How to Hire Defi Developers To Boost Your Blockchain Product

DeFi is a new trend in the blockchain world, and it is increasing in popularity day by day. Many companies are mulling over how to find DeFi developers to build their own products and services based on decentralized finance. But how do these companies find them?

Hiring DeFi experts isn’t easy for most because few programmers have this specific skill set. Procoders has compiled this guide to help you find and hire decentralized finance developers for your project! Our guide will tell you what skills they should have, where to look for them online, and how much they cost.

DeFi Development Market Overview

DeFi is a new concept in the blockchain space that stands for “decentralized finance.” or “Direct Finance Infrastructure”. This means trusted protocols, applications, and tools (dApps) built on an open-source foundation that allows users to transact directly without intermediaries or centralized control.
DeFi’s popularity started to grow in 2021 when there were more than $30 billion invested in DeFi projects; on the 1st of November, it went to $236 billion! For example, one of the most significant Defi projects, Avalanche, has a $25 billion capitalization.

In 2022, following DappRadar, there’re already 12,495 dapps across all chains with at least 1 active user in the last 24 hours. It’s not surprising that Defi is growing rapidly, as more and more people become aware of its benefits: lower fees than traditional banks (normally, it’s a 0,25-0,3% fee on the transaction) and no censorship because it cannot be shut down by governments or large conglomerates that control payments infrastructure today.

Furthermore, according to Statista, the global decentralized finance market size was valued at USD 11.78 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42.5% from 2022 to 2030. This growth is due to DeFi’s eliminating intermediaries that hinder financial processes. Furthermore, the utilization of DeFi in the insurance industry has had the most impact because conventional systems suffer from complex procedures, paperwork, and audit systems. So if you want your dApps to make money consider this industry.

Key Skills a DeFi Specialist Needs for Most Popular Blockchains

Developer skills differ depending on the project he will be working on, but in general, they are:

Blockchain architecture

A DeFi developer must fully understand how the blockchain technology on which the project is built works.

Cryptography

A DeFi engineer must understand how to create a safe application for users, so they do not worry about the safety of their data. For example, he must know how to use the public key to prevent unauthorized access.

Smart-contracts

A blockchain developer must know how smart contracts work. This understanding is the foundation of crypto fintech. A reliable system cannot be built without it.

Programming languages

The most popular programming languages ​​in this area are JS, C++, Java, and Python. But it is also good for a developer to know some objective-oriented programming languages, such as Swift or Objective-C.

If you don’t know for sure how to hire DeFi engineers or maybe hire Rust developers, don’t hesitate to contact ProCoders. Our aim is to help you get around the competition and hit your targets with great custom software. ProCoders provide such services as outstaffing, outsourcing, and even discovery phase, so if you need any of these services and feel that you don’t have time for all the interviews, take a developer in your in-house team – contact us today!

Where to Find and Hire DeFi Experts

If you’re wondering how to make a DeFi app, first you need to find a DeFi expert. However, where to start to look for them?
ProCoders has created a list for you with some options:

Offshoring

This variant is suitable for those who work worldwide and not afraid to trust their project to third parties.

Pros

• Access to a wide talent pool and hiring people with specific skill sets.
• Hiring experts from all over the world at a low cost.

Cons

• The huge difference between time zones.
• Cultural differences.
• Inability of a new hire to speak English properly.

Hiring a Freelancer

Hiring freelance defi developer can be a good option if you want to hire someone quickly and inexpensively. However, there’re also some disadvantages. Let’s look:

Pros

• A good option to help with one project or event.
• Hiring freelancers is cost-effective.

Cons

• The inability of a freelancer to understand your business as well as an in-house employee.
• Lack the knowledge or skills needed for your project.
• Freelancers might leave you halfway or at the finish line anytime.

Outstaffing

Pros

• Assigning tasks and managing their performance by a client, while the vendor handles payroll.
• A client knows the sum to be paid monthly.
• Easily adding employees to a project and quickly removing them.
• Outstaff team members would be dedicated to one client, rather than working simultaneously from project to project or for a couple of clients.

Cons

• Communication issues with new employees.
• The responsibility for the project fully lies on you.
• The cost for the outstaffing team may be higher if you want to work with a company well-known for quality service and reliability.

Hiring a local developer

Well, you may still want to hire a local developer for your in-house team. Then it’s time to look through its pros and cons:

Pros

• Communication lines are open all day, every day, so you don’t have to wait for a response from them.
• The client-developer relationship is stronger because they are close by.

Cons

• Local developers (especially fresh university graduates) may be unprofessional and cost-inefficient.
• If you are in America or Western Europe, local hiring an employee with good programming skills will cost much more than in other countries.
• Hiring a local developer limits working hours to standard office hours (9 am-5 pm).
• What’s more, hiring process can take a lot of valuable time.

Hiring with ProCoders

With an average cost that can be cheaper than in the US or Western Europe, up to 50%, ProCoders can quickly assemble a team of skilled Central European developers for your project. Additionally, for more than 15 years on the market (our history started in 2007), ProCoders have proved that our employers are of high quality among our younger competitors.

ProCoders can provide you with professional DeFi developers for your project on an outstaffing basis. However, compared to other outstaffing companies, we try to make everything for you to feel direct communication with a developer like they become members of your in-house team.

Besides, not only recruiters and HR managers interview our candidates, but also our technical team leads by giving live coding task. So we don’t rely on CVs only!

Moreover, ProCoders can assist with implementing your development project at any point, from the discovery phase to the project post-support. With our vast experience in various sectors (not only DeFi), we can help you create a unique product that will fill a market need. Reach out to us now!

Tips to Choose a DeFi Developer

To ensure that you know how to hire DeFi developers, there are some things to keep in mind. ProCoders always checks these skills when hiring a new developer:

• Look for a developer who has experience in the field. Whether you’re building a decentralized lending platform or decentralized applications for spare parts, finding someone who knows how to create a decentralized application (especially with special requirements) is important.
• Look for a developer who has experience with the technology you need. If your project depends on a specific type of blockchain and/or programming language, make sure your chosen DeFi developer has some experience using them.

As it was mentioned above, ProCoders stick to these tips, so you can be sure that if you contact us to get a team of superstar blockchain developers, you’ll get what you want!

How to Hire DeFi Developers In 5 Steps

ProCoders have put together a step-by-step guide to help you find the right developer.

Define your requirements.

Before you start looking for a solution to your problem, you need to define it. Take some time to think about what you hope to accomplish with DeFi development and what types of solutions could help you achieve those goals. Make sure your expectations are clear and realistic—it’s important that they align with what’s possible and give you enough room for flexibility if things change along the way (as they often do).

Determine the team structure.

Another step in hiring DeFi engineers is determining the team structure, which is how many people should be on your development team. This can range from just one developer to hundreds of developers, depending on the scope of your project and other factors like budget and timeline.

In general, DeFi teams are often small and lean, with a tight focus on delivering a product or service to market. The most successful DeFi teams are well-rounded groups that can deliver results in several key areas:

• Product management: product managers manage the roadmap for the team’s products, ensuring they meet customer needs and expectations. They also make sure the team is building products that can scale, helping to ensure their company is successful over the long term. Pro tip: don’t confuse product owner vs product manager.
• Engineering: engineering managers oversee development work, prioritizing workflows and deciding what features should be built next. Engineering managers also need to have technical skills themselves, so they can assist in building out new features and improving existing ones.
• Product design: product designers are responsible for creating user interfaces that are easy to use, intuitive, and look great. They also work closely with engineers during development to ensure that every feature has an intuitive user interface.

Create a job description for a DeFi developer.

A job description is the most crucial step in your hiring process. As a general rule of thumb, keep your job descriptions short (between 100-150 words). Make sure that they capture what you are looking for from this role so that candidates can easily understand what’s expected from them and whether their skills are a good fit for this position.

Besides, state the salary you’re offering for a position. If you don’t do that, you may end up communicating with a specialist who is expecting a higher payment than you are ready to offer.

A well-written job description will help you find a perfect candidate, which will match all your expectations and help you avoid irrelevant ones.

Interview DeFi blockchain developers.

Interviewing DeFi blockchain developers is a crucial part of the hiring process. It’ll help you get to know them and understand their experience, skills, and interests.

Here are some tips for interviewing a DeFi blockchain developer:

• When hiring an employee, it is helpful to consider their mindset. For example, they may be professional developers, but if they do not know how to work in a team, they may cause more harm than benefit.
• Evaluate a person’s skills by requiring them to complete a test task. Observe how well they do it and whether they have enough knowledge in DeFi development. This will be more revealing than simple questions about past job experience, Nevertheless, such questions are not unimportant.
• Avoid yes/no questions because they don’t indicate what kind of answer you’re looking for — you want candidates who can think critically about problems and come up with creative solutions!

Interview Questions to Ask when Looking for DeFi Engineers

So, you think about hiring DeFi developers. Of course, as ProCoders has mentioned before, test tasks are more effective at observing specialists’ skills and experience, but you can still ask some questions to make things clearer:

For junior DeFi developers:

• How do DeFi applications work?
• What is the importance of smart contracts in DeFi?
• What are the key components of DeFi wallets?
• What is a Governance Token?
• How is DeFi useful in borrowing and lending?

For middle DeFi developers:

• How is DeFi applied for decentralized marketplaces?
• What are the key components of DeFi wallets?
• What do you know about a DAO?
• What is a Governance Token?
• Who is a Lending Provider?

For senior DeFi developers:

• What is liquidity mining?
• What is a Multisig Wallet?
• Can you define TVL?
• Do you know about yield farming?
• What do you mean by staking?

Feel that hiring a DeFi developer will take much of your time? ProCoders offers a streamlined hiring process that saves you time and effort when searching for software developers. We carefully monitor the quality of our developers, so you can focus on your project without worrying about finding the right person for the job.

Cost of Hiring Decentralized Finance Developers

To hire DeFi developer, it’s essential to know the market rate. Many factors will affect the cost of hiring Decentralized Finance developers, such as location and experience level. This section will examine the current rate of hiring DeFi experts and their expected future salaries.

Hire DeFi Developers in 2022: Rates. Fix Prices. Annual Salaries

The DeFi developer’s salary in the USA, Western Europe, and Australia is very high. The average annual salary for a DeFi developer is $133,000.

If you want to hire DeFi specialists, be ready that the average hourly rate for a DeFi developer in the same areas is $100 per hour.

The best-paid 10% of DeFi developers make at least $160 per hour ($320,000 annually), while the lowest-paid 10% make less than $66 hourly ($130,000 annually).

However, don’t get frightened in advance: ProCoders have created an annual salary comparison table for you to see how much you would need to pay for your developer in different countries:

	Junior	Middle	Senior
UK	$73 000	$109 000	$127 000
US	$77 000	$101 000	$149 000
Estonia	$21 000	$30 000	$42 000
India	$12 000	$15 000	$30 000
Croatia	$10 000	$22 000	$35 000
Portugal	$30 000	$50 000	$73 000
Sweden	$24 000	$45 000	$105 000
Germany	$60 000	$110 000	$150 000

In addition, if you’re looking to hire a DeFi development team, Procoders can provide you with it under such rates:

• average annual salary of $80,000 per project (however, everything depends on your project complexity and tasks that should be done);
• the average hourly rate of $29 per hour.

Despite the fact that we recruit developers from low-cost countries, they are still talented and knowledgeable. Before providing you with a specialist, Procoders thoroughly test them: we make interviews, do live coding, give specialists test tasks, etc. This way, we can provide our clients with the highest quality possible. So if you are not afraid of working remotely, you can safely contact ProCoders—we’re a very profitable option for your business and an ideal combination of price and quality!

Hidden Hiring Costs to Hire DeFi Developers

In addition to those prices you saw above, you must keep in mind several other expenses that are not obvious at first glance but which you will always incur when hiring a new employee. ProCoders know very well how our customers save their money when working with us, and below are some of the costs associated with hiring an in-house developer that you can avoid.

Recruiting

While hiring an employee, you should also remember about recruiting costs, job opening publications (which on some websites aren’t free), and posting ads on sites like UpWork. It also includes paying someone to write an attractive text for a job opening, to place it (usually to your recruiter or an HR manager), analyzing sites where it is most profitable to post ads, and attracting a candidate to apply.

And what about interviews? Interviewing is expensive. The average time spent for communicating with a candidate is 40-60 hours, and each interview costs $10,000. If your company needs five developers, recruiting and interviewing will cost you around $50,000 just to find the right person.

Onboarding costs

Onboarding is the process of getting a new hire up to speed. Training is an important part of onboarding. It teaches employees about the company’s values and workplace culture. Training should be customized to each new employee based on their role in the company, as well as the needs of their department or team. It requires time from HR managers, office managers, or IT staff. This initial investment can be costly but worthwhile if successfully retaining talent over time — the ROI depends on how long employees stay at your firm after being onboarded (i.e., their tenure). Or not worthwhile, if an employee decides to leave after a few months – who knows?

Benefits and perks

Under benefits and perks ProCoders mean benefit-related costs such as health care insurance, savings for retirement, extra rewards, etc. that are paid by employers rather than employees themselves.

Due to a shortage of professional developers, companies compete to provide the best working conditions. Strange benefits such as “office meals, discounts at partner stores, sign-in bonuses, etc.” appear because of this. All this costs a lot of money and exists only to lure a new employee to them.

However, you can easily avoid it. For example, hiring developers through ProCoders allows you to get employees without spending money on such things. Our company covers all such expenses, including sick leave and vacation pay.

How ProCoders Can help hire Developers for Your DeFi Project

ProCoders is a provider of software development services. With a team of experienced and certified blockchain developers, ProCoders offers services for all popular blockchains, including Ethereum, EOS, and Hyperledger Fabric. By hiring ProCoders’ remote developers, you save on recruiting expenses and benefits, which are all taken care of by the company. The only thing left for you is to introduce an employee to the project!

Why should you choose us? Well, there’re some points that differentiate us from other outstaffing companies:

Complex project support: before, during, and after development

We can not only sell you a development team but also act as a consulting company. For example, help you make a discovery phase to implement LMS solutions or assist with project support once the main stages of development have been completed.

Direct communication

ProCoders prefer simple and open communication. You will have a direct line of communication with developers, and you will be able to contact them anytime.

We guarantee that every client receives a response from our employee within 30 or 40 minutes (it’s written in the contract). However, if you wish to speak to a manager, they are also available on hand to help sort out miscommunications if they arise.

By tracking down the causes of problems when communicating with our clients, ProCoders have now established proper processes that ensure no troubles are faced!

Our developer = your troubleshooter

ProCoders thoroughly test every DeFi developer before hiring them and ensure they meet our standards. They are accepted into our team only after they complete a test task, live coding, and pass all interviews. We also pay a lot of attention to a person’s expertise and mindset since this is one of the essential components of effective work.

Flexibility

You can have a developer on your team for as long as you need one. Or two developers. Or three. Also need a designer for some time? Well, we have some. And a back-end developer? We’ll provide you with the best one for your project! Even if you need them only for a couple of weeks.

Long-term relationship

We take a long-term approach to our client partnerships, trying to build relationships that will last for years. ProCoders really care about the success of our clients’ businesses! We want to create projects that will be online for a long time, projects that are exciting and meaningful for us. We do not aim to hit the jackpot; we would instead make small profits from long-lasting and successful projects.

So, if you want to find decentralized finance developers for your project or want to outsource your DeFi development project, ProCoders can help you get started with an end-to-end solution tailored according to your needs and requirements. We are happy to provide you with the best DeFi developers for hire!

Conclusion

This article has provided an overview of the DeFi industry, explaining where and how to look for DeFi developers and how much it costs to hire them.

The main reason for DeFi’s popularity lies in lower fees than traditional banks, no censorship because it cannot be shut down by governments or large conglomerates that control payments infrastructure, and the fact that no minimum account balances are required. These reasons are attracting more and more users daily, and that’s why more and more entrepreneurs want to create something unique not only to enter this sphere but also to provide benefits to a large number of people.

However, entrepreneurs often forget that it’s not so easy to hire a good DeFi developer to produce a really good product. From the ProCoders experience, a good DeFi developer should possess such skills as:

• blockchain architecture;
• cryptography;
• smart-contracts;
• corresponding programming languages.

Besides, before hiring a DeFi developer, an entrepreneur should define their requirements, the team structure, create a thoroughly written job description, and, finally, interview blockchain developers.

It should also be kept in mind that despite the fact that DeFi developers can be found worldwide, but you should be really careful with the price you hire a developer for, as in their salary hidden costs may be applied. To avoid the hidden costs, ProCoders advice you to look for DeFi developers in Central Europe where the cost is much lower. For example, in the case of ProCoders, we provide a DeFi development team with an average annual salary of $80,000 per project and an average hourly rate of $29 per hour.