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Take an engineer on contract for 3-6 months and convert to your payroll if it fits. The conversion fee is credited for every month worked and reaches zero at 12 months. Start in about 10 days.
Reply within one working day. NDA before we see your backlog. Rates are in US dollars; contracts can be issued in USD, GBP or EUR.
You want to hire but need to see the work before you commit. Work together first, convert to your payroll when it fits.
Not sure? Compare all five models or ask for a recommendation.
Four steps, with dates you can plan around.
Role, level, stack, time zone, contract length and the conversion salary you expect to offer.
A contract of 3-6 months, billed hourly on timesheets. The engineer works inside your team from the first day.
At any point after the minimum term, tell us you want to convert. There is no obligation to convert.
The engineer joins your payroll. The standard placement fee is reduced by one twelfth for each month worked on contract.
These terms go into the client agreement. They are not marketing copy.
| Term | Commitment |
|---|---|
| Shortlist | Three profiles within 4 working days (median) |
| Start | About 10 days from signed brief |
| Minimum term | 3 months |
| Conversion fee | Standard placement fee (15-22% of salary) less one twelfth per month worked |
| Replacement | 10 working days if the engineer leaves during the contract |
| Billing | Monthly in arrears on approved timesheets |
Mid-level rates start at $36 an hour. Region, role and level move the price, and the table shows exactly how. 3 months minimum term, no set-up fee.
| Region | Junior | Mid | Senior | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United StatesNew York, Austin, San Francisco | $79 | $102 | $128 | $153 |
| United KingdomLondon, Manchester, Edinburgh | $45 | $59 | $75 | $90 |
| Western EuropeBerlin, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Barcelona | $31–52 | $37–66 | $47–84 | $56–99 |
| Central & Eastern EuropeWarsaw, Krakow, Prague, Bucharest | $31–32 | $36–41 | $47–53 | $56–64 |
| Latin AmericaSao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Bogota | $35–41 | $45–52 | $57–67 | $69–82 |
| AsiaBengaluru, Pune, Manila, Kuala Lumpur | $31 | $36 | $47 | $56 |
Swipe the table sideways to see every level.
If you convert, the conversion fee is credited by months worked and reaches zero at 12 months. Standard fees are 15-22% of first-year pay by level.
An honest comparison on the factors that decide most QA staffing choices.
| What you compare | In-house hire | Freelancer | Contract-to-hire QA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to start | 8-12 weeks: search, notice period, onboarding | 1-4 weeks, depends on your network | About 10 days from signed brief |
| Cost shape | Salary plus about 15-32% on-costs, plus recruiting fees | Day rate, no benefits, no backfill | One hourly rate that includes payroll, equipment, QA-lead review and backfill |
| Who manages the work | Your QA lead or engineering manager | You, full-time | You (augmentation, dedicated) or us (project, managed) |
| If the person leaves | Restart the search, lose the knowledge | Restart the search | Replacement in 10 working days, handover written |
| Scaling up or down | Hiring and redundancy processes | Add one person at a time, if you can find them | Monthly notice after the minimum term |
| Knowledge retention | Highest, if the person stays | Lowest, ends with the contract | Documented in your repo and test-management tool, not in heads |
| Security and compliance | Your policies, your onboarding | Your policies, weaker enforcement | NDA, managed devices, your VPN, access removed on exit |
Nearshore for overlap, offshore for follow-the-sun, onshore for residency rules. Rates for each region are in the table above.
Full-day overlap with US East and Central. Strong in manual, mobile and API testing. English is good to professional; confirm for client-facing roles.
The deepest automation and SDET bench in Europe. Same working day as the UK and EU, a morning overlap with US East.
Right for regulated work that needs EU residency, works-council rules or on-site days. Spain and Portugal cost less than the north and sit one to two hours closer to the US.
Follow-the-sun regression: results are ready when your team starts the day. Plan a shifted start for stand-ups and a written handover.
Signed NDA, your VPN and identity provider, managed devices. Details for regulated work are on the industries pages.
A mutual NDA is signed before we see your backlog, builds or credentials. Every engineer on your account signs an individual confidentiality undertaking.
Engineers connect through your VPN or zero-trust gateway, with your SSO and MFA. We do not ask for shared accounts or credentials sent by email.
Work happens on a PassRidge-managed laptop with full-disk encryption, screen lock, EDR and no local copy of client data, or on your own virtual desktop. USB storage is disabled.
Access is requested per person, per environment, and removed on the day an engagement ends. Test data is synthetic or masked: no live customer records in test.
Identity, right-to-work and employment-history checks before the first day. Criminal-record checks where the client and local law require them.
Our policies, subprocessor list and incident process are in a security pack we share under NDA. We run controls aligned with ISO/IEC 27001 and do not claim a certificate we do not hold.
The standard permanent fee for the role level (15-22% of annual base salary), reduced by one twelfth for each full month the engineer worked on contract. After 12 months it is zero.
Then you do not. The contract runs out or ends on notice and no conversion fee applies.
Yes. Candidates are told the contract is contract-to-hire and what the conversion route is before they accept, so there are no surprises on either side.
A permanent placement costs less in total if you are sure. Contract-to-hire costs more per month while on contract, and in exchange removes the risk of a wrong hire.
Yes. We can act as employer of record during the contract and for the first months after conversion, if you do not yet have a local entity.
An engagement manager replies within one working day with questions, a team outline and a price range for Contract-to-hire QA.
Prefer to talk first? Write to [email protected] or use the hiring request form for permanent and contract roles.
Tell us the role you want or the role you need. A QA-only recruiter replies within one working day.