For London & UK Companies
How UK Companies Hire
Engineers in India
Retained search. Not recruitment roulette.
London's fintech corridor, Revolut, Monzo, Wise, Checkout.com, Starling, has built more India engineering capability than any other European cluster. The companies that built well did it with a retained, intelligence-led approach. The ones still cycling through agencies did not. This is how it works.
The India search failed before.
The sourcing thesis was wrong.
Most London companies that reach Talhive have already tried. A contingent agency sent 40 CVs, none stuck. An internal recruiter posted on Naukri, got volume but no depth. The failure mode is almost always the same: the sourcing thesis was generic, motivation was never tested before the offer, and the 60-day notice period wasn't managed. Talhive exists for companies that need the search done once, done right, with a partner who owns the outcome.
VP Engineering, Series B Fintech
Three candidates from two contingent agencies had failed at the offer stage. The board was losing confidence. We surfaced equity-structure concerns candidates had before the offer landed, restructured the equity package, and placed a VP Engineering who had scaled a payments team from 8 to 35 at a UK neobank.
Three mandate types that
define our search practice.
What it actually costs.
2026 cash salary benchmarks at funded product companies. Not IT services rates. Total compensation with ESOPs adds 15 to 40%.
Retained search, EOR, or entity.
Choose the model before the search.
Senior and leadership hires where a mis-hire costs 6 months
One search partner, defined timeline, technically evaluated shortlist. 4 to 8 weeks to signed offer. Fee: 20 to 25% of first-year CTC.
1 to 15 engineers, no entity, you manage the team
The EOR handles payroll and compliance in India. You own the work. 2 to 4 weeks after candidate identified. $200 to $500/month per employee plus salary.
20+ engineers, long-term presence, full control
Register a subsidiary. Full HR, payroll, benefits. 3 to 6 months setup. Makes economic sense after the team model is proven at scale.
Planning your first India hire?
Tell us the role. We will map the approach, candidate pool, and timeline.
Book a consultationRetained search and India
team builds for UK companies.
Confidential and standard leadership mandates. Board-level discretion where required. Written intelligence briefs, pre-offer referencing, motivation interview standard.
GCC or founding team from zero. Bengaluru for fintech/AI/product; Hyderabad for cloud/platform; Pune for cost-efficient scale engineering.
Scale hiring for London companies with 8+ concurrent India roles. GDPR-aware pipeline management, GMT-aligned weekly reporting.
Tell us what you are building or hiring for. Talhive will tell you what the India market looks like for your specific mandate.
Strictly confidential. Reviewed by a senior Talhive team member.
Received.
A senior team member will review your brief and be in touch directly.
Common questions.
How long does it take to hire an engineer in India from the UK?
What does a senior engineer in India cost compared to London?
Do I need a UK Sponsor Licence to hire engineers in India?
Should I use retained or contingent search?
What is the best Indian city for UK companies?
How do I set up a team without an Indian entity?
London company.
India mandate.
If you are a London or UK company hiring in India, share the brief: the role, business context, what has been tried. Talhive will assess mandate fit and map what the India market looks like for your specific profile.
More across the cluster