People — Tech hiring
Hire permanent engineers, assessed before you meet them.
Direct hire is tech recruitment for full-time roles. ProDevs finds and assesses software developers, product, design, QA, data, AI and DevOps people across Africa. You interview a shortlist, and the person you choose joins your company on your own contract.
01 Who we place
Twenty-three roles, one way of assessing them.
Each role below has its own page. If yours is not listed, ask us: the same process is used for every technical position we fill.
Software engineering
Cloud, DevOps & security
Data & AI
Product, design & quality
Hiring for finance, sales, operations or leadership instead? See non-technical hiring.
02 How hiring works
Five steps, and who does what at each one.
We run the search and the assessment. You keep every decision: who to meet, who to hire and on what terms.
-
Brief
Day 0
You
Tell us the role, the level, the location and what success looks like in the first six months.
ProDevs
Turn the conversation into a written role definition that candidates and your hiring managers are both assessed against.
-
Shortlist
Within 48 hours for most roles
You
Read the shortlist and tell us who you want to meet.
ProDevs
Search our network of vetted professionals first, then go to market for what it does not already cover. Send assessed candidates with notes and scores.
-
Interview
As fast as your calendar allows
You
Meet the people you want to meet, using your own interview process.
ProDevs
Schedule the interviews, collect feedback and keep every candidate informed.
-
Offer
Depends on your approvals
You
Decide, and make the offer on your own employment contract.
ProDevs
Help benchmark the offer and negotiate it with the candidate.
-
Start
After the candidate’s notice period
You
Onboard your new employee. They are on your payroll from the first day.
ProDevs
Check in regularly while the hire settles, and replace them under the guarantee if the fit is not right.
Most companies find their hire within two to three weeks. The shortlist is the part we control; interviews, approvals and notice periods set the rest.
03 How we assess
Four stages, before a name reaches your shortlist.
A CV says what someone claims. We test what they can do, then send you the evidence with the shortlist.
The engine
Evalia
Our assessments run on Evalia, the assessment platform we built ourselves. Across the ProDevs network, more than 100,000 assessments have been completed.
-
Stage 1
Profile review
We read the CV, LinkedIn profile, portfolio and past projects against our engineering framework, so the first cut is made on evidence of the work and not on keywords.
-
Stage 2
Technical test
A timed test for technical roles: multiple-choice questions, coding exercises and problem-solving tasks that show skill, knowledge and how the candidate works under time pressure.
-
Stage 3
Conversation with our engineering team
An in-depth interview covering technical expertise, problem-solving and how the person is likely to fit the way your organisation works.
-
Stage 4
Review and levelling
Our reviewers go through the results together and score accuracy, speed, problem-solving, communication and teamwork. Each candidate is then assigned an engineering level.
The levels we assign are public. Read the engineering framework.
04 Fee and guarantee
One fee, paid once.
Direct hire is priced as a one-time placement fee, not a monthly charge. The person you hire is your employee, on your contract and your payroll.
- Placement fee Of the hire’s first-year salary. One-time.
- 10–15%
- Replacement guarantee If the fit is not right, we replace the person at no additional placement cost.
- 2 weeks
- To your first shortlist For most roles, counted from the agreed brief.
- 48h
- Also included
- Vetted candidates with assessment notes and scores, and a dedicated success manager.
05 Not sure permanent is right?
Four ways to bring someone in, and who employs them.
Direct hire suits a role you expect to keep. If the work is temporary, or you cannot employ in the country, another model may fit better.
-
Direct hire
This page
- Who employs the person
- You. The person joins your company on your contract and payroll.
- What you pay
- A one-time placement fee of 10–15% of first-year salary.
- Best when you need
- A permanent member of the team, in a country where you can employ.
-
Outsourcing & payroll
Outsourcing- Who employs the person
- ProDevs employs and pays the person locally. They work on your team full-time.
- What you pay
- Outsourcing at 20% of salary. Payroll and compliance only, for someone you have already chosen, at 5% of salary, capped at $500 a month.
- Best when you need
- A full-time person in a country where you have no legal entity.
-
Dedicated team
Dedicated teams- Who employs the person
- Not you. ProDevs handles payroll, compliance and retention for the team.
- What you pay
- A monthly retainer for the team.
- Best when you need
- A product manager, designers and engineers working on your roadmap together.
-
Freelance project
Freelancers- Who employs the person
- Nobody. The freelancer is contracted for the project.
- What you pay
- The agreed price per milestone, through escrow, plus a 5% client fee. Free to post.
- Best when you need
- A defined piece of work with a clear end.
Hiring more than a few people at once, with a lead to run them? That is a department buildout: structure, leadership and team planned as one engagement.
06 Client testimonials
Hear it first-hand, from companies that hired.
Founders, operators and executives describe working with ProDevs, in their own words.
Play video: Client testimonial: Olufemi Seyi, COO, Casafina development company
Play video: Client testimonial: Aproko Doctor, Building AwaDoc
Play video: Client testimonial: JT Liddell, Promenade CEO
07 Questions
Direct hire, answered.
Something else? Book a call (opens in a new tab) and ask us directly.
-
How long does direct hire take?
For most roles you see a first shortlist within 48 hours of agreeing the brief. Most companies then find their hire within two to three weeks. The exact time depends on your interview process and the notice period of the person you choose.
-
What roles can I direct-hire through ProDevs?
Software engineers, AI and machine learning specialists, product managers, designers, QA engineers, DevOps engineers, data engineers and more. The role index on this page links to each one.
-
Do candidates work full-time for my company?
Yes. Direct-hire candidates become permanent, full-time employees of your business, under your contract and on your payroll. If you have no legal entity in the country where the person lives, ProDevs can employ and pay them for you through our outsourcing and payroll service instead.
-
What does direct hire cost?
A one-time placement fee of 10–15% of the hire’s first-year salary. Our pricing page sets out this and the other hiring models, and we confirm the figure for your role once we understand the brief.
-
What if the hire does not work out?
Direct hires come with a two-week replacement guarantee: if the fit is not right, we replace the person at no additional placement cost.
-
How are candidates assessed?
In four stages: a review of the CV, portfolio and past projects against our engineering framework; a timed technical test; a conversation with our engineering team; and a final review that assigns an engineering level. Assessments run on Evalia, the assessment platform we built ourselves.
Talk to ProDevs
Who do you need to hire?
Tell us the role and the level. We will tell you how quickly we can put an assessed shortlist in front of you.