Hired helps you recruit engineers. RCB Software builds the application.
Hired is a recruiting platform for full-time engineering hires. RCB Software is a fixed-price development partner for applications that need to be built. These serve different needs — but founders often confuse the two before understanding the trade-offs.
Deciding whether to hire a full-time engineer vs. engage a fixed-price development partner to build an application
Hired is a recruiting platform — job seekers and companies looking for full-time engineering hires. It's not a freelance marketplace; it's a way to find software engineers who want a salaried position.
The full-time hire decision for a startup application build:
Full-time hire economics:
- Junior engineer: $80k-$120k salary + benefits + equity
- Mid-level engineer: $120k-$160k + benefits + equity
- Senior engineer: $150k-$220k + benefits + equity
- Time to hire: 2-4 months
- Time to onboard and productive: add 1-3 months
- Fully loaded cost (salary + benefits + equipment): 1.4-1.6x salary
A mid-level engineer costs $170k-$250k annually, fully loaded. Before they've shipped a line of code on your application.
When to hire full-time:
- You need ongoing product development for multiple years
- The engineering work is core to the business and continuous
- You're at the stage where building an engineering team makes sense (typically post-seed, with product-market fit)
When project-based development makes more sense:
- You need to build V1 or an MVP to validate
- The application has a defined initial scope
- You want to defer the overhead of full-time headcount until the business case is proven
- Time-to-market is a competitive priority
Clear framework for when recruiting a full-time engineer is the right call vs. when project-based development delivers faster, cheaper results
The V1 or MVP that a full-time hire would spend their first 6-12 months building — delivered in 8-12 weeks for a fraction of the annual salary cost.
One honest number to start.
Fixed-scope, fixed-price. The number below is the starting point — final scope is built from your brief.
Clear framework for when recruiting a full-time engineer is the right call vs. when project-based development delivers faster, cheaper results
Three steps, every time.
The same repeatable engagement on every project. No surprises, no mystery, no billable ambiguity.
Brief & discovery.
We send you questions, then get on a call. Output: a written scope with every step, feature, and integration listed.
Build & ship.
Fixed schedule, weekly reviews. No scope creep unless you change the scope — and if you do, we reprice it transparently.
Warranty & retainer.
30-day warranty on every launch. Most clients stay on a monthly retainer for ongoing features and maintenance.
Why Fixed-Price Matters Here
A full-time hire is uncapped cost with uncapped time. Fixed-price development sets the budget and the timeline upfront.
Questions, answered.
Common pattern: build the MVP with RCB Software, validate with users, raise funding, then hire an engineering team to build on the foundation. The code delivered is production-grade and extensible — not a throwaway prototype.
Full application: $25k-$45k. Full-time mid-level engineer: $160k-$200k/year fully loaded. For the initial build, the math is clear.
Tell Ryel about your project.
Describe what you’re building and what outcome you need. You’ll have a written, fixed-price scope within the week.