Hire Canadian Developers for U.S. Companies.
Decode Talent is an advisory hub of engineers, technologists, HR professionals and revenue operators. We provide employment data others can't and market insights they won't. We help U.S. companies hire nearshore: engineers in a nearby country, Canada, who work in your time zones.
Technology does not replace talent. Staffing doesn't fix systems.
Every month you don't have a solution for a senior talent gap, your team is losing momentum. Is it a process problem disguised as a skill shortage? Are you trying to hire your way out of technology innovation?
Hiring and systems experience
We've helped hire hundreds of people, advised many teams and improved more hiring systems than we can count.
Hiring market data
A real-time inventory index algorithm the government told us was pretty innovative, at your fingertips, to get insights you didn't think possible.
A bench of advisors
We have a bench of advisors to make sure we conduct the highest qualification process possible. Use our experts to hire yours.
Three stages, run by someone who's done the job.
Roughly one in eight candidates who enter the process reach a client shortlist. Here's what they clear.
Founder-Led Technical Screen, CPHR-Led Work Style Assessment
Our founder, a 25-year engineering leader, runs the first technical screen on every candidate himself. Then a CPHR (Chartered Professional in Human Resources) runs a short work-style assessment and a 30-minute interview on career, culture and compensation. No keyword matching.
95% Retention Rate
12-month retention across all placements. We optimize for long-term fit, not placement volume. A hire that leaves in 8 months isn't a success - for us or for you.
Shortlist in 2–3 Weeks
We maintain a warm pipeline of pre-vetted candidates. Clients typically see a shortlist of up to 3 candidates, not 20, within 2–3 weeks of the brief.
90-Day Replacement Guarantee
If a direct hire leaves or is let go for cause in their first 90 days, we run a replacement search at no additional placement fee. Contract engineers can be replaced at any time. Full terms are in your service agreement.
Brief approved, shortlist typically in 2–3 weeks.
Three steps. We do most of the work.
Day 1 · Role Definition
A 30-minute call on the team, the systems and stack, the experience and how we'll measure success. We write the brief; you approve it.
Weeks 1–3 · Vetting
We work our network of 100,000+ first, then source against the brief. Every candidate clears all three stages before you see a name.
Shortlist to Offer
Up to 3 candidates with written assessments. You interview and decide. Clients typically reach an offer within a week of meeting them; we handle the compensation conversation and the contract or direct-hire setup.
US roles, Canadian employment, no visa
We represent a small number of engineers at a time and only put you forward for roles we'd take ourselves. You keep Canadian employment and payroll; the work is US-side.
Roles You Won't Find on a Board
Direct briefs from US engineering leaders, usually before the posting goes live.
Honest Technical Feedback
You get the assessment we write about you, whether or not you're placed.
Compensation Negotiated for You
We handle the back and forth to keep both sides focused on career and culture.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to hire a Canadian software engineer?
- Typically 2–3 weeks from an approved brief to a shortlist of up to 3 candidates. The usual delay is an unclear role definition or slow internal decision-making — not sourcing.
Do Canadian engineers need US work authorization?
- No. A Canadian engineer working remotely for a US company needs none. Employment and tax stay on the Canadian side. Two ways to hire. Contract: the engineer works through us and we handle payroll and compliance. Direct hire: they join your team as your employee.
What makes you different from a staffing agency?
- A 25-year engineering leader runs the first screen on every candidate himself, you get up to 3 candidates instead of twenty, and direct hires come with a 90-day replacement guarantee. We cap open searches so that stays true.
Which roles do you place?
- Mid-to-senior software engineers across full-stack, backend, frontend, mobile and platform, plus engineering managers, technical leads, product, design and data. Niche domains — embedded, security, deep ML — case by case.
What happens if a placement doesn't work out?
- We offer a 90-day replacement guarantee. If a direct hire leaves or is let go for cause in their first 90 days, we run a replacement search at no additional placement fee. Contract engineers can be replaced at any time. Full terms are in your service agreement. We treat a failed placement as a signal we misread your team, and we'll tell you what we got wrong.
Resources for US Engineering Leaders
Canada vs. Latin America (LATAM) vs. Eastern Europe
A structured comparison across time zone, IP framework, talent depth and integration friction.
Failed-Hire Cost Calculator
Model what a mis-hire costs you in salary, ramp and lost roadmap — with your own numbers.
Salary Intelligence Calculator
See what share of the qualified candidate market your offer can reach, before you post the role.
Hire by City
Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal — what each market is actually strong at, and which roles to source where.
The right engineer
changes everything.
Tell us the role. If we can fill it, you'll typically meet up to 3 assessed candidates within 2–3 weeks. If we can't, we'll say so on the call.
Book a discovery call