Market data, published
Check the market before you talk to anyone.
These are the bands we work in, in the open, because a staffing conversation that starts with "what does this cost?" should not start with a number you have never seen before. The same live market data is attached to your requirement the moment you capture it.
Contractor rate bands, US market, USD hourly
Contractor-first: most work is engaged as a 1099 or C2C engagement. W-2 and direct placement are available and quoted separately.
| Role family | Typical band | What sits in this band |
|---|---|---|
| Software engineer — mid | $60 – $85 | Product and application work across the common stacks. |
| Software engineer — senior | $85 – $125 | The band most net-new platform roles land in. |
| Staff / principal engineer | $125 – $175 | Scoped ownership, technical direction, no people management. |
| Platform / DevOps | $90 – $135 | Infrastructure, CI/CD, and the reliability work nobody signs up for. |
| Data engineer | $95 – $140 | Pipelines, warehouses and the modelling behind them. |
| Security engineer | $105 – $150 | AppSec, cloud security and compliance engineering. |
| QA / test automation | $60 – $90 | Automation-first, embedded with the delivery team. |
| Engineering lead — fractional | $130 – $185 | Part-time leadership for the gap between two permanent hires. |
These are benchmarks, not a quote. A band is a range we observe across real engagements, not a price we are charging you. Your requirement gets a band read from live market data for its stack, seniority and location — which is why it can be tighter than a table like this one.
The questions we would rather answer first
If you have one of these, ask it before you fill in a form. The answer should not be a surprise at the end of a process.
- Is this what I will be quoted?
- No. These are the bands we see in the market for this kind of work. The band on your specific requirement is read live from market data, and you approve it before anyone is approached.
- Why are the rates higher than a job board?
- A job board rate is the employer’s budget. These are the rates a contractor actually accepts — they include the risk of being without work between engagements, which is why contractors price above salary-equivalent.
- How does direct placement differ?
- Direct placement is a fee, not an hourly rate. We quote it as a percentage of first-year salary once the candidate starts, and we stay accountable through the guarantee period.
- Do you charge for the requirement itself?
- No. Capturing your requirement and generating the artifacts is free, and there is nothing to pay until a candidate is placed or engaged.
One requirement, then a market-complete file
Capture the role once and the artifacts, the approval chain and the market view come out of the same answer set. Nothing is published until you approve it.
Capture a requirement