Rare nearshore developers long-term

We’ll build & launch your own turnkey nearshore development center from scratch and provide: 

  • Valley-grade team of 20+ senior developers in 3 months 
  • Up to 40% cost savings compared to traditional outsourcers 
  • Employer of Record service – our compliant employment solution 
  • Zero buy-out cost 
  • No intermediary in team management

    Your own nearshore software team in a month

    We also offer a custom-built solution for your needs — your own software R&D center


    Alcor is Disrupting Traditional Staffing Models

    Valley Talent for 40% less costs
    No Buy-Out insource for free
    All-In-One no intermediary

    More Than Just Hiring Nearshore

    Silicon Valley-Like Talent

    Hire top 10% of local software developers

    2.5 years

    Average tenure of developers

    Zero Launch Cost & Risk

    No setup fees, no legal entity needed, liability shield

    Full Integration

    Your team, your culture, your practices

    Exceptional dedication

    It’s literally your own team

    Zero Buyout Cost

    Insource your team to your entity at no cost at any time

    Key Things About Hiring Nearshore

    Why big tech nearshore software development
    Top IT nearshoring destinations
    Developers’ shortage in the US market
    Nearshore tech talent pool
    Nearshore developers’ salaries worldwide
    Challenges of hiring developers nearshore
    How to choose a nearshore development partner
    What is a nearshore development center?

    Why big tech nearshore software development

    The appeal behind nearshore software services lies in 2 main drivers that propel tech companies forward: huge talent pools and slashed costs. Thus, technology giants tap into million-sized pools with coders of diverse tech stacks. That, in turn, helps them build products faster and scale while reducing costs due to a stark contrast between software engineers’ salaries from the US and other countries. For instance, if you hire nearshore developers, you save from 30% to 70%: just look for nearshore developers for hire outside the US.

    Top IT nearshoring destinations

    • Mexico  

    Mexico is one of the most popular destinations for nearshore software engineering. The country’s talent pool amounts over 700,000 software developers who excel in various technologies and programming languages, including JavaScript, Python, SQL, C#, React.js, and Angular. Mexico’s IT infrastructure is flourishing, with 38 IT clusters, over 400 service companies, and more than 450 startups spread across three major tech hubs: Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara, often referred to as the Silicon Valley of Latin America.

    • Argentina  

    The Argentinian tech scene is home to over 115,000 tech talents who stand out in the region for their most robust English command. Local tech wizards shine in Python, Cloud APIs, TensorFlow, SQL, and rank among South America’s best mobile developers and data analysts. Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Mendoza are focal points for Argentina’s tech scene, boasting 11 unicorns and over 17 IT clusters.

    • Colombia  

    Colombia is home to a thriving tech ecosystem, boasting a talent pool of over 150,000 software developers. Annually, it adds around 13,000 tech graduates to its workforce. Colombian software engineers are highly skilled in programming, specializing in Java, Python, C#, SQL, and Ruby. The country’s ICT market is vibrant, with over 1,300 startups spanning 31 distinct sectors. Colombia hosts three dynamic tech hubs located in Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali.

    • Chile  

    Chile boasts a talent pool of 61,000 software developers, with 5,000 ICT graduates joining the workforce each year. IT experts in Chile rank #1 in Latin America for digital skills and showcase strong expertise in Java, Python, and PHP, as well as proficiency in data analytics, mobile development, and statistical programming. Around 303 startups and 122 software and data sectors call Chile its home. The country’s tech landscape also includes three active tech hotspots: Santiago, Valparaíso, and Concepción. 

    Developers’ shortage in the US market

    Tech demand in the US remains strong: there are currently 4.18 million US developers working as IT specialists, while 121,000 of IT jobs remain unfilled. As of March 2024, there were 438,000 active tech job postings, with 41% accounting for occupations that require AI skills.  

    Overall, the US labor market is still tight. The struggle is ongoing: to find suitable candidates for open positions. Plus, implications of recent layoffs and hiring freezes are still taking their toll.  

    That’s why, when seeking rare tech talents, companies turn to nearshore software development. In Latin America, tech businesses hire nearshore developers out of an abundant 2M pool. Let’s take a closer look at trending sectors: AI, Blockchain, Cloud, and Machine Learning.

    Nearshore tech talent pool

    AI 

    With the demand for AI developers as high as never before, countries in Latin America provide a burgeoning source of talent: 

    • Mexico and Argentina lead with 1,500 AI developers each. 
    • Colombia offers 1,200 AI developers. 
    • Chile has around 700 AI engineers in its talent pool.  

    Blockchain 

    Latin American Blockchain software engineers are also present: 

    • Argentina leads the way with 1,100 engineers.  
    • Mexico and Colombia showcase a presence of 658 and 619 Blockchain developers respectively. 
    • Meanwhile, Chile contributes 366 Blockchain programmers. 

    Cloud 

    The numbers of Cloud professionals give a considerable supply for the US tech demand: 

    • Mexico comes first with 5,700 Cloud software engineers on the labor market.  
    • Colombia and Argentina follow suit with their 3,900 and 3,200 Cloud developers.  
    • Chile adds up to the overall pool around 2,000 Cloud programmers. 

    Machine Learning 

    As for Machine Learning, there’s a whole oasis waiting for the businesses parched in the US tech desert:  

    • Colombia sets a high bar with 1,900 tech experts in machine learning.  
    • Mexico comes second with 1,600 ML coders, while Argentina contributes with 1,300 programmers.
    • Chile boasts a pool of ca. 1,000 ML engineers.

    Nearshore developers’ salaries worldwide

    What about the salary rates of nearshore software developers? Here is what Senior engineers with 5+ years of experience earn in different domains:

    AI 

    • Artificial intelligence engineers in Mexico have some of the highest wages in the region, earning $5,200 a month.  
    • Similarly, Chile offers the same remuneration for its AI engineers, also at $5,200 monthly. 
    • Senior AI developers in Colombia and Argentina earn around $5,000 a month.

    Blockchain 

    • Mexico offers the most generous wages for blockchain developers at $5,700 a month.
    • Colombia follows with $5,200 monthly. 
    • Chilean blockchain developers earn around $5,100 a month, while their colleagues in Argentina earn $5,000. 

    Cloud 

    • Both Mexico and Argentina provide their cloud developers with $5,700 a month.  
    • Chilean developers, in turn, charge around $5,400 monthly for their services.
    • Colombia has the lowest wages among these countries, with a monthly salary rate of $4,500. 

    Machine Learning 

    • Senior ML engineers from Mexico and Colombia earn approximately $5,000 a month. 
    • The Chilean IT market offers its ML talents the same salary rate of $5,000 monthly. 
    • Argentinian machine learning engineers charge around $4,700 a month.

    Challenges of hiring developers nearshore

    There are several challenges to consider when entering the realm of nearshoring: 

    • Legal aspects

    Before you hire nearshore software developers, you should dive into the labor law of the chosen location to learn about ways to legally hire local programmers and eventually do it in accordance with the law.

    Option 1: do all of it by yourself from scratch and spend months (if not years) to get things up and running. And you’ll still make many mistakes along the way if you have no expertise in the local market.

    Option 2: choose a reliable local vendor that offers a better solution without setting up your legal entity.  

    • Operational functions

    After hiring developers, the journey is far from over. IT companies then face a multitude of operational tasks: onboarding and offboarding (if needed) employees, managing payroll, handling taxes, submitting reports to tax authorities, arranging benefits, and more. Just like with legal processes, mistakes with payroll and tax management can be costly. Therefore, companies often delegate these back-office operations to a local provider who knows all the ins and outs and can handle the paperwork efficiently.

    • Provider choice

    Nearshore custom software development experience can go sour if your provider makes a mistake like offering unsuitable candidates that waste your time, delaying the discussed deadlines or failing to provide essential services, thereby making you hire a million other vendors. To avoid such pitfalls, your choice of partner for hiring software engineers from Latin America must be rock-solid. They need to be not just reliable and trustworthy but armed with top-notch tech and legal expertise. 

    How to choose a nearshore development partner

    When looking for a perfect partner to recruit nearshore remote developers, consider their tech and market experience, track record, and guarantees. More details below:

    • Experience in hiring tech developers is a must. It allows you to save time and ensure you’ll get candidates with the right tech stack. Additionally, consider the hiring model proposed: does it meet your needs as a tech business? 
    • Track record speaks volumes of provider’s performance, communication, and client approach. To get the bigger picture, read their cases and reviews on Clutch and other trusted platforms.  
    • Guarantees should be as clear as day: how fast can your potential partner hire nearshore devs, how much that costs, any buyout fees to take into account, and what they promise if they fail to meet the deadline. 

    What is a nearshore development center?

    A nearshore software development center is your dedicated remote office with a team of software engineers. Usually, tech product companies establish such centers in foreign locations with an abundance of talent and lower labor costs. Imagine it as an extended piece of your in-house puzzle: a reliable nearshore software development company that offers software development center solutions helps you with attracting, hiring, and employing Senior, Lead, and C-level developers, dealing with payroll, accounting, and taxes, finding and leasing office space, procuring tech equipment, and providing benefits for your team. All this is possible without setting up your legal entity abroad — ask Sift, Ledger, ThredUp, and other companies!

    In comparison with nearshore software outsourcing, where you completely delegate your product development to a third-party team and have no direct control over it, your own nearshore development center presupposes the hiring and retaining of the right talent without any buy-out fees, forgetting about operational functions that fall on your partner’s shoulders, and, thus, scaling in a chosen location faster.

    Your own nearshore development team is better than third-party

    Alcor is an all-in-one place to establish and run a turnkey software R&D center:

    • Employer of Record support — no need to set up your legal entity
    • From 0 to 100 software developers in one key talent pool
    • Establish your corporate culture with your own team. No intermediary
    • No buy-out or other hidden fees
    Book a call

    Nearshore Software Development vs Own R&D Center

    Nearshore software development

    1. Cloudy pricing With outsourcers, the markup for your vendor’s service might exceed a developer’s salary by 50%.
    2. Temporary fix Nearshore development teams are loyal as long as the contract lasts and won’t go teh extra mile to ensure your product’s long-term success.
    3. Your provider comes first An external %tech% development team will report only to your vedor, treating you as the “secondary” employer.
    4. IP rights transfer complexities When you engage a nearshore development service company, the IP rights of your product initially belong to the outsourcing team.
    5. Barrier to investment attraction Engaging with a nearshore development partner means that you delegate your core competencies to developers who will leave your team for good. Not exactly the investor’s dream.

    Own R&D Center

    1. Maximized cost savings Your own software R&D team costs 40% less than an outsourced team. Because you get no buy-out fees & markups.
    2. Long-term commitment Product development and a sense of ownership attract professional developers as bees to honey. Hence, more loyalty.
    3. Direct control over development You get your team of nearshore developers for ideation, innovation, and growth—without intermediaries.
    4. Intellectual property under control With direct agreements, you fully own your product and its source code, keeping unique engineering expertise in-house.
    5. Easy investment attraction After establishing your own R&D center, you will boost your internal software development capabilities and become more attractive to investors.

    Our Customers

    Alcor is a reliable partner that meets our hiring needs. We finally hired experienced software engineers in Eastern Europe with strong tech skills and business acumen. Account Managers are awesome!

    Andrii Akselrod CTO People.ai

    With Alcor’s all-in-one solution, we got a software R&D office with 15 senior PHP devs and a compliant operational coverage. I really appreciated their transparent pricing structure and deep expertise.

    Boris Glants CTO Tonic Health

    We interviewed a lot of EoR platforms and companies, but Alcor was the only one that provides a combo package of EoR and Recruting offerings. Alcor helped us build a full stack team in 1.5 month.

    Dmitrii Iermiichuk Head of Engineering Gotransverse

    We wanted to switch from our outsourcing provider, and Alcor has become really game-changing for us. Within a mere 6 months, we got a fully-fledged team of 30 engineers in our own R&D office.

    Elena Leonova Director of Product Management BigСommerce

    Alcor’s R&D solution eclipses full-cycle recruitment, EOR service, and operational support for our offshore team. Their ‘all-in-one place’ approach is far more cost-effective than I could’ve imagined.

    Farhad Shamshirzan
    Farhad Shamshirzan Director of Software Engineering Certent

    I value their commitment to going the extra mile. We evolved from an outstaff project into an independent company, and Alcor’s support was crucial. They hired and ondoarded 15+ professionals for us.

    Grigoriy Didorenko Research and Development Director BIScience

    Thanks to Alcor, we hired four engineers and a designer that strengthened our team. Beside stellar recruitment, Alcor flawlessly handled our payroll. Their approach was seamless and swift.

    Kirill Latish Head of Engineering & Communications Velory

    Alcor closed our 4 QA positions in a month and more than doubled the team in a year! We chose Alcor because of their communication style, cost, scope of services, and ideas to help us be successful.

    Vitalii Belelia Production Management & App Support Manager Ledger

    FAQ

    1) Is it cheaper to hire developers nearshore? 

    Yes, and with Alcor, you can save from 30% to 70%, compared to nearshore software development services providers, while scaling your company at the same time. Here’s what makes it possible: the difference in salaries & taxes and Alcor’s comprehensive all-in-one-place software R&D center solution without buy-out fees.

    In the US, a senior software developer earns up to $180,000 a year, while software engineering experts from Latin America make, on average, $42,500. The regional taxation policies also offer lower tax rates. Lastly, Alcor’s approach goes beyond finding nearshore developers. We get you a team that’s yours from day one — cut costs by not paying buy-out fees! 

    2) Does Alcor have any guarantees for hiring nearshore developers? 

    Sure, even better: we have guarantees backed up by our performance results. We promise to hire 5 nearshore remote developers within a month, over 20 within 3 months, and up to 100 in a year. All that comes with the guarantee to hire from 0 to 100 programmers in a year and a 3-month warranty for free candidate substitution. Worried we’d miss the deadlines? We hire free of charge in that case!

    3) How fast can Alcor hire nearshore software developers?  

    We pride ourselves on expeditious recruitment — stellar quality within tight timeframes. Alcor’s average time to close a vacancy when hiring a developer is 2-6 weeks. In just 1 day of our cooperation, you’ll get blind CVS. In the next 5 days, we’ll start sending you CVs of pre-vetted candidates whom you’d want to invite for an interview right away.  

    4) Can you headhunt C-level management? 

    That’s an ace up our sleeve. We’ve amassed 8 years of experience in the industry and have access to an internal network of hundreds of thousands of candidates! That’s why, C-level management positions, such as CTO, CIO, CMO, CFO, and others, come to our recruiters as easy as pie. Our clients attest to it: we hired the Head of R&D for Sift, an online fraud detection application development firm, from the second CV. Other successful cases include the Director of Engineering for Dotmatics and the Deployment Lead for Ledger.

    5) What about payroll, accounting, and office lease in nearshore regions? 

    If you hire nearshore software developers with Alcor, there’s no need to establish your legal entity in a target location. With our comprehensive EoR support, we take care of all the nuts and bolts for your nearshore software development team.

    It includes the employment of software engineers, monthly payroll management, tax payments, compliance with all local laws, and even more. With our turnkey solution, you can rest assured – we guarantee 100% compliance while handling all the paperwork. 

    Finally, if you want to pump it up, opt for our R&D services with full operational support, office lease, and equipment procurement. 

    6) What else does Alcor’s software R&D solution include? 

    Apart from full-cycle IT recruitment of nearshore software engineers and EoR support, we offer a wider range of additional services, including IT infrastructure setup, procurement management, employer branding, and other back-office assistance. Alcor is like your personal team builder: you choose the services to build your software R&D center from 0 to 100 people in 12 months.

    7) How hiring nearshore developers with Alcor can benefit you? 

    If you are looking for nearshore software developers for hire, Alcor is here to help you headhunt seasoned Senior/Lead devs. With access to over 1,000,000 software engineers in Latin America and Eastern Europe and our rigorous pre-screening, you’ll get only highly skilled developers. At Alcor, speed meets quality as 98,6% of our candidates successfully pass the probation period and receive positive feedback from our clients! Ready to try it out yourself?

    8) What does the hiring process with Alcor look like? 

    With 40 experienced IT headhunters, hiring nearshore developers with Alcor is smooth sailing. Here’s how the recruitment process works: we start by sending out blind CVs of potential candidates.

    After this, we proceed with a kick-off call, where we provide info on requested talent availability and salary rates in target locations.

    Then, we craft job ads that truly stand out to attract your dream talents. It takes us only 5 business days to send the first CVs!

    After that, candidates go through the initial HR interview, followed by a technical assessment, and then a final interview to pinpoint the perfect addition to your team.

    Lastly, we deliver only the top candidates for your final approval and then start preparations for the smooth onboarding process. Get ready to welcome your new star to your team!