to delegate managerial work to your vendor, it’s a good choice.

This type of company usually works on several projects simultaneously. Suppose a company is developing enterprise solutions for Fortune 500 companies. In that case, a team of PMs and offshore developers will work full-time on those projects and act as a dedicated team.

Other companies that we describe as medium and small can apply developers for different projects at the same time.

Hiring Developers Through Outstaffing Companies

Outstaffingstaff augmentation is a method of employment that means that a developer or entire development team is working as your full-time employees in a staffing company’s office under your supervision.

Pros:

• Candidate recruitment is conducted professionally based on your specific requirements;
• You interview candidates on your own and make hiring decisions;
• Recruiters check candidates’ soft skills and tech stack.

Cons:

• More suitable for long-term cooperation.

This variant is ideal for companies that are looking to set up a team of developers in Ukraine for the long term and treat them as a regional office and team extension. With a dedicated team model, an outsourcing vendor hires one or a few dedicated developers, hosts them in their office, provides equipment, and manages HR.

You provide requirements to candidates, and the company’s professional recruiters search for a suitable applicant by reviewing resumes and weeding out non-fitting job seekers. Qubit Labs provides this type of service in Ukraine and connects clients with the best Ukrainian software developers.

Set Up Offshore Development Center

When a customer needs not only dedicated developers in Ukraine but also a technical lead and project manager, they address an outsourcing vendor to set up an offshore development center.

Set Up R&D center

With a solution that is currently gaining momentum, a provider establishes a separate office for a client’s team, hires world-class Ukrainian software developers, and manages all questions related to office operation at the beginning.

mostly are prospected to become local offices for companies.

Hire Freelance Developers

Freelancing is a type of employment presupposing a free schedule to an employee and his/her work from home.

Many Ukrainian programmers prefer to work as freelancers today because this gives them a flexible working time and the freedom to work on several projects.

Freelance projects are available for developers across the globe, which doesn’t limit the job search only to the developer’s physical location.

A considerable freelance advantage is a physical mobility. Numerous Ukrainian software developers become digital nomads traveling for pleasure and working from various locations.

Today it’s quite easy to find a suitable freelancer at such global platforms as Freelancer, Upwork, Fiverr, or LinkedIn.

Working with a freelancer has some pros and cons employers should consider before making employment decisions.

Pros of hiring freelancers:

• Ability to find proper talents without geographical limitations;
• Low price work as compared to in-house specialists;
• You don’t need to provide a working place, equipment, tax payments from his/her salary, and social package.

Cons of hiring freelancers:

• Communication challenges (cultural or time zone-related);
• Less employee commitment to projects;
• Lower reliability (e.g., they can disappear or not finish the project).

Consider these strengths and weaknesses before hiring a freelancer. This employment mode works for short-term projects or for the completion of certain insignificant project aspects but not for long-term and core tasks.

Again, numerous freelancing sites provide an excellent choice of talent from an entire world, and outsourcing teams work at Freelancer and Upwork. Other popular resources include Elance, Guru, Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, etc.

Hiring Through Recruitment Agencies

Recruitment agencies are intermediaries between a company looking for a new employee and specialists looking for employment.

While small companies usually don’t have recruitment departments at all, large corporations’ HR departments are often overloaded with tasks. Any business may require assistance provided by a recruitment agency to delegate to outside professionals.

Why hire a Ukrainian recruitment agency?

• They are in constant research for more candidates and have big pools of developers who are not actively looking for a job but might be interested in your proposal.
• Agency will look for matching candidates for you until they find a perfect specialist.
• They mediate communications, feedback, and set up interviews; you just have to choose the best programmer from candidates.

Pros of hiring developers through a recruitment agency

• Recruiters can’t check candidates’ soft skills as precisely as you would expect or do it yourself.
• They don’t provide onboarding support or any cultural integration.

Try Job Search Websites to Hire Ukrainian Developers

This is the most traditional employee search method, implying CVs’ selection at work search websites and via your company’s vacancy publications.

Here are some tips if you decided to find and hire Ukraine developers by yourself:

Pros of job search websites

• Cost-efficiency and access to thousands of resumes to select an ideal candidate fitting your project.

Cons of searching Ukrainian developers through websites

• Most of those websites are in Ukrainian;
• Time-consuming.

Google search will provide you with useful resources to start with. You can also check a list of useful websiteshere.

10 Steps to Hire Top Ukrainian Developers

1. Choose a vendor

Don’t select 10 companies at once; limit your choice to 2-5 companies based on client reviews on trusted resources (e.g., Clutch.co) and recommendations by colleagues and friends.

2. Find out as much as possible about the selected vendor

Evaluate key issues, like years in a market, a process of candidate selection (whether only tech skills or tech and soft skills are reviewed, whether candidates’ English proficiency is checked). Inquire a vendor about services and pricing, compare results.

3. Write a detailed job description and share info about project

Give as much detail as possible so that you get the fitting Ukrainian developers and don’t waste your time and resources.

4. Set up a dedicated team structure

Determine how many Ukrainian programmers you need for your project. You can start to search from one developer and then expand a team gradually or hire an entire team at once (team recruitment may cost less, with appealing discounts provided depending on how big a team is).

5. Get acquainted with your recruiter

As soon as a negotiation phase is over and you sign a contract with an IT staffing company, you get a recruiter for your specific project. Communicate your preferences to him/her for better results.

6. Review your email regularly

Ukrainian IT market is booming, so candidates have job offers to choose from. Make sure to regularly review candidates’ resumes you receive from a recruiter so that another company does not hire a candidate while you’re making a decision. A recruiter may also have questions, and reply promptness determines hiring process outcomes.

7. Interview candidates

The IT staffing advantage is your opportunity to interview candidates directly. Your recruiter arranges a suitable schedule for you and your candidates, introduces them to you, and you conduct job interviews on your own. Clients decide how many stages the interviewing process has, whether candidates complete test tasks, etc.

8. Give feedback

Both a recruiter and job candidates wish to know the client’s opinion. If something goes wrong, a recruiter needs to understand how to adjust candidate search.

9. Hire programmers

Think twice before making a hiring decision, but don’t wait too long. Unnecessary delays may spoil your image, and a candidate may refuse to wait for interview results, preferring to accept another employer’s offer.

10. Start working

Working with dedicated teams differs from that with in-house staff. In both cases, a team needs an onboarding procedure. Start a new employee’s (or team’s) working day by introducing them to a team, their responsibilities, and their working toolkit.

Ukrainian developers are comparably popular on the market, so it is quite hard to hire qualitative and responsible freelance developers, especially when they are in contact with potential clients.

It is much simpler and more reliable to use outsourcing companies’ services, as they already have a pool of vetted and interviewed beforehand.

1 – A broad range of startups and IT companies with vast expertise

A comfortable environment for IT companies in Ukraine is strengthened by a large talent pool with a great education, hands-on expertise, and convenient taxation.

Ukraine hosts almost 1,500 tech companies, 2,000 startups, and more than 110 international R&D centers. The country boasts impressive growth tempos and productivity indicators.

In 2016, 10 Ukrainian companies were included in IAOP’s Global Outsourcing Top 100 list, evaluated by various criteria:

• size and growth;
• customers’ recommendations;
• certificates, prizes;
• innovations and corporate responsibility.

Global Outsourcing Top 100 for the year 2018 lists 19 Ukrainian companies.

Within the past several years, Ukraine has been a constant member of different international rankings. For example, it took second place among the most innovative countries in the lower-middle-income group. Also, it landed in first place among the most competitive countries in the Technology sector and ranked 4th on the list of technical skills among 60 countries.

Also, in 2021, 20 Ukraine software development companies were listed by the Global Outsourcing Top 100. The country has 22 IT Clusters and is in good demand among Fortune 500 companies. Some of the most globally-renowned Ukrainian startups include Grammarly, Preply, Ajax, and GitLab.

2 – Ukrainian developers are educated and flexible

Ukraine graduates around 36,000 tech specialists each year, and 67% of these alumnus get their degrees at the largest centers of IT education in Ukraine. These centers, which also are the major local tech hubs, include Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa.

By 2024, Ukrainian tech universities expect to be producing at least 50,000 IT specialists. The local graduates are proficient in several sought-after technologies, including JavaScript, Java, C#, Python, and PHP.

Also, you can easily find other specialists in Ukraine, both tech and non-tech, for example:

• DevOps
• Data/Big Data engineers
• QAs
• product managers
• business analysts
• project managers
• designers
• HR managers
• marketing specialists

IT education integration and practice will continue to grow in Ukraine, with numerous activities and internships organized by leading IT companies.

3 – Local programmers are avid learners and open-minded people

They are not afraid to ask questions and voice their opinions. As a result, numerous experts receive vital IT knowledge and skills at IT courses alongside formal higher education.

Besides, most of the Ukrainian tech professionals cooperate with global clients, so they adopt a Western approach to work. Local companies emphasize transparency, a well-built ecosystem, and open communication within their teams. That’s why Ukrainian developers are ready to embark on projects of different levels of complexity and are aware of the changes occurring in the global IT market.

To stay up to date with the constantly appearing tech initiatives, approximately 60% of local programmers regularly attend various IT events. Also, 61% of them read professional literature, and 58% — take courses or training sessions.

4 – Cultural fit and creative mentality

Ukrainian developers possess a laborious, hard-working, and resourceful nature that fits IT companies’ requirements ideally. Clients won’t face any major cultural differences while working with Ukrainian development teams.

5 – High qualified developers number

The local talent pool is constantly expanding, having reached the number of 250,000 tech specialists in 2022. Around 86,000 Ukrainian programmers are working in the top 50 largest local IT companies.

Compared to the previous year, 2021, the number of Ukrainian developers grew by 12,7% during the first half of 2022 in the mentioned companies. In general, the current growth of the IT talent pool is breaking all the previous records.

The Ukrainian IT job market is expected to grow by 20–30% each year and to double by 2024.

6 –Local programmers follow tech trends and are skilled in up-to-date technologies

Ukrainian software developers grow and advance together with the market by exploring the latest technologies in demand (e.g., Erlang, Apex, Groovy, Objective-C, Scala, Kotlin, etc.).

Thus, clients might find developers specializing in rare technologies for which a job supply is scarce.

The popularity of programming languages among Ukrainian developers constantly varies. Currently, JavaScript takes the first place, being used by 22% of developers as the primary programming language and by 60% in general (including 38% using it as the additional one).

It is followed by C# / .NET (15,8%) and Java (14,9%). PHP and Typescript are on the similar level, being preferred by 10,4% and 9,8% respectively. Python (6,1%), C++ (3,6%), Swift (3,5%), Kotlin (3,2%), and Ruby (2,3%) close the list.

Notably, Java has been the most popular programming language among developers in Ukraine for 8 years, now being replaced by JavaScript.

Speaking of the most used frameworks, platforms, and libraries, React.js is preferred by 26,6% of local programmers, .NET — by 17,1%, Node.js — by 16,7%, and Angular.js — by 14,8%. The top 10 also includes Spring (13,4%), ASP.NET (10,2%), jQuery (9,8%), Vue.js (8,8%), Hibernate (7,2%), Express (5,4%), and Laravel (5,2%).

7 – Convenient time zone

An insignificant time difference is comfortable for numerous European companies when they work with Ukrainian developers and teams.

Even if a client company is located in the USA or Canada, you will have a few overlapping working hours to hold important meetings and calls.

Besides, there are many flight destinations, so there won’t be any issues with visiting your remote offices. Some of the most popular international flights are the following:

• Copenhagen – Kyiv.
• Dusseldorf – Lviv.
• Helsinki – Kyiv.
• New York – Kyiv/Lviv.
• Stockholm – Kyiv/Odesa/Lviv.
• Toronto – Kyiv/Odesa.
• Chicago – Kyiv/Lviv/Dnipro.

8 – Affordable rates and salaries

Any company can find a highly qualified candidate in Ukraine at an affordable hourly or monthly rate, several times lower than IT developers in European countries and the USA.

9 – High English proficiency

Almost 64% of senior-level Ukrainian programmers and 65% of team leaders have upper-intermediate or advanced levels of English proficiency. This enables them to work on literally any international project.

In general, 55% of Ukraine software development specialists have upper-intermediate or advanced levels of English knowledge in the summer of 2022, which is 3% higher than at the beginning of the year.

10 – Broad market experience

The outsourcing sphere started to rise in Ukraine in 1990 and created an active, vibrant, and professional community. Ukraine is on a contender countries list in the EMEA region with great potential in providing quality IT services and hosting professional IT talent – see the report by Gartner. Moreover, Ukraine has recently become an Offshoring Destination of the Year.

11 – To support Ukrainian economy

IT industry in Ukraine is one of the most important in todays situation. Ukrainian developers work during the war and pay taxes which support the economy. So, if you hire Ukrainian developers – you support our country.

What Ukrainian Cities Are Best for Hiring Developers?

Let’s take a closer look to the best cities in Ukraine, where you can hire developers:

Kyiv

Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine and the most populous city with over 4 million inhabitants, has to offer the best educational and employment options. Most local developers are educated in Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Taras Shevchenko National University, and Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.

Kharkiv

Historically, Kharkiv (1.5 million) is the most technologically advanced city in Ukraine with strong high education establishments; the most notable are KhNURE and Kuznets KhNEU.

Lviv

Lviv is a less populated city (~760 thousand) but is a very popular place to hire Ukrainian software engineers and IT outsourcing companies due to its close location to Europe. Local programmers are educated at Ivan Franko Lviv National University or Lviv Polytechnic University.

Odesa

Odesa is another large city (~1 million) with several educational options as well. Surprisingly, IT companies often offer salaries higher than in Kyiv, which attracts some developers to the most expensive city in Ukraine.

Vinnytsia

This list is closed by Vinnytsia (~ 370 thousand), which raises tech specialists in Vinnytsia National Technical University, and the Vasyl Stus National University of Donetsk. Vinnytsia has a surprisingly large talent pool for such a small city.

If you need more information about best locations to hire software developers in Ukraine, just check our guide.

What are the Legal Aspects of Hiring Software Developers in Ukraine?

A company that wants to hire developers from Ukraine usually cooperates with a vendor, which, in its turn, protects client’s data by offering to sign three following documents:

• Software requirements specification document. Includes the functional and non-functional specifications of the software. Describes how the software will be developed and how it should function.
• Non-Disclosure Agreement. The agreement signed between the client and the vendor aimed to protect confidential information disclosed in the course of business.
• Statement of Work. Covers the cooperation details, from payment methods to schedules.

As you can see, hiring software developers in Ukraine is an easy and well-established process because local companies have remarkable experience cooperating with Western companies. Most Ukrainian organizations align their operations with the approaches widespread in foreign countries to ensure convenient cooperation.

You can hire developers in Ukraine without facing any legal concerns because your software development partner will handle them.

Developers Salaries in Ukraine

Salaries of software engineers in Ukraine can range from a few hundred dollars for juniors and reach 6-7k in case you need a leading system architect. Naturally, average pay rate of a software developer in Ukraine heavily depend on technologies, locations, and experience. But if we take average monthly salaries, the figures for 2021 would be the following:

PHP Developers

A Junior PHP developer in Ukraine makes around $850 a month. If you want to hire a Ukrainian middle-level software developer, the monthly cost for you would be $2,000. Ukraine developer salary of a senior PHP programmer is almost two times higher – $3,500. Top-level system architect receives $5,300.

Ruby On Rails Developers

RoR developers are a bit more expensive than PHP programmers, but no shocking sums anyway. To hire an entry-level programmer, your budget should be $1,225. Middle and senior RoR developers get $2,400 and $4,200 on average, respectively.

iOS Developers

A few observable points are a margin growth between the entry-level and senior positions and junior salaries increase in technologies like Objective-C. The average yearly Ukrainian IT company budget on a junior iOS developer’s salary is approximately $950 a month, while a senior iOS developer can get up to $4,000.

Java Developers

In 2021, Java takes third place among the most popular language among Ukrainian developers taking about 14,9% of the Ukrainian IT market.

Nevertheless, the demand for this technology’s specialists is still high. So, the salaries are the following: an entry-level Java developer receives around $1,100 per month. Pay drastically rises for a middle Java programmer – 3,000 while hiring a senior developer would cost you $4,000 and more.

Android Developers

If you want to hire a Java Android developer, salaries would be a bit lower. Junior’s monthly income is approximately $950. Middle’s salary reaches $1,300 point, and senior Java Android developers usually ask for $3,060.

C++ Developers

C++ developer salary in Ukraine is around $1,000 if we mean a junior-level programmer. A senior C++ programmer’s salary goes up to $4,000 and more. Middle developers would earn about $2,450 a month.

Unity Developers

Junior Unity Developer salary in Ukraine varies from $700 to $1,500. Middle Ukraine software development specialists in a niche get up to $2,400; you can sometimes find devs with a slightly lower income. Ukraine developer salary of a Unity programmer with 5+ years of experience starts from $3,300 per month.

Salesforce Developers

Middle Salesforce developer salary starts from $2300 and reaches $2,900. An experienced Salesforce programmer gets from $4000 to $4500.

Angular Developers

On average, an Angular developer in Ukraine gets $1300 if their experience doesn’t exceed one-two years. Mid-level specialist costs up to $1,800, while a senior Angular programmer gets from $3,020 monthly.

These are only a few software engineer salary examples in Ukraine, but if you compare them with a global tendency, Ukraine appears to have one of the best quality-price ratios in the world.

If you are interested in hiring dedicated developers in Ukraine and want to know more about local salaries, contact us. We will find you the best programmers according to your skill and budget’s requirements.

How to Attract Ukrainian Developers to Your Project?

Give them interesting and complex projects Challenges usually provide a motivation boost, at least for the kind of people you’re going to want to work with. Balancing your project on the scales of challenging and rewarding is your best bet to attract a good developer.

Make use of the latest technology trends IT people value technological advances, so while it goes without saying that no one wants to work on outdated hardware, there are also so many innovations in technology today. So, make sure you stay on top of the trend and show your employees that your company is riding a technological wave.

Give them a free opportunity to develop new skills Many software engineers started as self-learners and tended to look for additional opportunities to improve their skills. Play into this tendency and secure some personal and professional growth opportunities for your employees. Provide them with access to free courses, webinars, workshops, and books.

Bonus system Who doesn’t like to be rewarded for a good job they’ve done? Sending an appreciation email or commending someone for their work in front of colleagues is great, but having a solid and coherent bonus system will definitely attract qualified professionals. They know they will do a good job, so they’ll join a company where this job is appreciated.

Fair salary without delays Your company’s remuneration system must be fair and solid. Make sure you set a day or at least a certain period in a month when your employees can expect their salaries and do your absolute best to stick to that schedule. Good developers should be highly paid, but that’s not enough to win them over. It’s about the combination of payment, opportunities for growth, and continuous motivation enhancers.

Career growth inside the company Usually, if one is looking for a job, he/she wants to stay with the employer long-term, gain new skills and experience and grow within the company. Whether it’s horizontal or vertical mobility, it’s good to ensure your company offers the developers the opportunity to grow and assume more responsibility.

How Do Ukraine Software Development Companies Motivate Developers?

Outsourcing vendors, as well as other local software development Ukraine companies understand that the more motivated the employees are, the better they do their work. So, all the companies try to implement different ways to keep the programmers in a good mood and make them understand that their work is highly appreciated. Some of the most effective and common practices used by software development Ukraine vendors are the following:

1. Providing opportunities for growth.
2. Developing infrastructure and providing all the necessary hardware and software.
3. Praising developers for achieving set goals.
4. Encouraging healthy communication and a positive atmosphere within the team.
5. Appreciating and implementing new ideas.
6. Offering bonus packages.
7. Promoting education and continuous learning.
8. Providing autonomy.
9. Holding internal conferences and informal meetings.
10. Asking for feedback and highlighting teams’ success.
11. Setting challenging yet achievable targets.
12. Encouraging creativity.

Possible Risks When Hiring Developers in Ukraine

Check how we at Qubit Labs reduce them:

Fast changes in the technology world

Qubit Labs prides itself on hiring narrow experts who specialize in specific industry fields and stay up to date with their sphere’s latest trends. Such practice helps us to find the right people for certain positions who can perfectly perform their tasks.

Developers are not actively looking for a position

The most desired and superior developers you’re looking for are those who are already employed. A company should have something outstanding about it to be able to attract top-tier IT talent. Qubit Labs offers excellent working conditions and wins IT professionals over with a comfortable and pleasant office, contractual employment, convenient working hours, and a transparent and welcoming environment.

Developers are costly

Qubit Labs prefers Ukrainian developers because their cost to quality ratio is one of the most attractive in the world. This is easily explained by the general cost of living in the region.

Hiring a Ukrainian developer is not South-Asia-cheap, but the flexibility to hire high-quality talent that is unavailable locally makes this ratio so favourable. Ukraine is one of the most prominent hubs for offshore software development, and Ukrainian professionals are highly valued around the globe.

Lack of management

Qubit Labs supports a development team during the working process. Also, we communicate with developers and a client to get feedback from both and step up when necessary. In this way, we can ensure a project’s success. A client can also hire a full-time or part-time PM to control the processes.

Working issues and conflicts

Qubit Labs takes upon the establishment of transparent and effective communication between the client and offshore developers. Here, we don’t let a discussion and disagreements grow and become problems.

Qubit Labs monitors all conflicts and solves any communication issues in a friendly and reasonable manner, mediating all collaboration processes between the client and a team, as well as within a development team.

How Ukrainian Programmers Continue Working While Being Bombed?

Even while being bombed, Ukrainian programmers are ready to work hard. The war clearly showed us the courage and motivation of the Ukrainian people. Qubit Labs company continues working the same as developers in our country.

According to The Displacement Tracking Matrix, around 48% of people left their homes and moved to other cities within Ukraine. More than 2.5 million people, including software developers, have moved to Western Ukraine, cities like Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Uzhgorod, Khmelnytskyi, Chernigiv, Ternopil, and Rivne.

This statistic shows that most people are in safe places to continue their work. The IT industry in Ukraine is flexible and can adjust to any conditions. But the situation is improving. Ukraine provides stable internet access, banks are working, and our software engineers have everything to proceed.

Moreover, lots of Ukrainian developers are craving new job opportunities. According to Jobs.dou.ua, the least amount of new vacancies appeared in March. As well, In March 2022, around 84% of software developers returned to full-time work, and only 7% – were part-time. So approximately 93% of all the IT developers work full-time like before the war.

How do Ukrainian programmers continue working while being bombed in 2024? It is crucial to say that more and more people, including software engineers, are coming back to Ukraine from abroad. More than six million people have returned home to Ukraine despite the war raging on, according to the latest figures by the International Organization for Migration (IMO).

As known, because of the power outage in Ukraine in 2023 continued work became even more complicated. However, the government did everything to make things better and now we can “celebrate” one year without power outages and Ukrainian developers have stable internet access and ability to work full-time.

So right now, it is a perfect time to hire Ukrainian developers and make the best investment for your business.

Is it Effective for a Business to Hire a Developer Full-Time in Ukraine?

If you decide to hire developer full time Ukraine, your business can save money, get access to high-quality talent and expertise, and increase its performance thanks to reinforcing the team with dedicated professionals. The local talent pool boasts over 250,000 tech specialists whose rates are several times lower than in the US.

Hiring a Ukraine developer for startups is a long-term investment because it implies lower overhead costs, transparent communication, and results that exceed expectations.

Besides, when you hire developer full-time in Ukraine, you don’t have to worry about data security or administrative tasks because the vendor handles them for you.

Also, the company you’ll be cooperating with will certainly have sufficient experience in the field, which is an outstanding opportunity to get valuable knowledge you can use for your business.

FAQs About Ukrainian Developers

• How many developers are in Ukraine?

There are around 250,000 developers in Ukraine, which makes it a sought-after destination for foreign businesses. A decision to hire developers from Ukraine offers companies to leverage the high level of services provided by local professionals at a reasonable cost.

• Why to hire Ukrainian developers?

Ukraine graduates more than 16,000 technical specialist every year, so there are more than 250,000 specialists in Ukrainian IT industry. Our developers have great experience in working with foreign companies in different time zones, they are skilled and flexible. About 80% of Ukrainian programmers have great English skills(Intermediate/Upper-Intermediate level).

• Are Ukrainian developers still working during the war?

Yes! Ukrainian developers are still working during the war. The trade association’s own research shows that more than 70% of IT specialists are still working in “safe” regions in Ukraine, about 16% works from abroad (mainly women), other part joined armed forced or work as a volunteers. But all of them do their best to support the Ukrainian economy and help to fight against russian aggression.

• How many software developers are there in Ukraine?

The Ukrainian tech talent pool keeps growing, increasing by 30% each year. The local software development industry boasts over 250k specialists, experienced in both popular and niche technologies.

• Does Ukraine have good programmers?

Ukraine has a high concentration of software developers, being the #1 offshore software development country in Eastern Europe. It has 4 major tech hubs and graduates over 16,000 tech specialists each year. JavaScript is the most popular programming language in the country, and around 80% of developers for startups in Ukraine have Intermediate/Upper-Intermediate level English.

• Where can I find Ukrainian developers?

If you want to hire developer full time Ukraine, you have several options to choose from. These are the most popular ones:

• Hiring offshore development company
• Hiring developers through outstaffing companies
• Setting up an offshore development center
• Setting up R&D center

• Is it safe for businesses to outsource the development of core products to Ukraine?

Ukraine has a well-established system of working with international companies, and even some famous tech giants, like Google and Microsoft, outsource software development Ukraine. Besides, there are more than 250,000 talented developers that have expertise in almost any technology you might need. Local vendors, like Qubit Labs, will make sure to follow cybersecurity policies and guarantee that the provided services are of the highest quality.

• Where can I get a Ukrainian developer?

The best way to get Ukrainian developer for your project is to use the services of outstaffing company; they will find the best one for you (who fits all your requirements) and you will make final hiring decision; then, the vendor takes care about working place, equipment, taxes, salaries and etc., and you, as a client, work directly with your programmer – give tasks, control them, conducts calls, etc.

Also, you can hire freelance developer using platforms like Upwork.

• Has the global crisis affected the availability of Ukrainian tech specialists?

The remote work has already been popular in the country even before the pandemic outbreak. Most companies and developers treated it as the opportunity to widen their expertise and work with a larger number of international businesses. The amount of developers has increased since the quarantine took place, and the number of posted vacancies grew as well.

• Where do Ukrainian developers come from?

Some of the advanced Ukrainian IT hubs are Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Odesa, and Kharkiv. Due to the availability of programmers in different locations, your team will consist of hand-picked developers from all over the country.

• Is it cost-effective to choose Ukrainian developers over local talent?

It’s true that the cost of software development Ukraine is usually multiple times lower than in other countries, like the US or Western European ones. The local taxes are much lower, as well as the salaries, because the economic level in Ukraine is on another level, compared to other states. Moreover, software development Ukraine is flexible because you can hire a single programmer or a team of specialists.

• Why do foreign IT companies hire developers in Ukraine?

The most important reason is that there is a vast talent pool of Ukrainian developers. The second reason – developer salaries are lower than in Western Europe or North America, for example. Also, our developers have great tech education and high level of English skills.

How Can Qubit Labs Help You With Hiring Developers in Ukraine?

• Qubit Labs has been steadily growing our developer database for years now and can boast over 20,000 accessible software engineers.
• Linkedin is an obvious but influential hiring tool. We are constantly working on improving our already effective mechanisms of hiring top-notch developers through this platform.
• Since Ukraine is such a well-developed IT hub, local recruitment platforms like Work.ua, Rabota.ua, etc., can be a treasure trove for high-quality developers in a region.
• Dou is a platform that can be a wonderful base to find an IT specialist in Ukraine. Qubit Labs takes every source of local talent seriously because broadening the search helps pick out the best candidates.
• Another huge forum and marketplace for talented software developers is GitHub. Even though the platform was originally created for a different purpose, it brings together millions of developers and is a fantastic place for networking and learning.
• Djinni, however, serves precisely the purpose of an IT talent marketplace, and it would be a big miss to overlook the professionals represented on this platform.
• Never underestimate the power of social media and the communities they form. Qubit Labs follows the most important social media groups and forums related to software development and IT talent.
• In Qubit Labs, we value proactiveness and never miss a chance to spread the word about our projects on webinars and meetups we organize and participate in.
• We delight in meeting other players in our field and learning about trends and developments in it. Attending various tech and business conferences, workshops, and events helps us stay up to date and expand our database with fresh talent.

Suppose you want to hire developers or build a software development team in Ukraine. In that case, it is a comparably easy task considering the number of great local developers for a competitive price.

Ukraine has talent, and we offer outstaffing services to help you work with the best technical specialists from the country.

The task of hiring developers becomes even easier with our talent pool, IT recruiters, wide connections in the outsourcing world, and incredible corporate culture.

Are you looking for a software development team that can become an effective extension to your in-house team? Or maybe want to set up an independent offshore development team that will be the primary executor?

Contact us for a short call to discuss your needs!

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