Hire developers
Hire a software architect, or get the big decision made first.
Sometimes you need a senior person on the team who owns technical decisions. Sometimes you need one decision made well and written down. We do both: we shortlist vetted freelance architects and tech leads, and our own senior engineers run architecture reviews and fractional CTO work.
When teams bring us this brief
- A system that has outgrown its first design, and no one in-house to redesign it
- A big decision, such as rebuilding or refactoring, that needs someone to challenge it
- A growing team without a senior engineer who owns the architecture
What the job covers in practice
Own the technical decisions
Weigh the options, write down the trade-offs and stand behind the choice.
Plan the change
Turn a target design into steps the team can ship one at a time, each with a way back.
Guide the team
Review designs and code, and set the standards other engineers follow.
Explain it to the business
Put cost, risk and timing in words that people outside engineering can act on.
Tools this role often works with
- AWS
- Google Cloud
- Kubernetes
- Java
- Spring Boot
- PHP
- Laravel
- PostgreSQL
- Redis
- Elasticsearch
How it works
- 01
Tell us who you need
A short brief: the role or skills, when they should start and for how long. A rough idea is enough.
- 02
Get a shortlist
Vetted people who are available and have said they are interested. You see their experience, skills and why we picked them.
- 03
Choose for each person
Hire them directly, or let SDK manage them. Or pass, and we keep looking.
- 04
They start
We introduce you and agree the start date. We stay your contact while they work.
Two ways to work with each person
You decide for each person on your shortlist, so you can mix both on the same team.
Hire directly
They work for you, on your own contract.
- We introduce you and hand them over
- They join your team on your terms
- You manage their work, admin and payments
- Best when you want them for the long run
Let SDK manage them
They work on your project, under our contract.
- They join your project under SDK's contract
- We handle the paperwork, admin and payments
- If it does not work out, we find a replacement
- Best when you want to start fast with no admin
Work our own engineers have delivered
These case studies are our team's track record, not work by the freelancers on your shortlist. Our engineers review every candidate before we propose them.
Our advice comes from delivery work, not from consulting engagements. On the Crédit Agricole cloud program we assessed each application to decide whether to upgrade or rebuild it, and through Sopra Steria our engineers led the Java 8 to 16 migration of a critical gas trading application.
- Crédit AgricoleBankingMoving 600+ banking applications from legacy VMs to AWSA block of a large migration team, delivering 50+ application migrations for Crédit Agricole.Read the case study
- Sopra SteriaEnergySecure platforms for energy-sector clients through Sopra SteriaA supervision tool, secure utility APIs and a Java 8 to 16 migration for a gas trading application.Read the case study
Questions before you hire
Freelance architect, architecture review or fractional CTO?
Hire a freelance architect if the work is ongoing and you want them in your team. Choose an architecture review if you need one clear answer in writing. A fractional CTO gives you a senior technical lead for part of the month.
Do you shortlist people with the title software architect?
We look for senior engineers who can lead a team and own technical decisions, whatever their title. Describe the decisions in your brief, and you see each person's experience and why we picked them.
Will an architecture review just recommend hiring you?
No. The recommendation is written so your own team can act on it. If building with us makes sense, we say so, and the decision stays yours.
Can the architect help us hire the rest of the team?
A fractional CTO can: hiring is part of that role, along with making decisions and keeping delivery on track. With a freelance architect you hire directly, you agree the scope of their work with them.
What to put in your brief
A rough idea is enough to start. These details help us send the right people.
- The system, and the decision in front of you
- Whether you need someone on the team or an answer in writing
- Who they would work with, and who makes the final call
Tell us who you need.
A short brief takes about two minutes. We reply by email with the next step.