How to Hire Your First Engineers

Your first engineers set the bar

The first few engineers you hire don’t just write your early code. They define the standard everyone after them is measured against, and they shape the culture of how your team builds. Get them right and hiring compounds in your favour. Get them wrong and you spend the next year unwinding it.

Having sat on both sides of the table, as a software developer and now hiring engineers for a living, here’s the advice we give founders most often.

Hire for trajectory, not just the checklist

Early on, you need people who can operate without scaffolding: own ambiguous problems, ship, and improve the system around them. A pristine tech-stack match matters far less than judgement, ownership and the ability to learn quickly. Screen for how someone thinks, not just what they’ve used.

Run a fast, respectful process

The strongest engineers are rarely on the market for long. A process that drags, or that treats candidates as interchangeable, loses them, usually to a competitor who moved faster. Keep loops short, give feedback quickly, and make sure every candidate hears back from a real person.

Screen technically, properly

A CV and a chat won’t tell you whether someone can do the job. A genuine technical screen, ideally by someone who has done the work, saves enormous downstream cost. (It’s why we screen every candidate ourselves before they reach a client.)

Sell, don’t just assess

Interviews run both ways. Your first engineers are taking a bet on you. Be clear about the mission, the problems, the ownership on offer and the realities of stage. The best candidates are choosing between options. Give them a reason to choose you.

Need a hand?

Whether you’re making your first hire or your fiftieth, we can help you run it well. Explore how we work or talk to us.