Two of Us Tech Team
Software Consultancy
The True Cost of a Senior Engineer
When companies calculate the cost of an in-house engineer, they typically start and stop at salary. But the fully-loaded cost includes employer payroll taxes, health insurance, equity compensation, recruiting fees, onboarding, tools and software licenses, office space, and the management overhead of performance reviews and career development. In the US, the true cost of a senior engineer can be 1.5 to 2 times their base salary.
Recruiting Is Expensive and Slow
The average time to hire a senior software engineer in competitive markets is three to four months. During that time, your existing team carries the load, often leading to burnout and slower delivery. Add in recruiter fees of 15 to 25 percent of first-year salary for specialized roles, and a single hire can cost tens of thousands of dollars before the engineer ships a single line of code.
The Outsourcing Equation
Outsourcing or staff augmentation trades some level of control for predictable costs, speed to start, and access to a broader talent pool. A reputable software consultancy pre-vets engineers, handles employment logistics, and can often have someone productive within two to three weeks. The per-hour or per-month rate may look higher than a salary equivalent, but when you factor in the hidden costs of full-time employment, the math often favors outsourcing for project-based or capacity-surge work.
When In-House Makes Sense
None of this means you should outsource everything. Core product engineers who own your most critical systems, carry institutional knowledge, and drive technical strategy are worth the investment of full-time employment. The smart approach is a hybrid: a lean core team of full-time engineers augmented by a trusted consultancy for specialized skills, surge capacity, and exploratory projects.