How to Find Software Engineers in 2025
Finding qualified candidates is the hardest challenge for any technical team. Whether you are trying to scale hiring or just find that one expert engineer, traditional methods like job boards often yield low-quality results. Here is how to find good engineers who actually code.
1. Look Where They Work (GitHub, not LinkedIn)
Most recruiters spend their day on LinkedIn. But the best engineering teams know that exceptional talent lives on GitHub.
To find software engineers who can truly deliver, you need to look at their code. LinkedIn tells you what someone says they can do. GitHub shows you what they actually do.
What to look for on a GitHub profile:
- Consistency: Do they commit code regularly, or are there long gaps?
- Contribution Types: Are they opening Pull Requests (collaboration) or just creating issues?
- Languages: Do their recent projects match your tech stack?
2. Searching for "Hidden" Talent
To find qualified candidates who aren't being bombarded by recruiters, you need to get creative with your search talent strategies. Many expert engineers don't have updated LinkedIn profiles, but they are pushing code every day.
Use specific search queries to find users contributing to repositories related to your industry. For example, if you are a fintech company, look for contributors to open-source financial libraries.
3. How to Scale Hiring
Building a technical team requires a pipeline. Relying on one-off referrals isn't enough to scale. To build a better hiring machine:
- Automate Sourcing: Use tools that aggregate candidate data.
- Filter Ruthlessly: Don't interview candidates who haven't written code in 6 months.
- Reach Out Personally: Reference a specific project they worked on. "I saw your commit to React regarding hooks" works better than "I have a great opportunity".
Building a Technical Team
When building a technical team, you are not just hiring individuals; you are building a system. Finding good engineers is about balancing seniority, skills, and culture.
For Startups
Focus on generalists with high commit velocity. You need builders who can iterate fast.
For Enterprise
Focus on specialists with deep expertise in your specific stack (e.g., Kubernetes, Rust).
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4. Building Diverse Engineering Teams
Diversity isn't just a buzzword; it's a competitive advantage. When you search for talent based on code quality and contribution activity rather than pedigree or university name, you naturally broaden your pool.
Focus on the work. Activity-based sourcing helps reduce bias and lets you find good engineers from non-traditional backgrounds.
Conclusion
Better hiring starts with better data. Stop relying on resumes and start looking at contributions. The best engineering teams are built by finding people who love to build.