How to Build a Dedicated Development Team in Ukraine

Everyone knows that it takes an amazing team to build an amazing product. That’s why you’ve wound up here, looking for skilled and reliable developers to fulfill your vision. In this post, we will walk you through the steps of building a dedicated software development team in Ukraine. Let’s dive in. 

Step1. Define your Scope 

With nCube’s dedicated team model, you hire developers for a specific project. That’s why having Project Scope on hand before you bring dedicated developers on board is important. For one, the Scope sets the foundation for defining the team structure, given that it outlines the project’s technology stack and underlying architecture. Based on this document, you’ll be able to tell what skills you need to have on your dedicated development team, so we can provide you with the right type of talent. 

The Project Scope also gives insights into potential timelines, including the dates of feature releases, which lets us give you a straightforward answer as to whether or not we’ll be able to source and onboard a candidate to meet your expected time-frames.

READ ALSO: Fall in Love With Outsourcing to Ukraine

Finally, you can’t start with the dedicated development model without defining a budget. As a provider, we need to understand what type of budget you feel comfortable committing to, so that we can offer you the best possible options for your team.

Step 2. Structure

The Project Scope defines the skills you need to have on your dedicated development team. Some of our clients need a few dedicated developers to add to their local team, while others require a full-fledged “turn key” solution, including software developers, QA engineers, UX/UI designers, and Project Managers. At nCube, we are flexible enough to offer both options, based on the team structure the client needs. 

That’s the beauty of a dedicated development team. You can add any skill you lack in your homebased team, from more generic backgrounds (JavaScript, PHP, Python) to Data Scientists, DevOps specialists, and AI engineers.

On top of that, within our model, you can choose a point of contact. Will it be a project manager on our side? Or will you communicate with each team member directly? It’s actually up to you how you’re going to build communication. Most of our clients choose to interact with their team members directly. Alternatively, you can hire a qualified dedicated project manager who will report to you on behalf of your team. 

After you outline a dedicated development team structure, it’s advised to go over each team member, and define that team member’s required set of skills. 

Well-defined requirements enable us as a provider to select the best specialists who will fit your ideal candidate profile in the best way possible, both technically and culture-wise. 

Step 3. Interviews

In our model, you interview each potential team member and make a hiring decision based on the outcome of the interviews. This approach lets you know exactly who is going to work on your project. 

With a set of required skills for each team member at hand, we kick off the recruitment process. It usually takes us 1-2 weeks to source appropriate candidates.  All interviews are conducted in English and our internal screening process includes a technical interview with a subject matter specialist and an interview with our HR manager. 

As our next step, we forward you the CVs of dedicated development candidates who’ve made the cut. You review the CVs and tell us who you want to move forward with. If none of the pre-selected candidates catches your eye, we continue our search. We maintain a hiring ratio of 1:1.7, so we can say that the chances are high that you’ll be introduced to specialists that are a fit for you and your team during the first round of interviews. 

After you choose the CVs, we help you coordinate with the candidates to schedule the interviews. During the first meeting with a candidate, you can share your project requirements and expectations to see if you both are on the same wavelength. 

The next stage is typically a culture fit interview that will show you if the candidate is a good fit in terms of soft skills. If the culture-fit interview goes well, you can invite the candidate for a technical interview where you will put their skill level to the test with live coding or other tasks you see fit. 

If you approve of the candidate, then we have the green light to add them to the dedicated development team. Most candidates need a 2-week notice to leave their previous jobs. We usually let you know the start date for each candidate before the interview. The hardest part is over, so now you can move on to making it an official arrangement with your dedicated software development team. 

Step 4. Finalize documents 

At this stage, we sign a contract to officially launch your dedicated development team. This step includes signing a Service Level Agreement with the client and a contract between the employee and us. That way, you officially start working with the developer through our company as a provider. As part of our agreement, we also have provisions aimed at non disclosure as well as protecting your Intellectual property rights. Note that you don’t need to sign or pay anything until you’ve approved of the candidate you want to work with. 

 Step 5. Team launch

That’s all, your team is good to go. Your newly minted team members will arrive at our office on the agreed upon start day. By that time, we’ll have prepared a modern workstation/workspace with a laptop or PC for your dedicated developers in our office, including everything a modern office facility can provide, such as a coffee station, kitchenette, and relax zone. 

Your dedicated development team will work in a closed workspace, which fosters close team communication. Team meetings usually happen in our meeting rooms equipped with all needed video conferencing tools, so you can communicate with the team face-to-face. 

READ ALSO: Managing Remote Teams Successfully

Why launch a development team in Ukraine?

In this section, we go over some key reasons to consider when building your development team in Ukraine. 

Vast talent pools with a diverse range of skills. In 2023, the population of Ukrainian software developers reached nearly 300,000 specialists. Many of them have chosen to temporarily reside outside their home country, often in safer regions near the Western border. These professionals come from a variety of backgrounds and have experience in various domains, including Fintech, Automotive, Healthcare, e-Commerce, Blockchain, AI, and more. The most popular technologies among Ukrainian software developers are JavaScript, Java, Python, C#, PHP, Kotlin, Swift, and Scala. Thus, when it comes to a development team in Ukraine, businesses have the advantage of an abundance of skilled professionals. 

Strong focus on high-quality STEM education. Ukraine’s education system places a substantial emphasis on technical and scientific disciplines. The country has many prestigious universities and tech-focused institutes that offer specialized STEM programs. Graduates of these programs stand on solid ground in terms of their Computer Science proficiency. Moreover, many Ukrainian universities collaborate with industry partners, allowing students to gain practical experience through internships, research projects, and industry-specific training programs. For businesses willing to build a development team in Ukraine it means working with well-educated professionals. For instance, at nCube, 95% of engineers are university degree holders. 

Strong potential for innovation-oriented software development. Ukraine has a thriving startup ecosystem, with multiple successful tech startups, which rely on local tech talent, for example, Grammarly, FireFly, Ajax, and more. Such a thriving environment fosters in-depth expertise in cutting-edge technologies you can come across in Ukrainian IT hubs when building your development team in Ukraine. 

Effective communications and alignment with Western business approaches. Ukrainian IT professionals are proponents of Western business approaches and methodologies. They widely apply Agile and Scrum methodologies, continuous integration and delivery practices, and other industry best practices. This alignment with Western business approaches ensures that your development team in Ukraine will become an indispensable cog in your existing processes and workflows. 

Partial workday overlap with North American time zones and full overlap with the EU. Ukraine is located in GMT+2 time zone, which allows for convenient overlap with many European countries for flawless nearshoring. When it comes to North America, your development team in Ukraine can offer the advantage of continuous development: In a 24-hour timeline, your local and remote team will contribute 8 hours’ worth of development time each. 

Zero collaboration barriers thanks to solid proficiency in the English language. Ukrainian software engineers have a strong command of English, both spoken and written. English is widely taught in schools and universities, and many professionals in the IT industry actively improve their language skills to better communicate with international clients and teams. This high level of English proficiency facilitates seamless communication and collaboration with their Western counterparts. 

What’s next? nCube’s Dedicated Team model 

With the 5 steps behind us, your dedicated software development team is all set up. But what is it like to run a team like this? 

In our model, your team plays by your rules. Your dedicated team members work only for you and report to you (or your tech leaders) directly. It also means that team members will fulfill your vision of development processes and engineering practices. Each developer will work full-time, Monday through Friday, 40 hours per week from our downtown Kyiv office.

We at nCube are big proponents of such an approach because it puts the client in the driver’s seat. With a hands-on approach like this, the client has every opportunity to ensure that they achieve the results they expect, given that the client communicates with the team themselves, stays on top of daily activities, and generally has a say in everything project-related.

What is the role of nCube as a vendor? For one, it’s standing out on the job market to attract the best engineers specialized in dedicated development. With over 13 years of experience, nCube has built a reputation as a solid employer, which means developers would rather work with us when choosing among companies. 

Secondly, we provide a comfortable workspace for your dedicated developers. We’re located in downtown Kyiv, at the intersection of metro lines with walking distance from the city’s major landmarks. That makes our location comfortable. Speaking of comfort, our office space has all the qualities of a modern office, such as modern IT infrastructure, spacious meeting rooms with video conferencing tools, kitchenette, and relaxation zones. 

Finally, we take care of your developers’ retention. On average, a developer works with us for 3.5 years. For each team member, we provide benefits ranging from health insurance and tax fee compensations to HR support, English classes, team building events, and more. As an employer, we take pride in the high level of loyalty that we receive from engineers, which by our estimation can be chalked up to the fact that we invest in our relationship with employees.

If you’re interested to hear more about our dedicated software development team and how it can help you fulfill your vision, let’s connect.