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Hire Engineers in India for US Companies

Retained Executive Search and
India Team Builds for US Companies

Engineering, AI, and leadership talent. Placed right.

We place senior engineers, AI specialists, and engineering leaders in India for US companies. Every mandate is retained, every shortlist is technically evaluated, and every search is managed through to signed offer. 6-week average close. Zero offer drop-offs on the last five mandates. Also serving UK companies.

Discuss a mandate View case studies
6 wk
avg. to close
0
offer drop-offs
93%
12-mo retention
3-4 h
EST daily overlap

COMPANIES WE HAVE PLACED FOR

WritesonicNBALoopioketteQSAViiArya.ai
Why US companies choose Talhive

The searches that failed before us
had three things in common.

Most US founders that reach Talhive have already tried. Posted on LinkedIn, got 200 applications and no signal. Used a contingent agency, got volume CVs with no technical depth. Tried to run the search from San Francisco without anyone who understands the India market's notice periods, competing offers, and motivation structures. Talhive exists for founders who need the search done once, done right, by a partner who owns the outcome end to end.

01
The sourcing thesis was generic.

Posting on job boards does not reach engineers who are not actively looking but would move for the right mandate.

02
Motivation was never tested.

Offer-stage dropouts are a motivation problem, not a compensation one. The process never surfaced what matters.

03
The notice period was not managed.

60 to 90 day notice periods mean counteroffers land after your process ends. Without a retention strategy, the candidate walks.

India Team Build, US Startup
Verified placement

3 Principal AI Engineers, Writesonic

A prior agency and six months of inbound had produced zero hires. Talhive identified that the real talent pool for production LLM roles sat inside platform teams at Google and Amazon, not among self-labelled AI engineers on LinkedIn. We rebuilt the sourcing thesis around deployment evidence and closed all three within 6 weeks.

Read the full case study  |  VP Engineering, UK Series B

6 wk
all three closed
0
offer drop-offs
What we hire in India

Roles we place for US companies.

AI / ML Engineering

Production LLM, RAG, and applied ML engineers. Not researchers. Engineers who have shipped AI at user scale.

View role profile

Full-Stack / Backend

Cloud-native backend and full-stack engineers for US product companies. Modern stacks, product ownership mindset.

View role profile

Founding Engineers

The first 3 to 5 India hires that set the engineering culture. Founding-team quality, not body-shop staffing.

View role profile

How we work

Brief to signed offer. 6 weeks.

1

Brief and calibration

Week 1

2

Search and shortlist

Weeks 2 to 4

3

Interview and close

Weeks 4 to 6

US vs India salary benchmarks

India vs US salary benchmarks.

Role
US
India
Saving
Senior Backend Engineer
$160K to 200K
$30K to 45K
~75%
Staff / Principal Engineer
$200K to 280K
$48K to 70K
~70%
AI / ML Engineer
$180K to 260K
$38K to 60K
~72%
Engineering Manager
$180K to 240K
$40K to 58K
~72%
VP Engineering
$250K to 350K
$60K to 95K
~72%

2026 cash salary benchmarks at funded product companies. Not IT services rates. Total compensation with ESOPs adds 15 to 40%.

The India GCC Hiring Playbook: compensation, cities, and models compared →

Hiring models

Three hiring models for US companies.
We help you choose the right one.

Retained Executive Search

Senior and leadership hires where a mis-hire costs 6 months

One search partner, defined timeline, technically evaluated shortlist. 4 to 8 weeks to signed offer. Fee: 20 to 25% of first-year CTC.

How retained search works →

EOR (Employer of Record)

1 to 15 engineers, no entity, you manage the team

The EOR handles payroll and compliance in India. You own the work. 2 to 4 weeks after candidate identified. $200 to $500/month per employee plus salary.

EOR vs entity comparison →

Entity / GCC Setup

20+ engineers, long-term presence, full control

Register a subsidiary. Full HR, payroll, benefits. 3 to 6 months setup. Makes economic sense after the team model is proven at scale.

Ready to hire in India?

Share the role, team size, and timeline. A founder will respond within 24 hours.

Book a consultation
Service model for US companies

Our services for US companies.

Retained Executive Search Retained Executive Search

VP Engineering, Staff+, and founding engineer mandates. Full candidate intelligence briefs. EST-compatible calibration and interview windows.

India Team Build India Team Build

GCC or founding team from zero. City strategy, compensation calibration, employer brand design. Bengaluru for AI/product; Pune for backend/DevOps.

Embedded RPO Embedded RPO

Scale hiring for US companies with 8+ concurrent India roles. EST-aligned weekly reporting, pipeline management, and assessed shortlists.

About Talhive and the founding team →

Share Your Hiring Brief

Tell us the role, team size, and what you have tried. A founder responds directly.

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Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions.

6 questions
How long does it take to hire an engineer in India from the US?
4 to 8 weeks from brief to signed offer. Add 60 to 90 days for notice period. Total: 3 to 4 months from search start to engineer in seat.
What does a senior engineer in India cost compared to the US?
65 to 75% less in cash salary. A senior backend engineer costs $30,000 to $45,000 in India vs $160,000 to $200,000 in the US.
Do I need to set up an Indian entity?
No. Most US companies start with an EOR which handles payroll and compliance. Entity setup becomes worthwhile once the team exceeds 20 engineers.
How do I protect IP when hiring in India?
Include an explicit IP assignment clause in every employment contract. Under Indian law, the default copyright owner is the employer, but explicit contractual assignment removes ambiguity.
How do I manage the timezone difference?
Structure around a 3 to 4 hour daily overlap (typically 8 to 11 AM IST / evening US time). Run the rest async with clear handoff docs. Do not require India engineers to work full US hours.
What are the biggest risks?
Timeline underestimation (60 to 90 day notice periods), salary miscalibration (benchmarking against IT services instead of product companies), and treating the India team as a vendor instead of product owners.
Related reading

Resources for US companies hiring in India.

Executive Search

Retained vs Contingent: When Each Model Works

The data on outcomes for senior India hires.

India Team Build

Bangalore vs Pune vs Hyderabad: Where to Build

City comparison for US companies.

Engineering Hiring

The 7 Hiring Metrics Every VP Engineering Should Track

From time-to-fill to offer acceptance rate.

View all posts →

Start your India
search today.

Share your hiring brief: the role, team size, and timeline. A Talhive founder reviews every enquiry and responds within 24 hours.

Get in touch

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Markets we serve

How we work