Use cases for hiring developers by skill
Teams use DeveloperHiring in four main ways. A startup CTO hires a first senior engineer without a recruiter, a scale-up tests before any screening call, a technical recruiter runs 20 roles on one rubric, and an agency vets developers for clients through the API.
Startup plan, 2 new roles a month
How does a startup CTO hire a first senior engineer without a recruiter?
The problem. A CTO at a 12-person startup needs a senior backend engineer. There is no recruiter. Every screening call takes an hour away from building the product, and the last hire looked great on paper and struggled with real work.
How it works here. The CTO pastes the role: senior Python, FastAPI, AWS, remote in Europe. The skill matrix comes back weighted toward APIs and system design. Sourcing pulls in candidates with public Python work, the role page collects applications, and screening runs without any calls.
The result. Candidates who pass screening take a 75 minute API task and an AI interview on their solution. The CTO opens the shortlist, reads five scorecards, and spends time only with the people who already proved they can do the job.
Related guide: how to hire Python developers.
#1 Candidate 7592
Python, FastAPI, AWS · code, interview and integrity done
#2 Candidate 6473
Python, FastAPI, AWS · code, interview and integrity done
#3 Candidate 3029
Python, FastAPI, AWS · code, interview and integrity done
#4 Candidate 2814
Python, FastAPI, AWS · code, interview and integrity done
#5 Candidate 2238
Python, FastAPI, AWS · code, interview and integrity done
Team plan, 8 new roles a month
How does an engineering manager cut screening calls by testing first?
An engineering manager at a 200-person scale-up runs four open roles. The team does a one-hour technical screen with every candidate the recruiter passes along, and most of those calls end in a no. Engineers lose a day a week to interviews.
Before
- Recruiter screens resumes by keywords.
- Engineers run one-hour calls with everyone.
- Each interviewer asks different questions.
- Decisions depend on who was in the room.
After
- Every candidate takes the same coding test.
- The AI interview covers the first technical round.
- Engineers meet only the top five.
- The live coding room is used for final rounds.
What the team uses
- Custom tasks built from their own codebase style.
- A shared question bank per role.
- Interviewer seats with their own scorecards.
- Scheduling links for the shortlist.
AI interviewer
Your rate limiter stores hits in memory. What happens when the service runs on three instances?
Candidate
Each instance would count separately, so a customer could send three times the limit. I would move the counter to a shared store with an expiry.
AI interviewer
Two of your tests failed on the window reset. Walk me through what you would change.
Rubric
The manager now reads interview transcripts in ten minutes instead of sitting through an hour, and every candidate is compared on the same rubric. Read more about the AI technical interview and the coding assessment.
Scale plan, 25 new roles a month
How does a technical recruiter run 20 roles with consistent scorecards?
A talent lead owns 20 open engineering roles across backend, mobile and data. Hiring managers each want something different, and it is hard to show them proof of skill for every candidate.
With one skill matrix and rubric per role, every candidate gets the same treatment. Hiring managers see the same scorecard format for every role, so they trust the shortlist. The recruiter spends time on candidate experience and offers instead of chasing feedback.
See role guides for mobile app developers and AI developers.
| Role | Stage | Shortlist |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Go engineer | Interview | 5 ready |
| iOS developer | Assess | 3 of 5 |
| Data engineer | Screen | Building |
| Staff React engineer | Hire | 5 ready |
| Android developer | Source | Building |
Scale plan with the Assessments API
How does a tech recruiting agency vet developers through the API?
A recruiting agency places developers with client companies. Clients want proof that each candidate can code, and the agency wants every recruiter to vet the same way.
The agency sends assessments from its own system through the API. Results come back by webhook, including code score, interview rubric and integrity signals. Each client gets a consistent scorecard, and the agency pays a flat plan instead of per-test credits.
{
"event": "assessment.completed",
"candidate_ref": "agency-48213",
"role": "Senior Java developer",
"scores": { "code": 88, "interview": 84 },
"integrity": { "similarity": "low", "ai_code": "low" },
"scorecard_url": "https://developerhiring.com/app/..."
}Which plan fits each use case?
| Use case | Plan | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Startup CTO, first engineers | Startup | 2 new roles, 150 candidates and 40 tests a month |
| Scale-up engineering manager | Team | Live coding room, custom tasks, 10 seats |
| Recruiter with many roles | Scale | 25 new roles, unlimited seats, audit log |
| Agency on the API | Scale | Assessments API, webhooks, ATS export |
Prices and every limit are on the pricing page.
Questions about use cases
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Paste a role description and get a skill matrix, screening questions and a sample coding task. Plans start at $99 per month billed yearly, with no placement fees.