Squads — Embedded Engineering

In-house speed.
Zero hiring.

Offshore staffing sells cheaper hours. Squads embeds better builders — AI-native specialists who communicate like colleagues and run on a written, public standard. You get the velocity; we stand behind the quality.

Book a discovery call Read the Standard

1 in 100 makes it in.

Real numbers from our hiring funnel: for every opening, hundreds apply and one to three are selected.
Stage 1
100–300
Applicants per opening
Talent-network outreach and open applications, filtered for seniority, availability, and remote-readiness.
Stage 2
~50
Pass screening
Qualification screening — only about 1 in 4 earns an invite to the technical assessment.
Stage 3
5–10
Pass technical assessment
Hands-on technical validation with an AI-cheating honeypot, plus reasoning and applied-design tests.
Stage 4
1–3
Pass the 1-on-1 interview
Only 1–3 pass the scored 1-on-1 interview for communication and depth. Only these join the bench — onboarded to the Standard.

AI makes strong engineers faster — and weak ones harder to spot. Our assessments are built to tell the difference, so everyone on the bench can genuinely build. The tools amplify them; they never cover for them. See the full vetting process →

How Squads compares.

Traditional offshore
Talent marketplaces
Sageware Squads
What’s sold
Hours at the lowest viable rate.
Individual freelancers, matched fast.
Accountable embedded engineers backed by a written standard.
Who owns quality
You. Quality variance is your problem.
You. The platform steps back after matching.
We do — SLAs, escalation paths, and a managed bench.
AI workflow
Ad hoc, engineer by engineer.
Whatever the freelancer prefers.
AI-augmented workflow as standard, governed and reviewed.
Timezone & comms
Overnight turnaround; you adapt.
Varies per individual.
Guaranteed overlap windows and async-first writing culture.
Continuity
Rotation without notice.
One resignation away from zero.
Managed bench continuity with documented handover.

In-house hiring is great — when you can afford the six-month search. Squads puts a productive engineer on your team in weeks, and scales back just as easily when priorities change.

Pricing

Engineers from $4k/mo

One all-inclusive monthly fee per specialist — salary, benefits, HR, equipment policy, and ongoing coaching. No hidden markups, no hiring overhead.

1–4 weeks
From discovery call to an embedded engineer — weeks, not quarters.
Zero setup
Sageware employs; you direct the work. Entity, payroll, and compliance — handled on our side.
Guaranteed
If fit isn't right, we replace from the bench — with documented handover, at no added cost.
What founders say
1 / 3
“The engineer Sageware embedded set the bar for our whole team. Real product sense, fearless with the hard problems, and fast — everything you want in a builder.”
Beato BongcoCo-Founder, Anycase.AI

Frequently asked

How quickly can an engineer start? +

Search runs for one week, vetting takes another — you meet your shortlist in weeks two to three and most engineers embed within a week of your decision. For select roles we hold pre-vetted candidates who can start the following week.

What about time zones and communication? +

Overlap windows are agreed before the engagement starts. If your team needs full schedule alignment, we prioritize candidates willing to work your timezone completely; for async-comfortable teams, we guarantee core collaboration hours (typically 3–5) with written, async-first communication covering the rest.

What if the fit isn’t right? +

We run a replacement search from the same vetted bench, and documented handover standards mean the incoming engineer inherits context, not chaos. We’re incentivized to get it right the first time.

Do I need a Philippine entity? +

No. Squads engineers are employed by Sageware — payroll, benefits, compliance, and HR are handled on our side. You manage the day-to-day work; there’s nothing to set up.

How involved do I need to be? +

Initially, two to three hours for discovery and candidate interviews. Ongoing, you manage the work like any team member’s; we handle employment admin and provide continuous coaching. Most clients spend under 30 minutes a month on engagement admin.

Does a single engineer count as a Squad? +

Yes. One embedded engineer runs on exactly the same standard as a full squad — the same vetting, the same overlap guarantees, the same SLAs and documentation practices.

Roadmap outpacing headcount?

Tell us what you're building. We'll show you the engineers and the standard they run on.

Book a discovery call