How to Build a High-Performing Engineering Team

Assembling a high-performing engineering team is a critical factor in driving innovation and maintaining a competitive edge in the tech world. 

But before we get to the good stuff, we must first answer the question: 

What does "high-performing" actually mean? 

In this post, we'll explore the nitty-gritty of building an engineering powerhouse from scratch. 

Let's get started. 

What Does It Mean to be "High-Performing"?

In the tech landscape, the performance of an engineering team can be characterized by three things: 

• Exemplary productivity that's both agile and focused
• Streamlined collaboration in line with company objectives
• Consistent track record of delivering high-quality work

Attaining all three also requires effective leadership on your part. 

Remember, it's your job to create a work culture of autonomy, accountability, and goal alignment in which engineers can maximize their potential. Of course, you're also wholly responsible for bringing in the right people to create your engineering A-team. 

Building Your Engineering Team

Without further ado, here are seven steps to build the engineering team your startup deserves: 

1. Set Your Hiring Goals and Objectives

When building products, you often hear the advice "start at the end." 

You need a clear definition of what success looks like for your startup. This will help you fine-tune your hiring strategy to prioritize the roles and qualifications you need to achieve your long-term vision. 

Moreover, it will help you write critical interview questions that ensure your candidate is the best fit.

Here's a quick to-do list to complete this step: 

• Evaluate your current team's strengths and needs
• Underline your key business objectives
• Define the roles and functions you're looking to fill
• Quantify your hiring objectives (i.e., "Hire three engineers in Q1")

2.  Budgeting for Recruitment

By now, you should know how important budgeting is to everything your startup does.

In terms of hiring engineers, budgeting is more than just allocating funds for salaries. You also need to consider the costs of recruitment, onboarding, training, and continuous learning. 

Just remember that every dollar that goes into new hires should be justified by future revenue (and when you'll need another fundraising round). 

A full-featured accounting software is a solid, long-term investment that can help you stay ahead of your hiring budget. But if you'd rather your funds go somewhere else, a DIY alternative is to create a simple spreadsheet that tracks every aspect of your company's finances, like: 

• Payroll
• Revenue projections 
• Income and cash flow
• Infrastructure
• Travel expenses
• Costs of Goods Sold (CoGS) or Cost of Revenue (CoR)

3. Writing Job Descriptions

When it comes to hiring engineers, a lot of startup founders underestimate the importance of writing great job descriptions.

Clearly and accurately communicating the specifics of the role (e.g., responsibilities and required skills) is just part of the process. You should also think of job descriptions as an opportunity to advertise your company's culture and pique the interest of applicants who fit like a glove.

Here are tips on writing job descriptions that will magnetize the engineers you need: 

• Survey the market. Check your competitors' job postings for ideas and inspiration. 
• Include your company's vision and mission statements. This ensures you connect with candidates who are excited to become part of your company's journey. 
• Mention details about your company. Paint a clear picture of the team structure, workplace, size, time zone, and miscellaneous on-site requirements. 
• Consider compensation leveling. Reassure applicants that your offer comes with potential for future growth within your team. 
• Be very specific about why you're hiring. Go beyond the job title and highlight exactly what engineers should expect when it comes to their day-to-day. 

4. Sourcing Candidates

Once you've nailed your job descriptions, it's time to source candidates. 

There are three ways to do this: inbound recruiting, outbound recruiting, and referral-based recruiting. 

Inbound recruiting focuses on getting the word out through sourcing channels like job boards, social media, and networking events. The goal is to maximize the visibility of your job listing, enabling interested candidates to reach out. 

For software startups, the best place to advertise your engineering job opening would be on software-specific job boards like Y Combinator (for YC founders), Wellfound, and Built In San Francisco. 

You can also try groups on LinkedIn, Facebook, and other relevant social media apps to get the attention of as many potential candidates as possible. Just don't expect the same quality of applicants as the ones you can source from reputable tech job boards.

Outbound recruiting, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of inbound recruiting. 

Rather than waiting for candidates to connect, you reach out to them directly and encourage them to apply. This involves significantly more work than inbound recruiting, but it allows you to seek out top-tier talent. 

Finally, you have referral-based recruiting, which involves tapping into the professional (and personal) networks of your own employees. 

Referrals have a higher chance of resulting in successful hires. To encourage more internal referrals, consider offering incentives such as cash bonuses, extra PTOs, and various office perks. 

Of course, you're free to use all three approaches to widen your net and fast-track your recruitment.

5. Conducting Interviews

The next step is to conduct a detailed interview process to identify which among the qualified applicants not only have the required technical acumen, but also resonate with your team's ethos.

Start by creating scripts, establishing a scoring system, and training employees who can facilitate the interviews. Also, consider investing in an Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) like Loxo and Teamtailor to streamline the hiring process. 

Here's a tip for startups: Don't brush off candidates who request to meet with your founders, especially if you're trying to fill a senior position. 

Nobody in a startup is too busy to make time for key interviews that could determine your future.

Also, don't forget to conduct a culture interview, which is all about evaluating cultural fit. This goes beyond technical skills and track record — focusing instead on the candidate's alignment with your startup's vision and environment personality-wise. 

6. Presenting Your Offer

Once you're absolutely sure about an applicant, all your focus should shift to crafting the perfect offer. 

It's all about "selling" the prospect of becoming a part of your crew. 

Sure, they should already have the gist from a well-written job description. But the presentation aspect is all about the positive, exciting, and rewarding elements of the role. 

There are no rules set in stone now that you've reached this step. However, experienced CTOs recommend splitting the offer into three chunks:

• Phone call — Congratulate the candidate via a candid call at the earliest convenience. 
• Email — Provide candidates with useful links and information outright to set their expectations.
• Lunch or dinner — Finally, you need to make time to meet your candidate face-to-face to discuss the role and just get to know the person behind the hire.  

7. Onboarding

The final stage of recruitment is onboarding, which involves more work than you may think. 

While it's true that a talented engineer can get up to speed by themselves, ignoring the onboarding process will substantially diminish their productivity and, of course, their experience in their new workplace. 

Below are a few things you need to get sorted ASAP:

• Share instructions and access to essential systems. This includes design tools, project management systems, and internal communications apps (i.e., Slack).
• Compile your "Engineering Guidebook." Create a comprehensive resource that outlines your programming languages, engineering process, and team functions. 
• Establish an onboarding timeline. Plan the sequence of processes, including meetings, trainings, and performance reviews, and define the milestones that can be used to gauge onboarding success. 

Tips for Building a Winning Team

Ready to build or expand your engineering team?

Before you take off, here are four essential tips to help you build a winning engineering team:

• Consider coding challenges. Separate the wheat from the chaff early by sieving out candidates who can demonstrate their skills and commitment.
• Intake form questionnaire. As an alternative (or supplement) to a coding challenge, consider sending a questionnaire as a pre-interview process for evaluating culture fit and technical competencies. 
• Use reference checks. Don't forget to request references and validate 
• Get feedback from rejected candidates. Welcome feedback from rejected candidates, analyze your recruitment process from their perspective, and iron out issues you would otherwise miss.

Conclusion

Assembling a high-performing engineering team can be a tall order, but it's definitely achievable with diligent planning and execution. 

Just remember that successful engineer recruitment pays tenfold the amount of work and budget you sink into it. After all, a company is only as good as the people running it. 

Here's more good news: We know what it takes to get software rockstars together to build something great. 

Book a free consultation here to learn more about our staff augmentation services — or work with battle-tested founding engineers. 

Let's make it happen.