devil's advocate - if they are HQ'd in the US, is hiring US citizens that big of...

alistairSH · 2026-09-14T17:24:50

For us, it's a mix of...

Local SMEs (regulatory requirements), sales, local implementation teams, HR / legal (to support the previous employees). And engineers.

Sales and implementation could maybe be US-based, but then we're flying them around the globe. Not sure that makes sense vs hiring locals.

SMEs, similar story - not always available in the US.

The engineers are the only ones that could realistically be co-located in the US. But, a good chunk of those were acqui-hired, so now you're asking them all to relocate to the US? Not sure that's viable in the best of times, and definitely not in today's ass-backwards political climate.

lokar · 2026-09-14T15:10:26

IME it’s not cheaper, it’s the only way to find enough qualified people

throwawalien · 2026-09-14T15:15:03

IME at my org we have 3 contractors out of SE Asia to every 1 US FT role. They make less than a third of a FT US employee.

lokar · 2026-09-14T16:44:48

Yes, there is a ton of abuse that drives down pay for many people.

We should find way to improve the system.

alistairSH · 2026-09-14T17:27:18

Meh, not sure I really buy that argument. I've never had a problem hiring in the US. And this is for a mid-tier, mid-size software company that most people have never heard of, not located in SV, and PE-owned (not much in the way of big bonuses and no stock options).

lokar · 2026-09-14T21:01:09

I’ve interviewed hundreds of people over many years. Lucky to find one out of 10 that are good.

alistairSH · 2026-09-14T22:38:26

1/10 sounds in the ballpark - I think my ratio is better, but not by much. About half my interviews have been with candidates in India, half US, all for software engineering roles, mostly early to mid-career. Success rates weren't significantly different between the countries. Haven't had the chance to interview in Mexico yet, but we have an office there, so that'll probably happen soon.