Hire the best Software Engineer in the Philippines

How to hire a software engineer in the Philippines

To hire a software engineer in the Philippines, you are usually competing in one of two pools. The first is offshore delivery and outsourcing centres building software for US, Australian and European clients. The second is product teams building for Filipino users in banking, e-wallets and e-commerce. Engineers move between both, but they interview and negotiate differently, so decide early which one your role sits in. The timeline below shows where the weeks go.

Where the talent is

• Metro Manila holds the largest pool, spread across BGC, Makati, Ortigas and Quezon City.
• Cebu has a fast-growing tech community around Cebu IT Park, with many engineers working for offshore product teams.
• Clark, Davao and Iloilo are smaller delivery hubs, useful for hybrid or remote roles where you want less competition from Manila employers.

Who's hiring software engineers in the Philippines

Global delivery and outsourcing centres, captive technology centres of foreign banks and insurers, local banks and telcos, e-wallet and fintech companies, and e-commerce and logistics startups. Offshore teams often run night shifts for US clients, while local product companies mostly work Manila daytime hours, which is a real draw for many engineers.

Permits, statutory costs and notice periods

• Filipino nationals need no work permit, which keeps most engineering hires quick.
• Foreign engineers need an Alien Employment Permit (AEP) from DOLE plus a 9(g) pre-arranged employment visa. The AEP includes a labour market test, so budget several extra weeks.
• 13th month pay is mandatory for rank-and-file employees and paid by 24 December, so model annual cost on 13 months of base.
• Employer contributions to SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG sit on top of salary, and a night shift differential of at least 10% applies between 10pm and 6am.
• Notice period for resignations is 30 days under the Labor Code.

Skills to screen for

Most engineers hold a degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or Computer Engineering, but employers weight stack experience and portfolio above the degree. Common requirements are JavaScript or TypeScript with React or Node.js, Java or .NET for banking and enterprise work, PHP and Laravel in agency and e-commerce teams, and AWS or Azure certification for senior roles. English is widely spoken at a professional level, so communication is assessed in the first interview rather than used as a filter.

Sourcing channels that work in the Philippines

• JobStreet and LinkedIn for experienced engineers, both active and passive.
• Kalibrr for early-career and tech-focused applicants.
• University networks such as UP, Ateneo, De La Salle and Mapúa for graduate hiring.
• Developer communities in Manila and Cebu, and referrals from engineers in delivery centres.

How Whitecarrot helps you hire software engineers in the Philippines

Whitecarrot is an AI recruiter that runs your entire hiring pipeline in one place, from the first job post to the signed offer, whether your team is in Manila, Cebu or fully remote.

1. AI job posting and sourcing: set the stack, seniority and day or night shift in the scorecard, then source across Manila, Cebu and the regional hubs.
2. AI resume screening: every applicant is scored against the scorecard, with location, shift preference and notice period captured up front.
3. AI interview agent: first-round interviews run automatically and remotely, so engineers outside Metro Manila are assessed as quickly as those in BGC.
4. Structured interviews and scheduling: one rubric for every candidate, with calendars coordinated across time zones.
5. Offer and onboarding: model offers on the full statutory cost, send and track them, and manage onboarding through to day one.