How to Write an Engineering Brief That Gets You Great Candidates
Forget the 3-page job description. Here's the 5-field brief that gets you the right engineers in 72 hours.
Why Job Descriptions Fail Startups
Traditional job descriptions are written for HR compliance, not for matching. They describe responsibilities in corporate language, bury the actual technical requirements, and say nothing about what makes your company unique to work for.
Engineers read five of these a day and can't differentiate between them. You end up with applicants who shotgunned their resume at every opening.
The 5-Field Engineering Brief
Tech stack What does your production environment actually run? React/Next.js + Python FastAPI on AWS, or Go + Postgres on GCP. Be specific. this eliminates mismatches before a single email is sent.:
Seniority Not just "senior". what does senior mean to you? Someone who can architect a system independently, or someone who can lead a team of three?:
Timezone US-compatible (EST/PST overlap)? Or fully async? This determines the pool.:
Monthly budget The range. Engineers have rates. Knowing your range upfront saves everyone time.:
What you're building Three sentences. What problem, who for, and what stage you're at. This is what engineers actually use to decide if they're interested.:
- Stack: specific, not aspirational
- Seniority: define independently or lead
- Budget: give a real range
- Context: 3 sentences on the problem
What Not to Include
Generic requirements like "strong communication skills" or "team player". these are assumed and waste space.
10-year experience requirements for 5-year-old technologies. well-documented red flag for senior engineers.
Equity percentages without context. say "meaningful equity at seed stage" and let the conversation happen.
Culture buzzwords. "fast-paced," "startup environment," "wear many hats." Every startup says this. None of them say what makes working there specifically good.
BeGlobal's Brief Template
When you submit a brief at BeGlobal, we ask for exactly five things:
1. What role and seniority level? 2. What's your tech stack? 3. What's your monthly budget range? 4. What timezone coverage do you need? 5. What are you building in 2–3 sentences?
That's it. We handle the rest. Most founders fill this in 4–7 minutes.
- No job description required
- 5 fields, 5 minutes
- 48h shortlist from this brief