How to Hire a Node.js Developer in Ukraine [A Comprehensive Guide]

We are aware of how important it is for you to have the right people on your team. Your future dedicated Node.js developers for hire should not only be skilled professionals but also like-minded, diligent, responsible and open-minded people, right? As an IT service provider, we're also striving to find a trusted partner with whom we could bring complex cutting-edge ideas to life using our full range of skills and knowledge.

If the advantages of hiring Node.js developers in Ukraine in 2021 are obvious for you and therefore you want to get the right specialists, you've come to the right place. We will help you to empower your in-house team with experienced Node.js engineers working remotely.

How to Hire Node.js Engineers: Expertise and Right Time to Get Them Hired

To begin with, Node.js is a handy application development framework that provides server-side code creation and execution.

Specifics of Node.js:

• Node.js is a cross-platform, open-source JavaScript runtime environment;
• This is a combination of a framework, library, and other application development tools making the process of creating a product streamlined and fast;
• The framework unifies app creation, so no other development languages are required;
• Working with Node.js, engineers can use code written in other languages in their work;
• It is used to create real-time applications;
• Node.js is regularly updated with new features and versions;
• Hardware programming, a rich ecosystem, uninterrupted speed, and strong community support are the features of this framework;
• It is widely used by market giants such as IBM, Netflix, Microsoft.

On one hand, hiring Node.js developers is easy, as all you have to do is make a request to the vendor and get the right people on your side. On the other hand, how do you know if the chosen developers are the right ones for your task? There's one way to find out. You need to dive into what the skills and responsibilities of Node.js programmers are, as well as what the specifics of this runtime are.

We've done our best to make sure that with this article you can find out all the things that will help you hire only the best Node.js engineers or at least get a basic understanding of the subject. You can always get more specific information by contacting us directly.

Node.js coders who join your team should have a good understanding and experience in frontend development, an understanding of API development and Agile methods and the ability to create well-documented, streamlined, and easy-to-read code.

Let's elaborate a bit more on the necessary skills.

Key Hard Skills of Node.js Engineers

Depending on experience, the skills of junior and senior Node.js developers differ slightly.

Skills required for an entry-level Node.js developer:

• Knowledge of Node.js, knowledge of Express.js framework or similar is also desirable;
• HTML5 and CSS3;
• JavaScript, HTML DOM and events.

Skills required for a mid-level Node.js coder:

• 2 years or more experience with Node.js;
• Knowledge and understanding of the REST paradigm;
• Basic knowledge of TypeScript/CoffeeScript;
• Knowledge of additional programming languages such as PHP, C, Ruby;
• Knowledge of development and deployment tools such as MySQL/PostgreSQL, AWS and Docker.

Skills required for a senior-level Node.js developer:

• 5 years or more experience with Node.js;
• Experience with JS frameworks such as React, Angular;
• TypeScript/CoffeeScript proficiency;
• Knowledge of OAuth as well as security requirements for applications;
• Understanding of SOLID principles, REST patterns, GOF, experience creating RESTful APIs;
• Knowledge of architectural design patterns to be able to build a project from scratch is desirable.

Node.js programmers of different skill levels have a specific set of skills and knowledge that determine their responsibilities. If only junior Node.js engineers are involved, they should be mentored by senior engineers. In addition, Node.js programmers should be supported and encouraged to keep their skills at a high level and learn more and more.

Beyond the obvious technical skills and knowledge, the Node.js developers you hire should be team players to contribute to the team, making it efficient and providing more value to the customer.

The Right Time to Hire Node.js Developers

The need to hire an external Node.js coder may arise suddenly or be planned. Anyway, the most common reasons for empowering your in-house team with additional developers are as follows:

• When there is a long-term project and it needs to be constantly maintained and refined;
• There is a list of clearly defined and mandatory tasks, especially if they are time-limited;
• New projects are constantly emerging while your in-house experience is not enough;
• The budget is flexible but there are certain limitations.

To get three in one - qualified Node.js programmers with experience in the field you need and at reasonable prices for their services - it makes sense to consider hiring Ukrainian Node.js programmers.

How to Hire Ukrainian Node.js Engineers In 2021 And Beyond

In today's fast-paced world of technology and the constant demand for increasingly complex technology solutions, the shortage of qualified IT professionals is only growing, making it difficult to find the right candidates. For example, according to this study, it takes up to 66 days to close a job, while another study reports that 70% of businesses in the U.S. face a skills gap, which in turn, is bad for business performance.

Fortunately, online opportunities have simplified the problem of staff shortage, because today you can hire Node.js developers from any country you want and make them an integral part of your team. To make sure you're hiring the right people to meet your needs, consider hiring Ukrainian developers to expand your business opportunities.

Reasons You Should Hire Ukrainian Node.js Developers in 2021

At first glance, it may seem that software engineers all over the world have the same approach to their responsibilities but in reality, only a close interaction will show that Ukrainian Node.js developers:

• Have a good grasp of English language. 85% of Ukrainian technical specialists speak Intermediate English, and half of them are fluent, so you can communicate with your team of Node.js developers without any difficulties.
• Hardworking. They are eager to take on any new task because they see it as a new challenge and an opportunity for professional growth.
• Responsible. Node.js engineers in Ukraine won't hide if something goes wrong in the project. They prefer to discuss hiccups and bottlenecks to avoid blocking further development of the project by all requirements and expectations.
• Well-educated. In addition to the fact that over the past few years in Ukraine, there has been a real educational boom with the emergence of dozens of engineering courses and schools, the developers themselves are also interested in self-education because it increases their chances of staying in demand and earning a lot.

Ukrainian IT Sector Is Up and Running

There are about 200 thousand technical specialists in Ukraine, which means there are no problems with hiring appropriate Node.js engineers, and about 5 thousand IT companies, the vast majority of which (90%) moved to remote work in the first weeks of the announcement of a strict quarantine across the country.

The Ukrainian IT sector benefited from the situation, which nevertheless shook the whole Ukrainian business. Thanks to its adaptability and a large amount of talent available. The prospects for the Ukrainian IT industry are promising, given its steady progress, growing talent pool, proper government regulation and foreign investment.

Let's look at some facts and figures about the Ukrainian IT industry:

• Ukraine is in the top 20 in the A. T. Kearney Services Location Index;
• It is the Offshoring Destination of the year (GSA);
• Ukrainian companies are ranked in the Software 500, Inc. 5000 and others;
• Ukraine ranks 11th among the top 50 countries with the best software developers in the world (HackerRank);
• Ukraine is Eastern Europe’s #1 IT outsourcing and software development powerhouse;
• Ukraine occupies 3rd place in the top of certified IT specialists in the world.

And here is the cherry on top: IT is recognized as the second most attractive Ukrainian sector for foreign investment.

Here are just some of the figures related to the investments attracted by Ukrainian startups:

• Gitlab raised $268 million;
• Grammarly - $90 million;
• People.ai - $60 million;
• Restream - $50 million, and others.

The main industries that the Ukrainian companies specialize in:

• eCommerce;
• Enterprise;
• Finance;
• Education;
• Health;
• Travel.

At the same time, most of the customers of Ukrainian technology companies are from the United States and Western Europe, including the United Kingdom. More than 100 giant companies such as Google, Snapchat, Samsung, Huawei and eBay all have their R&D centers in Ukraine.

Ukraine is expected to improve the rules for foreign companies to open R&D centers. Terms and conditions in Ukraine make it profitable for foreign clients to cooperate with local companies. This is also facilitated by the rapid growth of the pool of technical specialists. In five years, the number of technical specialists has more than doubled (from 90 thousand in 2015 to 200 thousand in 2020), largely due to the level of salaries in the IT sector: it is 5-7 times higher compared to salaries in other industries.

Most technical specialists and companies are concentrated in the largest cities of Ukraine, namely Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and Odesa, where there are necessary conditions for the development of the industry, including IT hubs, specialized courses, and events.

The IT sector makes a significant contribution to the Ukrainian economy, being the 3rd largest exporter of Ukrainian services. By 2025 the market size of the IT industry will reach 8.4 billion dollars and the number of technical specialists will reach 242,000 people. Moreover, Ukrainian universities are expected to graduate about 20,000 specialists in this field by 2024.

When it comes to the most widespread technologies among Ukrainian developers, JavaScript ranks first, followed by Python, TypeScript and Kotlin. The most widely used frameworks are React.js, Node.js and Angular.js.

Salaries of Ukrainian Node.js Developers

One of the factors influencing the choice of Node.js developers is the cost of their services, which in turn, depends on the level of average salaries on the market. To give you an idea of how differently Node.js engineers earn, here are the average salaries in some countries (salary data taken from the Payscale website).

When speaking of Ukrainian Node.js programmers, it is also useful to look at average salaries for these professionals:

• Junior Software Developer - $780 per month;
• Middle Software Developer - $1,500 to $2,600 per month;
• Senior Software Developer - $4,000 per month.

At the same time, the hourly rate of Ukrainian Node.js engineers is about $25-$40.

How to Hire Node.js Developers in Ukraine in 2021: Steps and Benefits

As practice shows, the most suitable way to hire software developers, including Node.js programmers, is such a cooperation model as outstaffing. With outstaffing, you also delegate such labor-intensive tasks as the hiring process itself and office maintenance, so you don't need to spend money on office rent and maintenance, licensed software for specialists, insurance, etc.

By choosing the dedicated team model, you can be sure that tasks will be completed on time and with the proper quality because even if one of the involved Node.js developers takes a sick leave or a vacation, the supplier will replace this person with other specialists with the appropriate experience.

Steps to Hire Dedicated Node.js Developers in Ukraine

With the shift to remote work all over the world, working with foreign specialists no longer seems to be a hassle. On the contrary, hiring developers from abroad has become the new norm. And yet this service has a certain procedure, in which step by step you get access to a wide range of specialists.

Be clear about your requirements

For your IT service provider and technicians to understand who you need on the project, you should provide all the requirements for future team members. Therefore, you need to communicate the following:

• What kind of project you need to hire Node.js programmers for (scope, subject matter, range of tasks to be performed by external specialists);
• How big a team is needed;
• What skills and experience you are interested in;
• What type of collaboration process suits you best.

Getting Ukrainian Node.js Developers interviewed and evaluated

Screen resumes and portfolios and ask for your in-house developers' opinions of candidates to get an initial idea of their skill level and work style.

Discuss the Node.js coders to be hired with your team leader as he or she will have to work closely with your soon-to-be Node.js engineers. Such interaction will determine the success or failure of the collaboration (or the entire project).

Interview a potential Node.js programmer with very specific questions that will allow you to find out his/her level of both hard and soft skills. You can even apply a small test to have the candidate immediately perform a certain task, which will show you, on one hand, his/her willingness to get involved, and on the other hand, the quality of the completed code and how easy or difficult it was for him/her to do it.

Another way to get an idea of a Node.js developer's skills and their willingness to work with you is to assign them real tasks on your current project or even delegate a small project to a dedicated team of Node.js developers and see them in action.

It would be nice for you to be a Node.js expert to be able to properly evaluate the result but you can also bring in your in-house developers for feedback. If there is no way to bring in in-house experts, you can assign interviewed Node.js engineers with a task already completed to see how external technical experts achieve the same result.

Setting up a team

Depending on the number of developers needed and the required expertise, the team may be assembled from existing specialists within the company. In this case, the team is assembled in a few days. If the vendor team does not have the necessary expertise, Node.js developers will be hired externally, in which case it will take longer to build the team.

Ukrainian Node.js engineers onboarding

The choice of management approach and tools to manage the team is up to you, but the vendor will do their best to find the most appropriate project management approach to properly onboard the newly hired specialists.

A great way to facilitate interaction with Node.js developers from Ukraine is to meet with them in person. To do this, the team can come to you or vice versa.

Benefits of Hiring Dedicated Node.js Engineers In Ukraine

Finding and hiring Node.js engineers abroad is a great way to go for those businesses that on one hand, need access to a wide range of technical specialists to use their best practices, and on the other hand, want to avoid the hassle of providing jobs and benefits, solving legal and insurance issues. Let's take a closer look at the benefits of hiring remote software developers, including hiring Node.js coders in Ukraine.

Qualified professionals

This point may seem obvious since it is quite normal for developers to be qualified. However, when it comes to outsourced developers, things are a little different. Node.js engineers must constantly improve their skills to remain competitive in a tight job market. To do this, contractors provide them with ongoing training and certification opportunities.

Relevant expertise at your fingertips

A dedicated team of Node.js programmers is likely to already have experience with applications like yours, making their experience invaluable and allowing them to better handle tasks, unlike those who are interacting with the application for the first time.

Flexible collaboration

Node.js developers from Ukraine can be hired in case you need to strengthen your team but you can also easily say goodbye to external Node.js programmers that you hired if you no longer need additional manpower. Working with Ukrainian Node.js programmers is also convenient because you can hire either one Node.js developer or a large team.

Team management tasks are delegated to a contractor

When hiring Node.js developers in Ukraine, you cooperate with a full-fledged IT team experienced in managing projects of different complexity, which means that all project management issues will be solved by your IT partner, while you can concentrate on your business goals and strategic objectives.

Bottom Line

With that said, we can conclude that Node.js will continue to grow in demand and effectively solve enterprise problems in the years ahead. This means it makes sense to get serious about hiring Node.js engineers paying close attention to their qualifications.

Beyond the obvious technical skills and knowledge, the Node.js developers you hire must also be team players to contribute to the team, increasing its efficiency as well as providing more value to the customer. Ukrainian Node.js programmers meet all these requirements. In 2021, the demand for their services has increased which is due both to the widespread shift to remote work and the development of the Ukrainian IT sector, which in recent years has made a huge leap in growth. When seeking the right Node.js coders, make sure you turn to an experienced IT partner to profitably address your technical needs.

We at DDI Development, with our relevant experience, will answer your questions and provide the results you want. But first, write or call us.