How to Hire a Backend Engineer for Your Startup
Build the systems that scale. before you need to scale.
What Backend Engineers Do at Startups
Backend engineers own the systems that run behind the product: APIs, databases, queues, and infrastructure.
At a startup, the backend engineer is often also the infrastructure engineer, data engineer, and DevOps engineer. They need to be comfortable in multiple domains.
The best startup backend engineers are pragmatic. they pick boring technology that works, not exciting technology that breaks.
- Own APIs, databases, and infrastructure
- Must be comfortable across multiple domains
- Pragmatic over novel technology choices
Stack Preferences by Use Case
High-performance APIs Go, Rust :Data-heavy applications Python, Java :Startup default (versatile) Node.js, Python :Enterprise/compliance Java, .NET:
For most Series A startups, a senior Node.js or Python engineer with PostgreSQL and AWS experience covers 90% of what you need.
LATAM Salary Benchmarks
Brazil $4,000–$7,000/month for senior engineers :Colombia $3,500–$6,500/month for senior engineers :Argentina $3,000–$6,000/month for senior engineers :Mexico $3,500–$6,000/month for senior engineers:
All amounts in USD. These rates include contractor overhead. no additional employer taxes or benefits.