GLOBAL RECRUITING FOR STARTUPS & AI COMPANIES
Hire Developers & Staff for AI Startups
Developers, operators and executive support for startups and AI companies, recruited for the seat and the stage you’re at, not the cheapest country.
Elayne · 5 hires, from Executive Assistant to Developer · About $578K a year saved vs. New York · Read the full story →
1,100+Placements made
40+Countries we recruit from
40+Roles we fill
Startup & AI Results
Small Teams. Senior Output.
$250K
Saved per year on developers
Charlie AI
Charlie AI has hired more than a dozen mid-level and senior developers through HireUA over 4 years, at about $3,500 a month each.
$160K–$200K
Saved per year across 2 roles
Alex’s Team
Alex’s 11–20 person team hired a Client Success Manager and a WordPress Developer through HireUA.
2 roles
Across 2 businesses
Axon Growth & Maility
David Jacob hired an Inbox Manager and a junior front-end developer for Maility to take technical work off the CTO.
The Problem
You Need Senior People Before You Can Afford Them.
The roadmap is full. The runway isn’t. Every hire has to ship, and the first few set the culture for everyone after.
Charlie AI put US senior developers at $10K–$15K a month, minimum. Freelancers cost less, but your roadmap competes with their other clients.
Generic offshore providers send applicants. Elayne had tried several before HireUA. The problem was never volume. It was getting people at the caliber a startup needs, who can operate on their own.
You don’t need cheaper labor. You need people who own the work.
The right person, in the right seat, at the right cost. That’s what we recruit for.
Roles We Fill
Hire the Seats a Startup Actually Needs
Engineering
Developer
$4,000–$5,000
per month, full-time (full-stack)
Full-stack, front-end, back-end and AI engineers who ship.
See the role →
Operations
Operations Manager
$2,500–$3,500
per month, full-time
Owns processes, vendors and the work that falls between teams.
See the role →
Admin
Executive Assistant
$1,500–$3,500
per month, full-time
Inbox, calendar, investors and follow-ups, handled.
See the role →
Customer
Client Success Manager
$2,500–$3,000
per month, full-time
Onboarding, retention and renewals for your first customers.
See the guide →
Sales
Sales Development Rep
From $1,000
per month + commission
Outbound that books demos while you build.
See the role →
Design
Graphic Designer
$2,000–$3,000
per month, full-time
Brand, product marketing and decks. Elayne hired a Motion Designer and an Illustrator.
See the role →
Web
WordPress Developer
$3,000–$4,000
per month, full-time
Marketing site, docs and landing pages that keep up with the product.
See the role →
Outbound
Inbox Manager
Comparable to Appointment Setter
$1,500–$2,000 + commission
Turns outbound replies into booked calls.
See the role →
$578K
a year saved vs. New York hiring
Elayne, 5 hires and counting
12+
developers hired over 4 years
Charlie AI
$3,500
average monthly pay per mid–senior developer
Charlie AI
Why HireUA
Hires, Not Headcount.
01
Built for Ownership
We screen for people who can operate on their own. Elayne’s words: “then they can operate on their own.”
02
Fast When It Matters
Qualified candidates within 5 days of kickoff. Charlie AI: “momentum and speed is sometimes the most important factor in recruiting.”
03
Easy to Adjust
When Charlie AI needed to swap someone out or add talent, it was handled “without drama.”
What It Costs
What Does a Startup Hire Cost?
Typical full-time monthly pay for the person you hire, from our 2026 Pricing Guide. That’s their pay, not HireUA’s fee.
| Role | Monthly pay | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Full-Stack Developer | $4,000 to $5,000 | Developer guide → |
| AI Engineer | $4,500 to $6,000 | Developer guide → |
| Front-End Developer | $3,000 to $4,000 | Developer guide → |
| Operations Manager | $2,500 to $3,500 | Operations Manager guide → |
| Executive Assistant | $1,500 to $3,500 | Executive Assistant guide → |
Get the 2026 hiring guide
Roles, typical pay ranges and the best regions to hire from, all in one free PDF.
Where We Recruit
The Right Role. The Right Market.
HireUA recruits talent from 40+ countries. We don’t sell a country. We start with the role and search the market that fits it.
01
Eastern Europe
Our Pricing Guide’s best region for every developer type, including AI engineers. We’ve placed people from 24 countries in the region.
02
Latin America
We’ve placed people from 14 Latin American countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina. Strong US time-zone overlap for client-facing, creative and sales roles.
03
The Philippines
Deep remote-work experience. Strong value for support, admin and repeatable production work where reliability and consistency matter.
04
South Africa
Excellent English and strong customer-facing talent, with natural overlap into the European workday and the US East Coast morning.
05
Middle East
Specialists and cross-functional talent, including Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey, when the role calls for it.
There’s no best country to hire from. There’s a best market for the job: experience, communication, working hours and pay decide where we search.
Process
From Open Seat to Qualified Candidates
01
Tell Us About the Seat
What the seat owns, the tools you run, the hours you need and how you’ll measure it. Not sure which role? We’ll help you figure it out.
02
We Define the Search
We write the requirements from the actual work, then choose the talent markets that fit the role.
03
Meet Qualified Candidates
We source and screen candidates and present qualified professionals within 5 days of kickoff.
04
Choose Your Hire
You interview the finalists and decide who joins your team. Total hiring time depends on how fast you interview and decide.
More Client Stories
Startups, SaaS and Tech Teams.
Seth
VP of Operations · Hired a developer
“The certainty and speed that HireUA helped us achieve with the recommended developer has been a night-and-day difference.”
Brandon Foy
Designer
“I look like a huge eight-figure construction company when it’s really just me and her.”
Connor
HubSpot Specialist
Keeps about $50 of every billable hour
Jordan Nelson
First hire ever
15 hours saved per week
Brad Smith
Project Manager
“Far faster than I’ve ever gotten even one candidate from a US side — let alone five.”
“Used HireUA to hire my first employees for my company and they were absolutely fantastic. Helped pave the way for how I operate the business now. If you’re looking for extremely talented overseas employees, dont hesitate to reach of to HireUA. They make the process extremely simple and easy. They literally handle everything from sourcing, interview screening, managing, etc”
Adam Hamdan
Content team
“Pretty much I just go to you guys for every, like, managerial position in SEO.”
Orr Davis
Performance Marketing Manager
“Now I have someone I can rely on to do the execution piece when it comes to running our campaigns.”
Bert Fernandez
2 Sales VAs
“We went from reports taking 8 to 10 hours a week to now — she’s able to click it out with her fingers, send out a report in 5 to 10 minutes per client.”
Ready when you are
Meet vetted startup hires in 5 days.
Book a call, tell us the role and the stage, and we’ll show you vetted candidates within 5 days of kickoff.
Vetted candidates · Monthly Hire or Direct Hire
Questions
Startup & AI Hiring FAQs
Do you recruit for startups and AI companies?
Yes. Charlie AI has hired more than a dozen developers through HireUA over 4 years, and Elayne has made 5 hires across engineering, operations and design.
Can you hire AI engineers?
Yes. AI Engineers typically earn $4,500–$6,000 a month full-time in our 2026 Pricing Guide, and Eastern Europe is the Guide’s best region for the role.
What’s the difference between this page and your SaaS page?
This page is for early-stage teams hiring across functions. If you run an established SaaS business, see our SaaS & AI page.
Which role should a startup hire first?
Usually the seat that’s eating the founder’s week. For technical founders, that’s often an Executive Assistant or Operations Manager. For non-technical founders, a Developer. We help you decide on the first call.
How quickly can I interview candidates?
Qualified candidates are presented within 5 days of kickoff. Total time to hire depends on how quickly you interview and decide.
How does HireUA charge?
Monthly Hire includes HireUA administering and paying the hire. Direct Hire costs 15% of annual salary, subject to a $3,000 minimum, and you employ the person directly.
How much can I save compared with hiring locally?
Clients save up to 82% compared with hiring locally. The exact number depends on the role, the seniority and the market we recruit from.
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The Right Person. The Right Seat. The Right Cost.
Tell us which seat is slowing the roadmap down. We’ll recruit qualified candidates from the market that fits the role.