Hire the Top 2% of
Freelance Back-End Developers

The Most In-Demand Back-End Programming Languages

The backend programming languages most often requested on job boards and marketplaces include:

• Java, the core component of the Sun Microsystems Java platform, has been around since 1995. Developers love it, especially for client-server web applications. Designed to give the look and feel of C++ apps without its complexity, Java is easier to use, write, compile, debug, and learn than its object-oriented alternative.
• Python was first released in 1989. This popular open source scripting language is used in internet development. Developers point to its versatility, supportive community, user-friendly data structures, and ease with which they can produce fast, easy-to-use applications.
• Node.js (aka JavaScript for the back-end). In 2009, Node.js launched as a JavaScript runtime built on the Chrome V8 JS engine. Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient — perfect for data-intensive, real-time applications that run across distributed devices.
• R is a programming language and development environment used for statistical computing and graphics. It’s free, open source, powerful, and highly extensible. It’s widely used by data miners and other analysts who develop statistical software and analyze data.
• PHP. Although declining in popularity, PHP is still a widely used open-source, general-purpose scripting language. Developers use it to build 30 percent of all websites. PHP is still popular because it’s easy to learn and can be hosted inexpensively.

Widely Used Back-end Development Frameworks

Languages are just part of the developer’s toolkit. Programming frameworks (tools and languages used in server-side programming in a web development environment) also play an important role in building efficient, secure apps and networks.

Here’s a list of frameworks that are currently being used in the back-end development environment:

• Ruby on Rails. Originally released in 2005, Ruby on Rails is a server-side web app framework written in the Ruby programming language and run on Linux. Its popularity is based on being easy to compile, test, and learn.
• Django. This high-level, open-source web framework is used in Python database-driven websites. Created for rapid web project development, Django enables developers to quickly grasp a project’s structure. It also provides the tools needed to develop design ideas quickly and accurately.
• Laravel. Released in 2011, this open source, PHP framework is popular for extensive back-end web application development. It eliminates the use of complex code and simplifies development generally.
• Express. Released in 2010 to develop complete web applications and APIs, Express (also called Express.js) creates web applications quickly with minimal development effort. Express.js is open source software, which many developers view as the standard framework for Node development.

Back-end Developer Job Descriptions: Defining What You Need

Hiring the best back-end developers can be divided into three steps:

1. Clearly defining the backend developer skills and experience you need
2. Knowing where to look for talent, and
3. Offering competitive pay rates.

The best backend developer job descriptions enable you to successfully hire backend developers with minimum time and effort on your part. Effective job postings provide a clear, complete description of the work you need to be worked on and the capabilities of a successful candidate.

It’s important to imagine your successful candidate in terms of scenarios rather than a list of capabilities. In essence, you’re telling a story about the work, the work environment, and your expectations.

Technical Knowledge

What should candidates know about — or better yet, understand — in each language, framework, or topic area? Examples include:

• Detailed understanding of the syntax and nuances of Ruby.
• Detailed understanding of MVC frameworks.
• Knowledge of the complexities of coding network security solutions.

Skills

What specifically should candidates be able to do? To hire back-end developers, you should use verbs, not nouns, in your job descriptions. Additionally, you should define specific capabilities that map out on specific skill levels, For example:

• Build connectors to various external APIs that will be implemented.
• Investigate and fix reported bugs.
• Collaborate with team members in application design, development, and maintenance.

Don’t forget to mention subjective technical skills when they are part of your expectations. For example:

• Writes clean code.
• Turns around revisions quickly, without the need for rework.
• Rapidly understands and interprets the meaning of code he/she didn’t write.

And, also remember to mention soft skills. You hire candidates to code, but you also need your backend developer to have reliable communication and collaboration skills. It’s hard to evaluate soft skills purely by looking at a back-end developer’s resume. As such, ensure you spend a good amount of time learning about your candidate’s soft skills during your interviewing process.

These important skills are often mentioned vaguely in job posts (“Must have first-rate communications skills,” for example). Unfortunately, they are seldom described in real-life terms that apply to specific work environments. Contrast this with specific examples, like “Candidate must be comfortable meeting with other team members and critiquing each other’s work.”

Experience

You can think of experience in traditional terms, as time spent doing a task. However, it might be more helpful, to think about a candidate’s experience in terms of scenarios — your candidate should have experience dealing with specific tasks at specific levels of expertise while using specific types of tools in specific work environments.

Here are some detailed examples:

• Building APIs, including authentication, cleanliness, and role-based access permissions
• Using Ruby on Rails and other common libraries such as RSpec and Sidekiq

The more vivid the picture you paint, the more likely your candidate will meet and speak on the same wavelength. Be sure to include some indication of what you expect. For example, a robust experience statement might look like this:

Candidate should have at least 2 years’ experience coding security solutions. Successful experience coding in Agile environments and large, distributed workgroups is a must.

Providing a job description that’s vivid, accurate, and complete boosts the chance of finding the right back-end developer candidate and reduces the risk of an off-the-mark hire.

Where to Find the Best Back-end Developers

The best developers care about what they do at work. Many have a real passion for coding. That enthusiasm and dedication can help you find them. The trick is knowing:

• Where they spend their free time. The challenge is to find the hangout spots that developers frequent.
• Challenges they face in a developer role. If developers must provide first-rate user experience or network security, you’ll probably find them in a community or interest group dedicated to these topics.
• What they look for in new job opportunities. Committed developers often want to use specific tools or learn or improve specific skills. That means they might give special consideration to positions that provide a chance for professional development.

With this knowledge, you can make an intelligent search for back-end developers. The following lists are only examples — there are far too many back-end languages, frameworks, and interest areas to list here. You can also check out more strategies to find developers for your developer team.

Online Communities for Back-end Developers

You can find communities by specifying popular languages and frameworks, topic areas (such as data and network security), and locations in browser searches. Some of the biggest and most vibrant groups include:

• Stack Overflow dedicates pages to specific languages that back-end developers use. Information includes background info, news, applications, documentation, chat rooms, moderated discussions, and more.
• Reddit provides community to registered users by gathering programming-related social news, rating web content, and discussing all things website. Popular subreddits for back-end developers are usually the ones that focus on the programming language the developer uses, such as /r/PHP, /r/java, and /r/node.
• GitHub Community Forum is a respected public platform where programmers can join or create communities focused on a specific language, framework, or topic.
• LinkedIn Groups for Back-end Developers provide classes, tutorials, training and discussions for developers in many interest areas.
• Facebook Groups for Developers enable developers to improve their coding skills and connect with experts.
• Codementor has an active community of experienced developers you can get to know and learn from. Their developer community pages include tutorials, posts, and featured questions. You can choose which topics and authors to follow to personalize your experience.

Specialized community sites include:

• Java: Oracle, O’Reilly Java, and IBM Developerworks
• Python: Full Stack Python, Pyslackers, and the Python mothership.
• Node.js: Node.js Collection and Experts Exchange
• R: The R-Statistics Blog and R Programming Forums
• PHP: PHP Roundtable, Symfony Community, and Local PHP User Groups.

Face-to-Face Communities: Conferences and Other Events

Face-to-face encounters at conferences, hackathons, local meetups, and talks are a very effective way to discover programming talent.

Meetups

At last count, back-end developer groups in the Meetup.com network had almost 46,000 members spread throughout 97 locations globally. Start here to find a group near you.

U.S. Conferences

The emphasis of these get-togethers ranges from back-end-related frameworks, technologies, and coding methods:

• Developer Week - San Francisco, CA & hybrid
• DevOPs Con - Berlin, Germany
• DockerCon - Los Angeles, CA
• But, when all is said and done, you’ll probably need a competitive pay rate to add the best developers to your projects.

Back-end Developer Pay Rates

To attract the right back-end developer, you’ll need to offer compensation consistent with market rates in your area. Here’s a summary of the results:

Annual Salaries

To calculate the national and local average salaries for back-end developers, we used data from Talent’s salary pages. Here are the annual average salaries of:

• Entry-level back-end developer salary: $97,500
• Medium back-end developer salary: $118,875
• Senior-level back-end developer salary: $155,000

Here is a list of back-end developer salaries for a selection of states in the United States with tech hubs or a high ratio of software development job openings:

• Washington: $120,000
• California: $136,500
• New York: $126,750
• Massachusetts: $135,000
• Texas: $120,374
• Colorado: $120,000

Freelance Rates

According to our survey of over 9,000 vetted freelance developers, the average hourly rate for back-end freelance developers ranges from $61 to $80 per hour. However, competitive freelance pay rates will vary based on experience and geographical location. Experienced back-end engineers based in the U.S., Canada, Australia, or New Zealand can command much higher rates of $100 per hour or more.

When calculated to monthly and annual pay, this pay range looks like this:

• Average monthly back-end developer salary: $9,760 to $12,800
• Average annual back-end developer salary: $117,120 to $153,600

You can find a complete look at hiring freelance versus full-time staff developers in Cost of Hiring Full-time vs. Freelance Software Engineers to get a better understanding about the discrepancy in the salaries/rates.

Next Steps

Skilled, experienced back-end developers are the engine of the apps and processes that your business uses every day. Hiring the best possible back-end developers helps your team deliver the most efficient and appropriate services to your business and your customers.

Here are the steps that can help you get the greatest value from the time, effort, and cost of the hiring process:

• Customize your job description using keywords to emphasize the technical experience you are looking for. Be thorough about the requirements in your job descriptions by describing relevant knowledge, skills (technical and soft), and experience for each task.
• Make sure to attract the best candidates by using each job description as a chance to brand your company as a desirable place to work.
• Engage in different types of events, at face-to-face and virtual venues. Remember, developers, who participate at these meetings are very likely to help you make high-quality networking connections or may be good back-end developers.
• Set your budget to be in line with developer salary expectations in your region. Or, consider working with a remote freelance developer. Do some background research to fully understand the indirect costs of bringing on a full-time employee.

Now that you have the ammunition you need, it’s time to begin recruiting your back-end developer!