Hiring for Mid-Size Teams (10-50 Engineers): The Complete Guide

The Mid-Size Team Advantage

Why Mid-Size Teams Win

Mid-size teams have unique advantages:

The Challenge

Mid-size teams also face constraints:

• Competing with big tech - FAANG can outbid you on salary
• Process overhead - Need structure, but don't want to slow down
• Specialization vs. flexibility - Balancing specialists with generalists
• Culture drift - Risk of losing startup culture as you scale
• Hiring velocity - Need to hire fast, but can't compromise on quality

Hiring Strategy for Mid-Size Teams

1. Define Growth Paths

At this stage, engineers want to see clear career progression:

IC Path:

• Junior → Mid → Senior → Staff → Principal
• Clear expectations at each level
• Technical leadership opportunities

Management Path:

• Senior IC → Tech Lead → Engineering Manager → Director
• Transition support and training
• Clear expectations for each role

Why this matters: Engineers at this stage are thinking about their careers. Show them where they can go.

2. Balance Specialists and Generalists

As you grow, you'll need both:

Hire specialists when:

• You're spending too much time on a specific domain (ML, security, etc.)
• You need expertise that generalists can't provide
• You have enough work to justify a full-time specialist

Keep generalists when:

• You're still iterating on product
• You need flexibility more than specialization
• You want engineers who can work across domains

Rule of thumb: Start with generalists, add specialists as you scale.

3. Build Technical Challenges

Mid-size teams can tackle interesting technical problems:

Examples:

• Scaling systems to handle growth
• Building reliable infrastructure
• Optimizing performance at scale
• Implementing complex features

How to pitch:

• "You'll work on systems that handle [X] requests per second"
• "You'll solve problems at scale that most engineers never see"
• "You'll make architectural decisions that affect millions of users"

4. Preserve Startup Culture

As you scale, don't lose what made you special:

What to preserve:

• Fast decision-making
• Direct impact
• Autonomy and ownership
• Mission-driven work

What to add:

• More structure (onboarding, career paths)
• Better processes (code reviews, testing, deployment)
• More resources (tooling, infrastructure)

The balance: Add structure without losing agility.

5. Invest in Team Development

At this stage, you can invest in your team:

What to invest in:

• Onboarding programs
• Mentorship and pairing
• Technical training and conferences
• Career development support

Why this matters: Engineers want to grow. Show them you're invested in their development.

Where to Find Mid-Size Team Engineers

Best Sources

1. Your network - Referrals from current team members
2. Technical communities - Conferences, meetups, online communities
3. daily.dev - Developers actively learning and growing
4. LinkedIn - More effective now that you have a brand
5. Recruiting agencies - Can help with specialized roles
6. University partnerships - For junior engineers

Avoid These Sources

• Mass job boards - Too much noise, low quality
• Cold outreach without context - Better to build relationships first

The Hiring Process

Structured but Fast

You need more structure than a startup, but still faster than big tech:

Target timeline:

• Week 1: Initial screen (30 min)
• Week 1-2: Technical assessment (take-home or pair programming, 2-4 hours)
• Week 2: Team fit + culture conversation
• Week 2-3: Final round (leadership/technical deep dive)
• Week 3-4: Offer and close

Total: 3-4 weeks (vs. 6-8 weeks for big tech)

Technical Assessment

At this stage, you can invest more in assessment:

Option 1: Take-home (preferred)

• 3-4 hour project that mirrors real work
• Review together and discuss trade-offs
• See how they think about architecture and design

Option 2: Pair programming

• 2-3 hour session building something together
• See how they think and communicate
• More authentic than whiteboard coding

Option 3: System design

• For senior roles, discuss system architecture
• See how they think about scale and reliability
• More relevant than algorithm questions

Culture Fit Assessment

At this stage, culture fit matters:

Ask about:

• What they want in a team culture
• How they handle ambiguity vs. structure
• What excites them about mid-size teams
• How they want to grow their career

Share:

• What your culture is
• How decisions get made
• What growth paths exist
• What challenges you're facing

Common Mid-Size Team Mistakes

1. Over-Process

Don't add process just because you're bigger. Every process should solve a real problem.

Signs you're over-processing:

• 5+ interview rounds
• Hiring committees for every role
• 8-hour take-home projects
• Multiple technical assessments

Better: Keep it to 3-4 touchpoints, make each one count.

2. Losing Startup Culture

As you scale, don't lose what made you special:

What to preserve:

• Fast decision-making
• Direct impact
• Autonomy and ownership

What to add:

• More structure (onboarding, career paths)
• Better processes (code reviews, testing)

The balance: Add structure without losing agility.

3. Hiring Only Specialists

Don't hire only specialists. You still need generalists who can work across domains.

Better: Balance specialists with generalists. Start with generalists, add specialists as you scale.

4. Not Defining Growth Paths

Engineers at this stage want to see clear career progression. If you don't define it, they'll leave.

Better: Define IC and management paths. Show clear expectations at each level.

5. Competing on Salary Alone

You can't outbid FAANG on salary. Compete on what you offer that they can't:

• Growth opportunities
• Impact at scale
• Technical challenges
• Equity upside
• Culture and mission

Building Specialized Teams

When to Hire Specialists

Signs you need specialists:

• You're spending too much time on a specific domain
• You need expertise that generalists can't provide
• You have enough work to justify a full-time specialist

Common specialist roles:

• ML Engineer
• Security Engineer
• Infrastructure/Platform Engineer
• Mobile Engineer
• Data Engineer

Building the Team

Start with generalists:

• They can work across domains
• They're more flexible as you iterate
• They can grow into specialists

Add specialists as you scale:

• When you have enough work to justify it
• When you need expertise generalists can't provide
• When you want to invest in a domain

Scaling Culture

Preserve What Works

What to preserve:

• Fast decision-making
• Direct impact
• Autonomy and ownership
• Mission-driven work

Add Structure

What to add:

• Onboarding programs
• Career paths and growth plans
• Technical practices (code reviews, testing)
• Better processes (deployment, monitoring)

The Balance

Add structure without losing agility. Every process should solve a real problem, not add bureaucracy.

Growth Paths

IC Path

Junior → Mid → Senior → Staff → Principal

Expectations at each level:

• Junior: Learning, following patterns, shipping features
• Mid: Independent work, making technical decisions, mentoring juniors
• Senior: Leading projects, influencing architecture, mentoring team
• Staff: Cross-team impact, technical strategy, mentoring seniors
• Principal: Technical vision, industry impact, mentoring staff

Management Path

Senior IC → Tech Lead → Engineering Manager → Director

Expectations at each level:

• Tech Lead: Technical leadership, mentoring, project ownership
• Engineering Manager: People management, team development, delivery
• Director: Multiple teams, strategy, organizational impact

Transition support:

• Training and mentorship
• Clear expectations
• Support during transition