Hiring glossary: what companies hire software engineers?

How to use this glossary for nearshore hiring

Start with the work you need done. A search for engineering talent can mix application developers with people who design machinery. Those candidates need different interviews and tools. They may also need different access to your workplace.

Write a short account of the role before reviewing résumés. Name the system the person will own and the problem they should solve. Explain who will review their work. A back-end engineer maintaining a billing service needs clearer requirements than "senior engineer with strong communication skills."

Use the role terms below with your engineering manager. Review the hiring model and cost terms with whoever approves the agreement. Keep a shared record of the decisions so candidates hear the same expectations from every interviewer.

For example, a remote software role might still require live incident response during US business hours. A device software role might need access to a test bench. Resolve those needs before promising that someone can work from any location.

This site is an Opus-owned reference; recommendations are editorial. For an Opus placement, the client chooses the finalist and manages day-to-day work. Name the manager who will handle those duties before opening the search.

Talk to Opus about a role.

Which terms should you settle before comparing candidates?

Software engineer and computer engineer

A software engineer builds and maintains software. Computer engineering can also involve physical hardware and the software that controls it. Write the duties plainly when a title could mean either.

If the hire will build a customer billing application, say so. If they will write firmware for a sensor, name the device. These descriptions help candidates explain relevant work and help interviewers choose questions that test the right skills.

Front-end engineer

A front-end engineer works on the parts of an application people use directly. For a web role, describe the screens and user tasks the hire will own.

Include accessibility in the assessment when it belongs in the job. Ask how the candidate would handle keyboard navigation, loading states, and failed requests. A polished screenshot alone does not show how an interface behaves when someone tries to use it.

Back-end engineer

A back-end engineer works on server-side logic and data access. Define the service they will maintain and what happens when it fails.

For a billing role, ask the candidate to discuss duplicate requests or a failed payment update. Use scenarios that resemble your system without exposing customer data. The aim is to hear how they reason through faults and protect data, rather than how many framework names they recognize.

Full-stack engineer

A full-stack engineer works across the front end and back end. The title does not tell you where that person has the most depth.

State which side will take most of their time. If your immediate need is database work, do not let a strong interface demo settle the decision. Ask for evidence in the part of the stack where the hire must work without close supervision.

Embedded software and robotics roles

Embedded software runs inside a device. Robotics work may include software, controls, or physical design. A general application development interview will leave some of those skills untested.

Explain how the hire will access equipment and reproduce faults. Ask whether a simulator is enough for daily work and who will run tests on physical hardware. Put any required site visits in the role description before discussing a remote arrangement.

Nearshore hiring and LatAm

Nearshore describes hiring across nearby national borders. LatAm is shorthand for Latin America. Neither label defines the person's schedule or employment terms.

Name the country and city when discussing a candidate. Then confirm where they will work and whether they expect to move. Use that location when planning payroll and equipment delivery. Ask the provider how a change of work location would affect the agreement before approving it.

Time zone overlap

Overlap is the time when both sides are working, not simply the distance between their clocks. Agree on a meeting window in named time zones.

Mexico City stays at UTC-6 without daylight saving time. Tijuana changes between UTC-8 and UTC-7 on US daylight saving dates. IANA North America time zone data.

Bogotá stays at UTC-5. Buenos Aires and São Paulo stay at UTC-3. These cities do not observe daylight saving time. IANA South America time zone data.

Recheck the agreed window when US clocks change. Ask separately about on-call hours.

Asynchronous work

Asynchronous work lets a task move forward without everyone being online together. It still needs a clear way to record decisions and request help.

Tell candidates where your team keeps technical decisions and what a useful handoff looks like. During interviews, ask them to explain a change in writing. Review whether another engineer could act on that explanation without arranging a meeting to fill in the missing steps.

Direct hire and recruiting agency

With direct employment, your business employs the person. A recruiting agency helps find candidates, but its precise duties depend on the agreement.

Ask which entity will sign the employment contract and who will run payroll. Also establish when the recruiting engagement ends. Support during interviews, support after an accepted offer, and responsibility for employment are separate questions. Get an answer to each before comparing fees.

Employer of record

An employer of record, or EOR, acts as the legal employer for a worker supporting a client business. Confirm the proposed division of duties in writing.

Ask who finds the candidate and who handles employment documents. Identify the contact for payroll questions and performance concerns. If your manager assigns the work, give that manager a clear route for raising problems. Do not assume the payroll contact also manages engineering delivery.

Staff augmentation and managed projects

Staff augmentation adds people to an existing team. A managed project gives a supplier responsibility for a defined scope of work.

Choose based on what you expect to manage. If your engineering lead assigns tasks and reviews pull requests, describe that arrangement in the agreement. If you want a completed project, define acceptance criteria and how scope changes are approved. Name who makes the final call when a deliverable needs revision.

Independent contractor

An independent contractor supplies services under a contract. Before choosing this model for an ongoing role, have qualified local advisers review the actual working arrangement.

Describe the planned supervision and schedule during that review. Ask how the agreement should handle access to company systems and ownership of work. Resolve these points before the person starts. A label on an invoice should not replace a review of how the engagement will operate.

Role scorecard and seniority

A role scorecard states what success requires and how you will assess it. Seniority describes the judgment and responsibility you expect.

Replace "senior enough to own things" with a specific decision. For example, the engineer might need to plan a service migration and explain a safe rollback. Ask each candidate about comparable work. Record what they decided themselves and where they needed help. Use that evidence when discussing level and pay.

Technical assessment and vetting

A technical assessment tests job skills. Vetting is the wider set of checks completed before a candidate reaches you.

Ask which checks were done and what evidence you can review. Avoid repeating an exercise simply because it belongs to your usual interview sequence. Instead, identify what remains unanswered. Use a bounded task with clear scoring criteria. Tell candidates what tools they may use and how much time you expect them to spend.

Shortlist

A shortlist is a group of candidates selected for closer review. Agree on the minimum requirements before treating a list of names as a completed step.

For each candidate, request a brief explanation of fit and any open questions. Your manager should be able to see why the person merits an interview. If every candidate lacks the same required skill, revisit the search criteria before spending more team time on interviews.

Time to hire and start date

Time to hire measures elapsed time between agreed events. A start date is when the person begins work. Keep both in the hiring plan.

Ask what starts the clock and what stops it. Offer acceptance can leave work to do before the engineer joins. Confirm any notice period and plan access setup. If a project depends on the new hire, base the schedule on an agreed start date and a realistic first assignment.

Base salary and total hiring cost

Base salary is fixed pay. Total hiring cost is the amount your business expects to spend on the arrangement. Compare figures with the same currency and pay period.

Ask for a written quote that separates recurring charges from other costs. Confirm how equipment, paid leave, and changes in pay affect the bill. If the quote bundles costs, request a clear list of what it covers. Record when and why the price can change.

Replacement guarantee

A replacement guarantee is a contractual promise to help replace a hire under stated terms. Read the agreement before using it as a backup staffing plan.

Ask what triggers the process, who starts the search, and what your team must do. Confirm which charges continue during a vacancy. Also plan who will cover urgent work. A search for a replacement and coverage for an unfinished release are separate needs that deserve separate owners.

Intellectual property assignment

Intellectual property assignment addresses ownership of work created during the engagement. Have the agreement reviewed for the entities and countries involved.

Ask how ownership passes from the person creating the work to your business. Include relevant agreements in that review before granting access to proprietary code. Decide how the team will handle outside code and tools as well. Give the engineer clear rules they can follow during normal development.

Onboarding

Onboarding gives the hire the access and context needed to begin useful work. Assign an owner before the start date.

Prepare repository access and explain how changes reach production. Choose a first task with a clear result and someone available to review it. Tell the engineer where to ask questions. At the first check-in, ask what still blocks progress and resolve those issues before adding more work.

Bring the role description, required working hours, and unresolved contract questions to the hiring discussion.

Talk to Opus about your engineering role.

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