Who this is for: Engineering leaders, CTOs, and talent acquisition professionals at mid-market and growth-stage tech companies scaling engineering capacity beyond the US market.
What you'll be able to do after reading:
- Choose between EOR, outsourcing, and entity setup using a decision framework
- Estimate total cost per engineer in Latin America versus the US
- Run a repeatable vetting process that works remotely
- Onboard remote engineers with a 30-day plan
- Reduce churn with retention basics that scale
Table of Contents
- The business case for global engineering teams
- Employment models: EOR vs. traditional approaches
- Sourcing strategy: Finding high-quality developers
- Technical vetting: Assessing developer quality
- Intellectual property protection
- Onboarding remote engineers: First 30 days
- Building & managing distributed engineering teams
- Developer retention: Reducing churn
- Implementation roadmap
- Frequently asked questions
US senior engineering hires can exceed $160,000 per year once you factor in benefits, taxes, equity, and recruiting costs. Meanwhile, many growth-stage teams are expanding beyond the US market to hire experienced developers in Latin America and other nearshore regions, where time zone alignment and mature talent hubs make collaboration easier.
Using Howdy's 2025 payroll benchmarks across 12,500+ developers, we typically see Latin American engineering compensation land in the $53,000 to $63,000 range for many full-time roles, with variation by country, seniority, and specialization. When paired with an Employer of Record (EOR) model, teams can hire compliantly without setting up local entities, while maintaining day-to-day management and long-term team integration.
This playbook covers EOR selection frameworks, technical vetting that filters weak candidates early, and compliance strategies protecting against misclassification liability. You'll find onboarding protocols getting developers shipping code within their first week, IP protection for distributed teams, and retention programs that address the root causes of developer churn.
Quick decision guide
- Hiring 1-30 engineers in a new country → EOR
- Short-term, project-based work → Outsourcing
- 30+ hires with permanent presence → Local entity
- The business case for global engineering teams
Cost advantages beyond salary
US senior developers average $132,720 in base salary, but total employer costs reach $160,000+ when including benefits, taxes, and overhead. Howdy's verified 2025 data shows Latin American developers earn $53,000-$63,000 annually on average, delivering substantial cost reduction while maintaining strong technical capabilities and English fluency.
The cost delta extends beyond base salary. Benefits packages total $15,500 annually per US employee versus $6,500 in Latin America. Recruitment fees hit 20% of annual salary in both markets but apply to a lower base internationally.
Verified 2025 salary bands by seniority (Howdy payroll data):
- Junior developers: $18,000-$28,000 USD
- Mid-level developers: $35,000-$48,000 USD
- Senior developers: $55,000-$70,000 USD
EOR platforms can cut months off setup timelines compared to entity formation, letting you start interviewing immediately. Teams commonly report faster time-to-market because you're not waiting months for the perfect local candidate.
Latin America's talent ecosystem
Howdy's 2025 country-by-country analysis reveals significant variation in developer compensation and specialization across the region. Argentina leads at $63,163 average annual salary, followed by Uruguay ($61,732), Chile ($61,266), and Peru ($61,265). Mexico and Colombia both average $55,894, while Brazil comes in at $53,253.
Key tech hubs by country:
- Mexico: Largest developer base in Latin America; Guadalajara and Monterrey remain nearshore hubs
- Brazil: Deep DevOps and enterprise hiring culture, with cost variations by region (São Paulo and Campinas lead in senior roles)
- Argentina: USD-based contracts offset inflation volatility; high senior developer density
- Uruguay: High retention and English fluency sustain top-tier rates
- Colombia: Fintech and SaaS expansion fueling rapid salary increases in Bogotá and Medellín
- Chile: Growing demand for data engineering and AI roles in Santiago
- Peru: Rapidly developing AI, analytics, and DevOps sectors
Time zones & cultural alignment
Employment models: EOR vs. traditional approaches
Employer of record model explained
An EOR becomes the legal employer handling payroll, taxes, and compliance while you retain day-to-day management. The EOR eliminates local entity formation in each hiring country, letting you test new markets without committing tens of thousands to permanent infrastructure.
Howdy's EOR model ensures all employment contracts, benefits, and taxes meet each country's labor regulations while companies maintain full control over candidate selection, performance management, and retention strategies. The EOR carries legal liability for employment compliance, protecting the client company from potential penalties.
EOR makes strategic sense when hiring 1-30 employees per country, testing new markets before permanent presence, or facing rapid scaling where multi-month entity delays kill momentum. Once you cross 30+ employees in a single country, the math often shifts toward establishing your own entity.
EOR pricing & total cost
Industry benchmarks for EOR pricing typically range from $199-$2,000+ per employee monthly depending on provider and location. Deel charges $599/employee/month flat rate covering payroll, compliance, benefits, and HR support. Some providers use percentage-based models at 8-20% of employee salary.
Total cost calculation example (senior developer in Mexico):
- Developer salary: $55,894 annually ($4,658/month)
- EOR fee: $599/month flat rate
- Benefits package: ~$542/month ($6,500 annually)
- Total monthly cost: $5,799
- Total annual cost: $69,588
Compare this to a US senior developer at $160,000+ total annual cost. The savings justify the EOR fee while eliminating compliance risk.
EOR services can cut months off setup timelines and tens of thousands in legal costs. The compliance protection alone justifies the fee: misclassification triggers back-payment of benefits, taxes, and severance with compounding interest. Authorities may freeze accounts and block future hiring in severe cases.
EOR vs. traditional outsourcing
EOR platforms allow direct salary negotiation and team selection, charging transparent flat fees instead of the 2-3X salary markups common in outsourcing. You control candidate selection, performance management, and retention strategies. The developers become your employees, not contractors you rent from a middleman.
Key differences:
Control & hiring
- EOR: Direct hiring, daily management, your employees
- Traditional Outsourcing: Staffing firm owns workers, limited control
Pricing transparency
- EOR: Transparent flat fees ($599-$2,000/month)
- Traditional Outsourcing: 2-3X salary markups, hidden margins
Candidate selection
- EOR: You choose candidates, negotiate salaries
- Traditional Outsourcing: Firm assigns team members
IP protection
- EOR: Direct employment contracts you control
- Traditional Outsourcing: Intermediary complicates ownership
Team integration
- EOR: Full team integration, direct communication
- Traditional Outsourcing: Account manager buffer
Retention signals
- EOR: Fair benefits boost loyalty
- Traditional Outsourcing: Contractor status signals temporary relationship
EOR reduces IP risks through direct employment contracts you control. Direct communication channels improve collaboration versus the account manager buffer in outsourcing relationships. Fair benefits through EOR boost retention versus contractor-status typical in outsourcing models.
Compliance & risk management
EOR providers track regulatory changes across Latin American jurisdictions in real-time, handling payroll accuracy, tax withholding, and social security contributions per local law. They draft employment contracts compliant with country-specific labor codes and manage termination procedures including severance calculations.
EOR Provider Checklist
When evaluating EOR providers, verify these essentials:
- Permanent Establishment indemnification: Written PE indemnity clause in service-level agreement
- Local expertise: Labor law specialists on staff for each operating country
- Compliance alerts: Proactive notification system for regulatory changes
- Data security: SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 certifications
- Misclassification protection: Clear liability transfer as legal employer
- Termination support: Severance calculations and compliant offboarding procedures
Demand written Permanent Establishment indemnity clauses in your service-level agreement. Verify the EOR maintains local labor law specialists for each operating country. Request compliance alert systems for proactive regulatory change notifications.
Non-compliance consequences include back-payment of unpaid benefits with compounding interest penalties, account freezes blocking future hiring, and reputational damage. Co-employer liability can extend to your US parent entity in misclassification cases.
Sourcing strategy: Finding high-quality developers
Sourcing channels for Latin American talent
Developer-first platforms like HackerRank, Codility, and TestGorilla pre-vet candidates through technical assessments before client introductions. Howdy maintains verified profiles for 12,500+ developers across eight Latin American countries under fully compliant employment agreements, providing pre-screened candidate pools from ongoing payroll relationships.
This beats posting on generic job boards where you'll spend weeks filtering resumes only to discover visa issues or unrealistic salary expectations. Many nearshore platforms price senior specialties within a relatively tight hourly range, covering React, Python, mobile developers, and AI/ML engineers at essentially the same cost tier.
Focus sourcing on established tech hubs:
- Mexico: Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey
- Brazil: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Campinas
- Argentina: Buenos Aires (80%+ of developer population)
- Colombia: Bogotá, Medellín
- Chile: Santiago
Creating effective job requirements
List required programming languages, frameworks, and tools with expected proficiency levels. Define system architecture experience: monoliths, microservices, serverless, or cloud-native patterns. Specify domain knowledge requirements like fintech compliance, healthcare HIPAA, or e-commerce payment processing.
Set clear seniority standards:
- Junior (0-2 years): Guided implementation, code reviews, mentorship required. Expected salary: $18,000-$28,000
- Mid-level (3-5 years): Independent feature delivery, technical design input. Expected salary: $35,000-$48,000
- Senior (5+ years): Architecture decisions, mentorship, cross-team coordination. Expected salary: $55,000-$70,000
- Lead (8+ years): Strategic technical direction, team building, stakeholder management
Specify English proficiency level needed: conversational for internal team meetings versus fluent for client-facing roles. Define timezone overlap requirements: how many synchronous hours do you need versus async-friendly roles? Economic stability, technical specialization, and English proficiency all drive salary differences across the region.
Technical vetting: Assessing developer quality
Why behavioral vetting matters
Technical skills are table stakes. Cultural fit separates adequate hires from exceptional ones who stay for years. Industry data shows annual attrition rates in outsourced development models commonly hover between 30-50%, costing companies through lost productivity, knowledge drain, and recruiting replacements.
Howdy achieves 98% retention by treating recruiting as a behavioral discipline rather than a sales function. The company employs 31 former psychologists as recruiters who assess motivations, communication styles, and personality alignment alongside technical proficiency. Traditional recruiters optimize for speed and volume; psychologists identify patterns that predict long-term success.
Howdy's four-layer vetting process
Layer 1: Initial screening & application
Identity verification confirms each applicant is genuine (critical in an era of AI-generated deepfakes and fraudulent profiles). Resume and background checks verify qualifications, work history, and experience claims. Internet and equipment verification ensures candidates have stable connections and appropriate tech setups. English fluency screening assesses communication skills for US team integration.
Only about 50% of applicants pass this first phase. The screening eliminates candidates with fabricated credentials, inadequate infrastructure, or communication barriers before expensive technical assessments.
Layer 2: Technical assessment
Howdy tests algorithmic problem-solving through complex programming challenges. System architecture thinking evaluates capacity to design scalable systems. Code quality reviews examine GitHub portfolios for coding style, attention to detail, and previous work quality. Language-specific challenges assess proficiency in role-specific technologies like Python, React, or Node.js.
Live coding interviews conducted by senior engineers assess real-time problem-solving and collaboration skills in simulated work environments. This phase reveals how candidates think under pressure, communicate technical decisions, and respond to feedback (signals invisible in take-home assessments).
Layer 3: Soft skills & cultural fit
Howdy's proprietary working-style assessment classifies engineers into patterns (Builders, Warriors, Alchemists) that predict how they'll integrate into specific team cultures. A Builder thrives in greenfield projects requiring creativity and autonomy. A Warrior excels in high-pressure environments with tight deadlines. An Alchemist bridges technical and business contexts, translating requirements into architecture.
Matching working styles to team dynamics prevents friction. A Warrior placed on a research-focused team will chafe at the pace; a Builder assigned to maintenance work will disengage. The assessment creates alignment before the first interview.
Layer 4: Company interview prep & final checks
Professionalism checks include reference verification and demeanor observation during interviews. Portfolio alignment reviews past projects to confirm experience matches your technical needs. English presentation skills assessment determines whether candidates can present confidently to your team and clients.
Candidates receive interview preparation coaching, ensuring they understand your company's mission, technical stack, and team structure. This preparation reduces interview anxiety and lets candidates showcase their best work rather than stumbling through unfamiliar formats.
Building your own vetting process
Hire for the ability to read people and spot mismatches. Train recruiters to recognize when technically qualified candidates have motivations misaligned with the role. Measure success by retention rates rather than time-to-fill metrics.
Screen for communication style compatibility during initial calls. A brilliant engineer who resents the job search process might accept an offer for the wrong reasons and leave within months. A talented developer whose communication style clashes with their manager's expectations will struggle regardless of coding ability.
Use structured behavioral interviews asking candidates to describe past situations: "Tell me about a time you disagreed with a technical decision. How did you handle it?" Listen for ownership versus blame, collaboration versus isolation, growth mindset versus fixed thinking. These patterns predict cultural fit better than whiteboard algorithms.
Intellectual property protection
IP protection fundamentals
Robust NDAs must outline ownership rights, confidentiality obligations, and breach remedies in specific terms. Work-for-Hire Agreements should stipulate all work product becomes exclusive company property. IP Assignment Agreements require formal assignment of rights to any generated IP during the engagement.
In some jurisdictions, default IP ownership can vary by worker classification, making clear assignment language critical. All Latin American contracts need explicit trade secret NDAs protecting proprietary algorithms, customer data, and business processes.
Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina offer comprehensive IP laws participating in international treaties. The legal frameworks closely align with US IP standards, but you must include proper contract language to activate those protections. Countries like Mexico, Argentina, and Chile follow international IP protection standards ensuring companies can safely outsource software needs.
IP Protection Must-Haves
Essential elements for every Latin American developer contract:
- Work-for-Hire clause: All code and deliverables become company property upon creation
- IP Assignment: Formal assignment of rights to any IP generated during engagement
- Trade secret NDA: Explicit confidentiality obligations covering proprietary algorithms, customer data, business processes
- Non-compete provisions: Reasonable restrictions preventing competitive work during and after engagement
- Breach remedies: Clear consequences and legal recourse for IP violations
- Jurisdiction clause: Specify governing law and dispute resolution venue
Technical safeguards & access control
Encrypt sensitive files during transmission and at rest using industry-standard protocols like AES-256. Utilize secure file-sharing platforms with restricted access, user authentication, and audit logs. Maintain centralized code repositories with version control and role-based access restrictions.
Set GitHub/GitLab permissions to read-only for contractors with branch protection for critical paths. Require VPN access for internal systems and development environments. Mandate two-factor authentication for all developer accounts and tooling access.
Latin America presents cybersecurity challenges with varying national legal frameworks. Brazil, Argentina, and Chile have advanced national cybersecurity strategies requiring strong database security and encryption. EOR partners should maintain SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 certifications demonstrating proper data handling controls.
Data protection & privacy compliance
Brazil's LGPD regulates personal data collection, processing, and sharing similar to GDPR. Argentina's data protection laws rank among the strictest in the region, requiring explicit consent protocols. Chile, Colombia, and Mexico have enacted GDPR-inspired frameworks.
Cross-border data transfers require legal basis under Latin American privacy regulations, typically through standard contractual clauses or adequacy determinations. EOR providers must comply with both employee privacy laws protecting worker data and client data security requirements.
EOR role in IP protection
Review EOR employment contracts for explicit IP assignment to your company rather than the EOR or employee. Confirm non-compete and non-disclosure clauses are included in standard agreements and enforceable under local law.
Working with reputable EOR partners mitigates IP risks through established legal frameworks and employee training on confidentiality obligations. The EOR should provide IP protection measures as standard rather than requiring custom contract negotiation for each hire. Howdy's compliant employment agreements include IP protection measures in standard contracts, reducing misappropriation risk through proper legal frameworks.
Onboarding remote engineers: First 30 days
Howdy's embedded partner approach
Effective onboarding extends beyond technical setup. Howdy acts as an embedded partner handling everything from initial onboarding to ongoing wellness check-ins and mentorship. Localized HR teams across Latin American cities build long-term relationships with engineers, providing ongoing English tutoring and career development support even after placement.
This infrastructure prevents the isolation common in remote work. Engineers receive birthday gifts, regular check-ins, and support ensuring they feel valued beyond their code contributions.
Pre-boarding (Days -7 to 0)
Pre-boarding reduces Day 1 friction significantly through advance preparation. Provision email, Slack, GitHub, JIRA, and AWS accounts before the start date. Ship hardware arriving by Day 1 when possible. Document all credentials in a password manager rather than sending via email.
Define clear 30-60-90 day milestones: code by Day 3, feature by Day 15, independent delivery by Day 30. Set realistic expectations that the first week focuses on environment setup and context building rather than output. Send a welcome email after the offer letter is signed demonstrating enthusiasm and commitment.
Create a two-page architecture overview covering system components and data flows. Prepare visual system diagrams showing service dependencies and integration points. Build team-specific glossaries defining internal terminology and acronyms that confuse new hires.
Week 1: Environment setup & context building
Day 1 focuses on clarity and connection rather than overwhelming new hires with information dumps. Start with a welcome meeting covering role expectations, team structure, and communication norms. Walk through the technical setup: development environment, debugging tools, and deployment process.
Provide a codebase tour covering repository structure, coding standards, and test coverage expectations. Train on development workflow including branching strategy, code review process, and CI/CD pipeline. Get them to their first commit by Day 3: a documentation fix or small bug addressing real production code.
Schedule 15-minute 1:1s with immediate team members and key collaborators. Train on communication protocols: which Slack channels for what, meeting cadence, and async expectations. Provide essential documentation without overwhelming: architecture overview, API docs, and runbooks take priority over comprehensive wikis nobody reads.
Weeks 2-4: Guided contribution & knowledge transfer
Week 2 focuses on bug fixes and small features with clear specifications. Week 3 introduces medium-complexity features requiring some design decisions and cross-team coordination. By Week 4, developers should handle independent feature delivery with code review feedback and iteration.
Assign an experienced team member as onboarding buddy for daily questions. Schedule recurring check-ins: daily Week 1, every-other-day Week 2-4, weekly after. Companies commonly report faster time-to-productivity with structured versus unstructured approaches.
Poor documentation correlates with higher developer churn in the first 30 days. In a Zippia analysis, 45% of developers believe greater access to corporate knowledge would reduce turnover. Focus documentation on what developers actually need: how to run tests locally, where to find staging credentials, who owns which services.
Remote-specific considerations
Schedule live sessions during overlap hours and record all training for async consumption. Choose platforms working reliably across internet speeds and devices, avoiding tools requiring high bandwidth that disadvantage international team members. Global teams face unique challenges including cultural differences affecting communication styles and time zones complicating training schedules.
Create role-specific training matching actual job requirements: code quality standards and codebase architecture for engineering, not generic company history presentations. Many remote organizations identify setting up effective virtual onboarding as a top challenge, with distributed teams having opposite schedules or minimal timezone overlap facing amplified difficulty.
Without intentional onboarding, skilled developers struggle to integrate into workflows and culture despite strong technical abilities. Remote onboarding must be documented and repeatable across hires. Strong onboarding bridges the gap between hiring and performance.
Building & managing distributed engineering teams
Communication protocols
Create clear job descriptions outlining roles and responsibilities for each team member. Establish communication protocols and progress tracking processes upfront rather than letting them emerge organically. Document everything clearly to minimize lost work and misinterpretations.
Lean on async communication enabling focus time for deep engineering work. Coordinate meeting times as one of the only ways to confirm team engagement. Schedule meetings with clear agendas leading to efficient remote management.
Standard instruction manuals with explicit guidelines avoid inefficient cycles. Ample details lead to fewer misinterpretations and clearer execution paths. Record all-hands and team meetings for timezone-shifted team members who can't attend live. Communicate often and transparently even when uncomfortable conversations are needed.
Goal setting & performance tracking
Define roles and responsibilities ensuring every engineer knows what's expected. Set measurable goals using OKRs or specific technical milestones like code coverage percentages, performance targets, or uptime SLAs.
Establish processes for tracking progress and milestones with transparency. Use sprint planning, standups, and retrospectives adapted for distributed teams rather than forcing synchronous ceremonies that disadvantage some timezones. Put together daily, weekly, and monthly agendas suiting team timetables.
Track remote performance through code review participation and quality of feedback provided to peers, documentation contributions like README updates and architecture decision records, and collaboration signals like helping unblock teammates and knowledge sharing activities.
Engineering rituals & team cohesion
Engineering rituals form the backbone of successful remote culture, creating consistent touchpoints that unite distributed teams across timezones. Well-structured rituals commonly lead to higher team cohesion for distributed teams versus ad-hoc communication.
Knowledge sharing forms the cornerstone of remote engineering culture. Structured knowledge-sharing systems often enable faster onboarding times and higher team productivity scores. Organizations with strong knowledge sharing typically experience measurably better outcomes.
Building strong team culture requires intentional team-building activities like virtual happy hours, team lunches, and gaming sessions. Celebrate team wins to foster camaraderie and recognize contributions publicly during meetings. Building strong team culture is essential for remote teams' success.
Managing across time zones
Default to written communication in Slack, Notion, or Confluence for decisions that don't require real-time discussion. Use video recordings for complex explanations replacing mandatory synchronous attendance. Write pull request descriptions detailed enough for async review without clarification calls.
Developer retention: Reducing churn
The cost of developer turnover
Replacing a single software engineer costs 30-70% of annual salary and delays active sprints by two+ weeks. The tech sector faces 57.3% average turnover, with 69% of developers staying less than two years per Zippia's analysis of 103,000 developers. Average annual turnover rate in tech hovers around 40%, significantly higher than most other sectors.
Howdy's 98% retention model
Howdy's retention rate stands apart from industry norms. The difference stems from treating recruiting as a behavioral discipline focused on long-term fit rather than short-term placement. Psychologist-led recruiting identifies candidates whose motivations align with the role and whose working styles mesh with team dynamics.
Localized HR teams build long-term relationships with engineers through ongoing mentorship, English tutoring, wellness check-ins, and career development support. Engineers receive birthday gifts and regular touchpoints ensuring they feel valued as individuals.
Core retention drivers
Full-time employment with complete benefits packages ensures loyalty versus contractor arrangements where developers know they're temporary. Top 20% local market compensation prevents competitive poaching. The contractor model signals the relationship is transactional rather than developmental.
Developers leave bad managers more often than low salaries. Empathetic, technically literate leaders can significantly reduce churn. Manager 1:1 quality predicts retention better than most compensation factors.
Many seasoned developers leave due to lack of career growth opportunities, feeling they've reached an impasse with no prospects of moving up. Rotating developers through different projects enables experience gain without employer change, letting PHP juniors lead React Native projects through company investment in their growth.
Building retention programs
Technology evolves rapidly and developers want access to new tools to keep skills current and maintain market competitiveness. Without learning opportunities, their skills become outdated and they lose capacity for innovation. Provide conference budgets, training subscriptions, and time for experimentation with emerging technologies.
Demonstrate how individual contributions impact company success and customer outcomes. Public recognition during team meetings, company all-hands, or written kudos matters. Offer promotion pathways with individual contributor tracks alongside management tracks.
Honor local holidays and cultural events without expectation of US calendar adherence. Flexible scheduling accommodates personal responsibilities and timezone preferences. Avoid late-night meetings for Latin American team members to match US West Coast schedules.
Retention strategies for remote Latin American teams
Direct team integration prevents the "outsourced resource" perception damaging retention. Include Latin American engineers in company-wide initiatives, all-hands, and strategic discussions. Invest in team visits with annual on-sites bringing distributed teams together physically.
Implementation roadmap
Months 1-2: Planning & partner selection
Define hiring requirements: number of developers needed by role (frontend, backend, full-stack, DevOps), seniority distribution matching team maturity needs, and technology stack requirements.
Request proposals from 3-5 EOR providers with Latin American presence. Compare pricing models for your expected headcount: flat-rate ($599-$2,000/month) versus percentage-based (8-20% of salary). Verify compliance coverage including PE indemnification, misclassification protection, and data security certifications like SOC 2 Type II.
Use verified salary benchmarks for budget planning:
- Junior developers: $18,000-$28,000 annually
- Mid-level developers: $35,000-$48,000 annually
- Senior developers: $55,000-$70,000 annually
- Add EOR fees ($599-$2,000/month per employee)
- Add benefits package (~$6,500 annually per employee)
- Add recruitment costs (typically 20% of annual salary one-time)
Set hiring velocity targets based on your interview capacity. Allocate onboarding resources including mentors, documentation preparation time, and equipment provisioning budgets.
Months 3-4: Initial hiring wave
Launch job postings on developer platforms and EOR provider networks. Screen resumes with a typical funnel: 100 applications → 30 phone screens → 10 technical assessments → 5 deep-dives → 2-3 offers.
Benchmark salary offers against Howdy's verified country-specific data for fairness and competitiveness. Argentina leads at $63,163 average, followed by Uruguay ($61,732), Chile ($61,266), Peru ($61,265), Mexico and Colombia ($55,894), and Brazil ($53,253). Review EOR contracts for IP assignment clauses and NDAs before finalizing offers.
Prepare pre-boarding checklists covering access provisioning, hardware shipping, and documentation preparation. Assign onboarding buddies and schedule Week 1 meetings before start dates. Define 30-60-90 day goals with managers aligned to team priorities.
Months 5-6: Optimization & scaling
Conduct first 30-day retrospectives: what worked, what needs improvement in onboarding based on new hire feedback. Run retention check-ins with satisfaction surveys and 1:1 feedback sessions. Analyze velocity metrics: time-to-first-commit, time-to-first-feature, and time-to-full-productivity.
Update onboarding documentation based on observed gaps and new hire suggestions. Adjust the interview process by eliminating low-signal steps and adding missing evaluation areas. Optimize your EOR relationship by negotiating volume discounts, adjusting service levels, and potentially expanding country coverage.
Increase hiring velocity to 2-5 developers monthly based on Month 3-4 learnings. Expand country coverage by adding new Latin American countries based on talent availability and cost. Build internal recruitment capacity by training hiring managers on remote interviewing best practices.
Months 7-12: Sustainable operations
Launch retention programs including career development frameworks with clear promotion criteria, knowledge sharing initiatives like tech talks and mentorship pairings, and team building through quarterly virtual events and annual on-site gatherings.
Conduct quarterly EOR audits verifying regulatory compliance, contract accuracy, and payment timeliness. Review IP protection ensuring all new hires have proper agreements and signed NDAs. Assess data security confirming SOC 2/ISO 27001 compliance maintained across operations.
Analyze turnover through exit interviews for any departures identifying improvement opportunities. Benchmark your retention rates, velocity, and satisfaction against industry standards. Iterate processes for onboarding, communication protocols, and performance management based on team feedback.
Frequently asked questions
What is the typical cost savings when hiring developers in Latin America versus the US?
Howdy's verified 2025 payroll data shows Latin American developers earn $53,000-$63,000 annually on average, with variation by country, seniority, and specialization. US senior developers average $132,720 in base salary but total employer costs reach $160,000+ including benefits and taxes. The cost difference can be substantial when accounting for total employer costs.
How long does it take to hire developers through an EOR versus setting up a local entity?
EOR enables immediate onboarding while entity formation typically exceeds 3.5 months. EOR services can cut months off setup timelines and tens of thousands in legal costs. Companies can build teams of 30+ developers in three months via EOR versus 6-9 months with entity formation.
What are the main risks of non-compliance when hiring internationally in Latin America?
Misclassification triggers back-payment of benefits, taxes, and severance with compounding interest. Authorities may freeze accounts and block future hiring in severe cases. Co-employer liability extends to US parent entities in misclassification scenarios. Non-compliance causes financial penalties, reputational damage, and operational delays.
How do retention rates differ between US and Latin American developers?
What IP protection measures are essential when working with Latin American developers?
Robust NDAs outlining ownership rights, Work-for-Hire Agreements, and IP Assignment Agreements are required. In some jurisdictions, default IP ownership can vary by worker classification, making clear assignment language critical. Technical safeguards include encryption, secure file-sharing, and centralized repositories with access controls.
What are the best practices for onboarding remote developers effectively?
Structured onboarding commonly shows results within 30 days: code by Day 3, features by Day 15. Pre-boarding reduces Day 1 friction through advance preparation. Companies typically report faster time-to-productivity with structured versus unstructured approaches. Focus Day 1 on clarity and connection rather than output.
Which Latin American countries offer the best developer talent pools?
Howdy's 2025 data shows Argentina leads at $63,163 average salary, followed by Uruguay ($61,732), Chile ($61,266), and Peru ($61,265). Mexico has the largest developer base with strong full-stack and Python communities. Brazil offers deep DevOps expertise with 630,000+ developers. Colombia shows fast growth in fintech and SaaS sectors.
How does behavioral vetting improve retention compared to traditional recruiting?
Howdy's psychologist-led recruiting achieves 98% retention by assessing cultural fit, communication styles, and long-term motivations alongside technical skills. Traditional recruiting optimizes for speed and volume, contributing to the 30-50% annual attrition common in outsourced development models. Behavioral vetting identifies patterns predicting long-term success that technical assessments miss.
What technical assessment tools are most effective for vetting remote developers?
HackerRank Certified Assessments provide pre-built role-specific exams aligned to industry standards. Live coding sessions in Python, Java, and JavaScript assess real-time problem-solving. Industry data shows over 70% of tech recruiters receive unqualified applicants; assessment tools enable objective evaluation before expensive interview rounds. Howdy combines technical assessments with working-style evaluation for cultural fit.
How much do EOR services cost in Latin America?
Industry benchmarks for EOR pricing typically range $199-$2,000+ per employee monthly depending on provider and location. Deel charges $599/employee/month flat rate including payroll, compliance, benefits, and HR support. Percentage-based models run 8-20% of employee salary. Contractor management ranges $29-$400/month for independent contractor arrangements.
What are the key differences between EOR and traditional outsourcing?
EOR allows direct hiring, transparent pricing, and team integration where you control salaries and management. Outsourcing means staffing firms own workers with 2-3X salary markups and limited control. EOR reduces IP risks through direct employment contracts you control. Unlike outsourcing's steep buy-out fees, EOR lets you build your own team from Day 1.
What salary ranges should I expect for different seniority levels?
Howdy's verified 2025 salary bands show junior developers earning $18,000-$28,000, mid-level developers $35,000-$48,000, and senior developers $55,000-$70,000 annually. Exact compensation varies by country, with Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile commanding premium rates due to strong senior talent density and English proficiency.
When should I choose a local entity over EOR?
Local entity formation becomes cost-effective at 30+ employees per country where entity overhead distributes across larger headcount. Permanent market presence with long-term strategic commitment justifies the 3.5+ month setup timeline and tens of thousands in legal costs. Below 30 employees, EOR provides better economics and faster time-to-hire.
Conclusion
Howdy's verified 2025 data from 12,500+ developers shows Latin American engineering hiring delivers substantial cost savings while maintaining strong technical capabilities. Average salaries range from $53,000-$63,000 annually, with Argentina leading at $63,163, followed by Uruguay, Chile, and Peru. EOR platforms can cut months off setup timelines and eliminate compliance risks for $599-$2,000 monthly per developer.
Start with EOR provider selection: verify PE indemnification, compliance coverage, and candidate network access before signing contracts. Invest in behavioral vetting assessing cultural fit, communication styles, and long-term motivations alongside technical skills. Howdy's psychologist-led approach achieves 98% retention by identifying patterns traditional recruiting misses.
Build retention from Day 1 through pre-boarding preparation, clear 30-60-90 goals, competitive compensation benchmarked to verified data, and ongoing mentorship infrastructure. Define hiring requirements for the next 12 months: roles, seniority mix, and technology stacks needed.
Book a demo with Howdy to access verified salary data, pre-screened developer profiles, and compliant EOR infrastructure across eight Latin American countries.