Tech Recruitment in Brazil 101: A 2023 Guide for Scaleups

Are you looking for the most promising countries to find top tech talent? If so, then you probably know Latin America is an attractive place to hire experienced, culture-fit candidates – and there’s one that stands out as a top performer. Yes, we’re talking about Brazil.

As one of the fastest-growing economies worldwide, Brazil has a thriving tech industry and an outstanding talent pool. According to Statista, Brazil had over 500k professionals involved in offshore software development in 2022, ranking as the top geographical area for hiring developers.

But although this country is loaded with thousands of IT professionals, tech recruitment in Brazil is an uphill battle in this highly competitive environment. Luckily, we’ve got you covered.

In this post, we’ll dive into:

• A quick overview of Brazil’s tech industry and talent pool 
• Why hiring top talent in Brazil is a wise decision for scaleups 
• 5 tips for tech recruitment in Brazil, given the plethora of tech candidates available

Ready? Let’s get started.

The State of Tech in Brazil and Its Talent Pool: A Quick Overview 

Despite current economic and political challenges, Brazil is still unbeatable—especially in the software industry. Nowadays, Brazil is a significant player in creativity and innovation, with +1,000 scaleups per million population, the highest rate globally. In fact:

• Brazil ranked 54th out of 131 countries for its innovation performance in 2022 (Global Innovation Index).
• Last year, Brazil invested over $46.2 billion for the software, services, and hardware markets (ABES).
• Brazil’s software market is expected to reach $13.3 million by 2025, making it the largest in Latin America (Gartner).

But one thing is clear: To support this growth, the country must have a robust tech talent pool – the raw materials that drive this industry. And, as mentioned above, Brazil has them in spades. 

On average, 630,000 Brazilian software engineers work in IT services and 133,000 in software development. Additionally, according to the 2023 Global Services Location Index, Brazil ranked 4th among the most favorable locations for IT staff augmentation outsourcing.

It’s evident that Brazil is a place worth considering to recruit top talent. But what makes recruitment in Brazil so valuable? Below, we’ll explore it further.

Why Retaining Top Talent in Brazil is a Wise Decision for U.S. Scaleups

There are several compelling reasons for U.S. companies to retain top talent in Brazil and expand their tech teams.

Brazil boasts a leading software tech talent pool in Latin America, offering numerous sourcing advantages to U.S.-based companies. These advantages include:

• Nationwide investment in specialized IT career growth 
• Similar time zones and affordable living costs
• English proficiency
• Solid education and infrastructure
• Robust technical skills

Let’s take a closer look.

Nationwide Investment in Specialized IT Career Growth 

The Government of Brazil (GOB) is promoting the tech industry by investing in research, development, and mentorship. It’s implementing robust digital transformation strategies such as:

• National IoT strategy
• National Defense Strategy
• National Cybersecurity Strategy
• National Entrepreneurship and Startup Plan
• National Artificial Intelligence Strategy

As a result of these initiatives, Brazil ranked 2nd in Latin America and the Caribbean on the Global Innovation Index in 2022. It’s also known as the capital of tech startups in the region, hosting over 2,700 startups in Sao Paulo – more than, for instance, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Bolivia. Given the financial and knowledge support allocated to tech, Brazil is an excellent country to become a software developer.

Similar Time Zones and Affordable Living Costs

Synchronous collaboration is key to the success of every tech project. Brazil and the United States offer favorable time zones compared to Asia and Eastern Europe, with only a one- or two-hour difference, allowing for effective communication and project management.

In turn, Brazil has 18 international airports with direct flights to the United States, making face-to-face meetings possible.

Additionally, hiring Brazilian developers is cost-effective for U.S. companies, with an estimated annual salary of $31,749 in São Paulo and lower living costs than the United States. 

English Proficiency 

When it comes to hiring top tech talent, fluency in English is a critical skill for developers that should not be overlooked.

Although Brazil is not known for high English proficiency, many software developers are good at English. According to EF English Proficiency, Brazil ranks 58th in the world with a moderate proficiency level, with the highest skills in Curitiba, Florianópolis, and Porto Alegre.

Further, the Brazilian Ministry of Education has launched the Language Without Borders program to focus on English language learning among students. These initiatives enable Brazilian software developers to communicate more effectively with U.S. companies’ in-house teams.

Solid Education and Infrastructure

The Brazilian government heavily pushes for education, making Brazil the largest education market in Latin America. Plus, Brazil’s talent pool is steadily growing in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), with over 46,000 students graduating annually. 

According to the International Trade Administration:

• São Paulo, Brasília, and Rio de Janeiro are the top three locations to recruit Brazilian students.
• São Paulo has the largest applicant pool in the world and attracts the most talented students to its universities.
• Brasília has the largest GDP per capita in the country.

In addition, many excellent educational institutions offer computer science, software engineering, and information systems certifications. This excellence is also evident in universities, with the Universidade de São Paulo ranking third in the 2023 Latin America’s Top Ranking by QS.

When hiring Brazilian developers, you can rest assured about their educational background. Brazil’s education system is well-established, and consequently, its professionals are highly qualified. You’ll be in good hands with them.

Robust Technical Skills

As you can see, Brazil is a wonderful country for remote work with top tech professionals for several reasons. But here’s the most important: It has passionate, experienced, and qualified software developers.

Let’s look at some numbers:

• Brazil’s software developers rank 14th globally in technology and 2nd in Data Science (Coursera Global Skills Report 2023).
• Brazil is the ninth most active country on GitHub (RPubs).
• Brazil ranks #3 for tech skill proficiency in LATAM, with the 2nd highest data science score (99%), an excellent high technology score (87%), and the third-highest growth rate in Professional Certificate enrollments worldwide (Coursera Global Skills Report 2023).

According to Clutch’s search data, the top IT services provided by Brazilian developers are Web Development and Mobile App Development. 

Brazilian developers also excel at offering highly skilled services in:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Security
• Cloud
• Internet of Things (IoT) 
• Cryptocurrency
• Big Data

It’s worth noting that Brazil’s talent pool has proficiency in several programming languages, like JavaScript, PHP, Python, .NET, Java, and more.

5 Essential Best Practices for Recruitment in Brazil 

We’ve already covered the 5 unmatched advantages of carefully choosing Brazilian software engineers for U.S.-based scaleups. Now, it’s time to discuss the 5 essential best practices for recruitment in Brazil. These are:

1. Creating a comprehensive employer brand

2. Revamping your recruiting process

3. Identifying passive candidates 

4. Selecting and shortlisting top candidates with accurate information

5. Leveraging IT recruiting agencies

Let’s get into it.

Create a Comprehensive Employer Brand

To attract and retain Brazilian tech talent, start building your employer brand. It includes understanding your company’s mission, vision, tone of voice, and value proposition. According to Harvard Business Review, these are 3 essential requirements for employer branding:

• Reputation
• Employer value proposition
• Employee experience.

Connect with your communication and marketing partners to make your employer brand stand out. Your employer brand will work as a talent magnet from day one, nurturing candidates with your company’s distinctive qualities.

Revamp Your Recruitment Process

A fiercely competitive job market, such as the tech industry, is prone to receiving several job applications. However, having many candidates in the pipeline is not advantageous if you overlook the most suitable ones. The challenge is to source best-class Brazilian talent, on time and within budget. Modernizing your hiring process could be a worthwhile option. It may include:

• Sending a quiz-like skills test
• Scheduling a hiring manager’s introductory interview
• Assigning a take-home task
• Setting up a peer interview
• Sending an offer or sending a personalized rejection message

By incorporating a dynamic hiring process that involves short and simple steps, you can identify the strongest Brazilian tech candidates. What’s more, you can provide them with an exceptional, engaging experience.

Pro tip: To quickly find Brazilian candidates who are a good fit for your company and the role, conduct pre-screening interviews. This way, you’ll get to know them on a basic level before jumping into extensive interviews.

Identify Passive Candidates 

Although the most suitable candidates may not actively seek new job opportunities, attractive offers can persuade them to change their minds. LinkedIn research revealed that, on average, 70 % of the global workforce consists of passive talent.

Thus, having a robust talent acquisition strategy can be an effective way to find Brazilian tech talent. It involves searching for candidates with the appropriate skill set to complement your in-house IT team. 

LinkedIn is the most popular site for finding Brazilian tech professionals. Yet, other channels such as StackOverflow, Dice, and CrunchBoard are also viable job boards to post your ads.

Shortlist Top Candidates With Accurate Information

Once you’ve sourced the most appealing candidates, it’s time to create a high-quality document with detailed information about each one. It should include:

• Hard and soft skills
• English proficiency level
• Career goals
• Cultural fit for your organization

Moreover, customize your communication with candidates. Avoid generic messages and instead create personalized ones, from the first cold email recruiters send to the last touchpoint. Besides improving candidates’ experience, it’ll also enhance your company’s reputation. 

Leverage IT Recruitment Partners 

Recruiting top Brazilian tech talent can be a challenging task. And it’s easy to see why. When it comes to hiring Latin American talent, U.S. companies often struggle to find top-tier talent in a scalable, low-risk way. The solution? Outsourcing nearshore developers.

IT outsourcing partners, also known as IT augmentation agencies, can help companies hire the right talent at the right time through modern and efficient recruitment strategies.

Due to their cultural proximity, IT outsourcing partners have access to Latin American industry-leading talent hubs and quickly attract top Brazilian developers, encouraging their motivation and commitment. The fact is that Brazilian developers are renowned for their dedication, ambition, and team-oriented personalities. Thus, nurturing employees’ well-being through professional development initiatives and team-building efforts makes IT outsourcing companies stand out.

In short, IT outsourcing partners are knowledgeable in:

• Conducting in-depth interviews
• Assembling an on-demand set of candidates that meet each company’s specific goals
• Focusing on talent retention, helping companies keep new hires engaged and on board

Brazilian outsourcing partners could be a reliable and cost-effective approach for companies that expect a long-term partnership with top-tier software developers. They ensure that tech talents are aligned with each project’s goals so they can begin delivering value in no time. 

So if you’re looking to recruit Brazilian talent for your next IT project, partnering with an outsourcing agency is the way to go. Interested? Keep reading. 

Go a Step Further: Elevate Your Tech Team With The Brightest Brazilian Talent

At BEON.tech, we work with experts who specialize in managing tech development teams from Latin America, including talented Brazilian software engineers. We are chosen by seasoned U.S. companies as a results-focused Tech Talent Partner that helps them to:

• Connect with the fittest tech candidates who excel at cultural addition, proactivity, and English fluency.
• Manage devs’ expectations by aiming for their career goals and motivations.
• Provide a Talent Experience Management Program that monitors performance, empowers consistent growth, and ensures developers strive for excellence.

Maybe we can help your company too. Book a free consulting call with one of our matching specialists.