Squads — Vetting

1 in 100
reaches your desk.

Anyone can say "rigorously vetted." We'd rather show you the funnel: four stages, four named tests, real pass rates. By the time an engineer reaches your interview, the guesswork is already done.

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Four stages. No shortcuts.

Real numbers from our hiring funnel: for every opening, hundreds apply and one to three are selected.
Stage 1
100–300
Search & screening
We source from our talent network and open applications, then filter for seniority, availability, and remote-readiness. Most applicants stop here.
Stage 2
~50
Foundational assessment
The A-Test: real technical work — data structures, debugging, clean code — with an AI-cheating honeypot built in. About 1 in 4 screened candidates passes.
Stage 3
5–10
Advanced screening
Three deeper reads: the B-Test for applied craft, the R-Test for reasoning, the C-Score for communication — each graded by an engineer against a written rubric.
Stage 4
1–3
Scored 1-on-1 interview
Live, with a senior engineer: depth, thought process, communication. The one to three who pass join the bench — and are onboarded to the Standard.

Clearing the funnel without an open seat puts a candidate on the bench, pre-vetted. For select roles, that's how an engineer can start the week after your call.

What we actually test.

Four named tests. Each earns a letter grade and written indicators from the engineer who reviewed it — not a checkbox.
A-Test
Foundational skills
Hands-on technical work in the candidate’s craft — data structures and algorithms, bug finding and reporting, clean idiomatic code. We grade the approach, not just the answer: simple solutions score higher than clever ones.
B-Test
Applied craft
The work the role actually demands — system design, schema decisions, test cases. We look for real use cases covered, a sound structure, and the edge cases nobody told them to find.
R-Test
Reasoning
Problems with no single right answer — because neither is your roadmap. Strong candidates bring structure, name their assumptions, and weigh uncertainty instead of ignoring it.
C-Score
Communication
Scored across every stage, then tested live: clear writing, a structured spoken walkthrough, and the ability to explain their own work to someone about to question it. Remote teams run on this.
The honeypot

Pasted answers
don't make the bench.

AI makes strong engineers faster — and weak ones harder to spot. So our assessments carry a honeypot: planted signals that a pasted-in AI answer reproduces and a human working the problem never would. Trigger it, and the application ends there.

The standard they join
Graded by engineers
Every submission is read and scored by a senior engineer against a written rubric. Nothing is auto-scored, so nothing slips through on pattern-matching.
Native, not dependent
We hire engineers who use AI well — after they've proven they can build without it. The tools amplify the bench; they never cover for it.
Defended live
The final stage is a conversation: candidates walk the grader through their own work, out loud. There's no pasting your way through that.

What reaches your desk.

You don't get a résumé pile — you get two to three finalists, each with a scorecard covering both columns below.
Technical rigor
  • An approach a senior engineer would sign off on
  • Clean, idiomatic code in their craft
  • Real use cases and edge cases covered
  • Reasoning that holds under uncertainty
  • Zero AI-honeypot indicators
  • Explained their own work clearly, live
Professional readiness
  • Asking rate inside your stated budget
  • Start date confirmed before you interview
  • Shift aligned to your working hours
  • Equipment and workspace ready for remote work
  • Prior remote or international team experience
  • Clear written and spoken English

The vetting doesn't stop at the offer. Every engineer gets ongoing coaching and works to the written, public Sageware Standard — so the bar they cleared is the bar they keep.

Meet the 1 in 100.

Tell us the role. We'll show you the finalists — scorecards included.

Book a discovery call