Introduction

Hiring Turkish software engineers offers US companies access to a huge tech talent pool, excellent English proficiency, and significant cost savings – all of which contribute to Turkey’s reputation as the go-to location for offshore tech recruitment.

Why is Turkey popular for tech hiring?

Turkey (or Türkiye) is popular for tech hiring due to its large, young, and skilled talent pool, strong English proficiency in the tech sector, strategic location bridging East and West, and significantly lower development costs compared to Western markets, all supported by a booming digital economy and favorable remote work laws. This combination offers high-value, cost-effective talent for global companies seeking to scale.

Turkey has a youthful population, with a significant portion being tech-savvy, providing a steady supply of new developers graduating from rigorous engineering programs annually. This is supported by a rapidly growing tech infrastructure and digital economy, with successful local tech giants (including unicorns like Trendyol and Getir), and government support for sectors like AI creating a dynamic environment.

How many developers are in Turkey?

Turkey has a rapidly growing developer pool, estimated at over 150,000 IT professionals and potentially over a hundred thousand developers, with strong growth from university graduates in high-demand engineering fields, particularly concentrated in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, adding significant numbers yearly with their young, educated graduate population.

Top cities to hire developers in Turkey

The leading cities for hiring tech professionals in Turkey include:

• Istanbul: The largest tech talent market in Turkey, offering vast talent pools in AI, e-commerce, SaaS, and general software development, with many international players.
• Ankara: A strong second, especially for defense, embedded systems (C/C++, Rust), cybersecurity, and government-related tech projects, notes eor-in-turkey.com.
• İzmir: A growing ecosystem for product-focused development (React, Node.js, PHP) with a focus on e-commerce and mobile apps, attracting talent seeking a more relaxed, coastal lifestyle.
• Bursa: Ideal for industrial tech, IIoT, and manufacturing, home to agencies focused on smart factories (SCADA, C#, .NET) due to its strong automotive sector, mentions eor-in-turkey.com.
• Kocaeli: Provides access to industrial tech talent similar to Bursa.

Can I hire a fluent English speaker in Turkey?

Yes, it’s easy to hire a native English speaker in Turkey. While exact figures vary, a significant portion of Turkey’s population, estimated to be around 17-30%, has some English knowledge, concentrated in tourist areas and cities like Istanbul.

Is it hard to hire a developer in Turkey?

As a major tech hub, it can be hard to find highly skilled developers in Turkey that fit your budget. Turkey has a highly competitive tech talent market, with startups and small businesses struggling to compete with the salaries and benefits offered by major players in the region.

As a result, many companies are turning to dedicated tech hiring platforms like HireDevelopers.com to simplify the process of hiring developers and tech talent across Turkey. These platforms offer a faster alternative to traditional hiring, offering thousands of pre-vetted engineers currently looking for new opportunities.

How much does it cost to hire a developer in Turkey?

Glassdoor reports an average base salary of $3,000 USD per year for mid-level software engineers in Turkey, with a range of $2,500 to $8,000 USD per year.

With pre-vetted platforms like HireDevelopers.com, companies can save up to 80% on salaries and hiring costs when hiring Turkish developers.

How to hire a developer in Turkey

The first step to hiring a developer in Turkey is to decide on a hiring method. Traditional hiring methods include local job adverts, LinkedIn job posts and using your professional network to identify potential candidates.

However, these methods are often time consuming and can be expensive. The median time to hire a developer is around 41 days, with the slowest 10% taking up to 82 days and 38% of companies reporting project delays due to recruitment problems, according to the Linux Foundation’s 2024 State of Tech Talent Report.

Alternatively, many companies are now turning to services like HireDevelopers.com to cut costs and speed up the hiring process. With HireDevelopers.com, you can hire Turkey-based developers at any price point and in just 24 hours.

You should also consider using coding challenges alongside a traditional interview during the hiring process – if you’re using a pre-vetted talent pool like HireDevelopers.com, this has already been done for you. Coding challenges allow you to assess problem-solving skills and coding expertise in a realistic, real-time environment.

If you need help putting together a job description or conducting a job interview, you can check out our helpful and comprehensive guides below. Alternatively, to cut your time-to-hire by 90% and unlock savings of up to 80%, get in touch and book your free HireDevelopers.com consultation today.

Why hire Turkish developers with HireDevelopers?

Hiring the right Turkish developer for your team is a huge undertaking, and the process can be intimidating, especially for startups and small businesses.

At HireDevelopers.com, our pre-vetted, global tech talent marketplace streamlines your hiring journey and cuts time-to-hire by over 90% without compromising on quality or stretching your budget. Receive a custom shortlist of top developers at any seniority level and at any price point within just 24 hours of your consultation.

Plus, we’ll handle all payroll, legal compliance and HR completely for free, giving you more time to start building with your new Turkey-based dev.

Get in touch today and start hiring top-notch Turkish developers in just 24 hours with HireDevelopers.com