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Explore our vision: Incredible, effortless recruitment
£45k-£75k
Typical base salary
12 wks
Replacement guarantee
Engineering, not just coding
Ask how they think about design, testing and maintainability, not just getting it working.
Problem-solving depth
Give a real problem and watch how they reason, not whether they know the trick.
Collaboration
They review code and mentor. Look for someone who lifts the team's standard.
How to run the hire
1. Define the level and domain
Be clear on seniority, stack and the kind of systems they'll build.
2. Use a realistic exercise
A design discussion or practical task beats abstract algorithm puzzles for most roles.
3. Source and approach
Approach passive candidates directly - the best rarely apply.
4. Assess reasoning
Pair on a problem and listen to how they think about trade-offs.
5. Reference impact
Confirm they raised quality and delivered, not just occupied a seat.
Fees typically run 15-20% of first-year salary, capped and agreed upfront.
Nothing is due until your hire starts.
Usually 4-8 weeks.
Seniority and stack are the drivers - senior or niche roles take longer to fill well.
A Software Engineer designs, builds and maintains software with an eye on quality, scalability and maintainability - not just making a feature work.
They often review others' code and shape technical decisions within a team.
The titles overlap heavily. 'Engineer' often implies more focus on design, systems and quality, while 'Developer' can lean towards implementation.
Businesses use them loosely, so we scope the real expectations.
Ask: Design me a simple system for this scenario - talk me through the trade-offs.
How do you decide what to test?
Tell me about technical debt you tackled. and How do you review someone else's code?
Yes, from mid-level up to lead and principal engineers.
For senior roles we weight mentoring and technical leadership alongside coding ability, since that's where the value sits.
Tell us about your role and a specialist IT recruiter will call you. No fee until your hire starts.
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