Hiring guide · Leadership
How to hire a
engineering tech lead.
Tech leads bridge IC engineering and management. They run technical direction, mentor engineers, and ship product alongside the team.
Comp range$180k-$320k base.
Timeline8-14 weeks.
When to hire
Hire in-house
Your engineering team has grown past 5 and architecture decisions need a consistent owner.
When to outsource
Outsource to a studio
Below 5 engineers. The CTO or founder still owns architecture.
Evaluation · 02
Signs of strong candidates.
Strong signals
- Has been a tech lead at a real company
- Strong system design and architectural chops
- Mentors engineers without formal management
- Ships alongside the team
- Strong written communication
Red flags
- ✗Pure manager — no IC contributions
- ✗Pure IC — can't lead
- ✗Resume titles inflate scope
- ✗Avoids difficult conversations
- ✗No mentoring history
Interview · 03
Questions to ask.
- Q1
Walk me through an architectural decision you led. What would you change?
- Q2
How do you mentor a struggling engineer?
- Q3
How do you decide what to build vs buy?
- Q4
How do you handle a disagreement with engineering management?
- Q5
How do you balance shipping with refactoring?
Considering a studio?
We bridge
to your hire.
We help structure tech-lead hiring. If you're not ready to hire a engineering tech lead yet, brief us — we can fill the gap and help you hire later.
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