Offshore hiring for Australian tech startups
Your next great hire is in the Philippines.
We headhunt engineers, support, ops and marketing staff at a fraction of local cost.
30-day money-back guarantee. Not happy with your hire? Full refund.
How we helped a client save $190k a year against the equivalent local hires
“Over the course of 9 months Discovered found us 18 engineers in a tight talent market and enabled us to grow and scale our teams quickly and efficiently.”
Kylie Williams
COO, Grok Academy
“Since working with Discovered, we're outranking every single competitor with an unfair advantage from a hiring perspective.”
Andy Taylor
Founder & CEO, Douugh
Trusted by Australian tech companies onshore and offshore
100+
startups and scaleups supported across Australia, the UK and the US
19 days
average time to hire
From $2,500/mo
For a full-time engineer, salary paid direct
You know the role you need.The local salary is the problem.
You've probably known for months. Every time you catch yourself answering support tickets at 9pm, or watching your best engineer lose a day to admin, you think about the hire that would fix it.
Then you look at what that person costs in Australia. $100k or more, plus super, plus the risk of getting it wrong. On a startup budget the maths doesn't work. So the role waits.
The work doesn't. It lands on you and the team you've already got.
Here's the thing: that same person exists in the Philippines at about a third of the price. Not a cheaper version of them. The same calibre.
The catch is finding them, and this is where offshore goes wrong for most people. A BPO puts whoever's on the bench in the seat and bills you monthly either way. We're headhunters. We go after the people who already have jobs, put them through a seven-stage assessment, and only show you the ones we'd hire ourselves.
That's why we can offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. If we've got it wrong, you don't pay. No BPO will say that to you.
WHO'S BEHIND THIS
We're not an outsourcing company. We're recruiters.
Discovered Outsourcing is run by Discovered People, an Australian tech recruitment agency. For seven years, Australia's top tech companies, including the ones above, have paid us to find their best engineers.
We know who works out in a startup and who doesn't, wherever in the world they sit.
We spent three years in Manila building the offshore side, interviewing thousands of candidates and running offshore teams ourselves. Our founder has hired for tech companies for 15 years, and he lives there today.
Every candidate passes the same bar. You interview three people worth hiring, not thirty CVs. Different city, smaller invoice, same standard.
“Done properly, offshore isn't cheap labour.It's the same hire at a third of the cost.”
What this unlocks
Make the hires now
The same team plan at a third of the salary bill. What you don't spend stays in the bank.
Your team stops covering the gaps
Support, QA, admin and ops get done by people hired to do them, not squeezed in around everyone's real job.
Recruitment costs you can plan around
The fee is fixed before we start, it doesn't grow with the salary, and nothing runs on after it.
Process
How it works.
Step 1 — Fit check
A discovery call. We don't take every startup on. If your setup isn't ready for an offshore hire, we'll say so and tell you what to sort first.
Step 2 — Brief and search
We headhunt against your brief, we don't wait for applications. Every candidate goes through our seven-stage assessment. Strong shortlist inside 10 business days.
Step 3 — Interview and hire
You interview exactly as you would for a local role. You choose, and your hire joins your team, on your books. We handle the offer and onboarding, and they start inside four to six weeks of the first call. Prefer not to run Philippine employment yourself? We can handle it for you.
Tried offshore before and weren't impressed? There's a reason.
If you've used a BPO, you never actually met the good talent. Here's what happened: you paid, say, $4,000 a month. The BPO kept a third to a half as margin and paid the rest as salary. So you were paying for a $4,000-a-month person and getting a $2,500-a-month one, pulled off a bench, not searched for.
The best people in Manila don't work for BPO wages. They don't need to.
Our model fixes both halves. We headhunt instead of using whoever's available, and you employ direct, so every dollar you pay goes to the person. At the same total cost to you, you're offering a top-of-market salary, which is exactly how you attract someone worth hiring.
Community
We're inside Australia's tech community, not outside selling in.
We host the communities where this market actually talks.
Mentorship through sound
A podcast and newsletter designed to empower senior software engineers as they step into leadership roles. Practical guidance, real-world stories and actionable advice.
Learn more ↗
The engineering leader's sandbox
Our community created to foster meaningful connections among technology leaders — a space for candid conversations, shared insights and exchanged strategies.
Learn more ↗
Where frontend developers connect
A community for frontend developers covering web frameworks (React, Vue, Angular, Svelte), mobile tools and UX/UI design. Framework-agnostic and inclusive.
Learn more ↗Any role that doesn't need a desk in your office.
Mid to senior level, full-time, dedicated to you.
Engineering
Full-stack and backend engineers. Front-end engineers. QA and test automation. DevOps and platform. Mobile.
Product and data
Product analysts. Data engineers. Data scientists. Analytics and dashboards. Product and UI/UX designers. Technical writers.
Go-to-market
SDRs and lead generation. Email marketers. Content and social. Video editors. Marketing ops.
Customer and operations
Customer support and success. Onboarding and implementation. Bookkeeping. EA and VA support. Ops managers.
Role not listed? If it can be done remotely, we can find it.
What these roles actually cost in Manila.
Monthly salary, paid direct to your hire. No margin on top from us.
| Role | Monthly salary (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Admin / data entry | $600 – $1,000 |
| Customer support | $750 – $1,400 |
| EA / VA | $800 – $2,000 |
| Bookkeeper / finance ops | $1,000 – $2,000 |
| Marketing / social media | $1,000 – $2,800 |
| QA engineer | $1,200 – $2,600 |
| Video editor | $1,400 – $2,200 |
| SDR / lead generation | $1,400 – $2,800 |
| Product / data analyst | $1,800 – $3,200 |
| GTM / automation engineer | $2,000 – $3,500 |
| DevOps engineer | $2,400 – $4,200 |
| Software engineer | $2,500 – $4,500 |
Compare any line to what you'd pay locally. That's the whole pitch.
HOW YOU ENGAGE THEM
One finder's fee. Then they're yours.
A recruiter's fee grows with the salary. A BPO takes a cut every month, forever. Ours is a flat finder's fee, agreed before we start. You pay your hire's salary direct, and we never take a cut of it.
Then you choose how to engage them. Hire direct if you want it lean, or use our Employer of Record and we carry the employment side for you.
Lowest cost
Direct
Engage them directly. You pay them, you manage them, nothing sits in between.
Lowest risk, zero admin
Employer of Record
We employ them through our own Philippine company. Payroll, compliance, benefits and the legal obligations sit with us. Day to day they work for you like any other team member. You get one invoice a month and no employment risk on your books.
Four ways to make the hire, and what each one really costs.
The same hire, four very different routes. Here's how they compare, line by line.
| Doing it yourself | Local tech recruiter | Discovered Outsourcing | Generic outsourcing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Startup experience | Yours alone | Sometimes | 100+ tech companies | Built for enterprise |
| How candidates are found | Job ads and hope | Headhunted, onshore only | Headhunted for tech teams, offshore | Whoever's on the bench |
| Fee model | Your time and your mistakes | 15–20% of salary, grows with the package | Flat $5,000, known upfront | $3–5k setup, then $1–2k a month forever |
| Salary | Direct | Direct, local rates | Direct, offshore rates, you keep control | Padded, margin baked in |
| The hire works for | You, compliance included | You | You, direct or via our EOR | Them |
| Office, hardware, EOR | Your problem | Your problem | Optional, pick what you need | Bundled, can't unbundle |
| Replacement guarantee | None | Typically 3 months | 6 months | Varies |
Case study
Series A SaaS, Melbourne
They hired
One QA engineer and one customer support specialist
The result
Release cycle cut from three weeks to one, first response under 2 hours
The saving
AUD $190k a year against the equivalent local hires
“We got two hires for less than half of one Melbourne salary, and our engineers finally stopped answering support tickets.”
One flat fee, once. $5,000.
Discovered Outsourcing is the simplest way for Australian startups to hire offshore talent.
One flat placement fee
$5,000 AUD
One flat finder's fee, paid when you hire.
Never a percentage, never a monthly cut.
- ✓Dedicated search
- ✓Seven-stage assessment process
- ✓30-day money-back guarantee
- ✓Six-month free replacement
- ✓Optional add-ons
Payment structure
AUD $500 deposit to begin the search.
Balance payable on successful hire.
The deposit is refundable if you reject the shortlist.
Optional add-ons
- Employer of Record
- AUD $349/month
- Office space (BGC)
- AUD $275/month
- Hardware rental
- AUD $99/month
The maths.
A recruiter at 20% charges around $9,600 to place a $48k engineer. A BPO runs about $18,000 in year one and every year after. We're a flat $5,000, once.
Our promise
Not happy with your hire in the first 30 days? We refund our fee in full. After that, every placement carries a six-month, like-for-like free replacement. Not ready to rehire straight away? You get a credit valid for 12 months.
Common questions.
What does the placement fee cover?+−
The fee is a flat $5,000, confirmed for your role level before you commit. It covers the dedicated search, the seven-stage assessment, offer and contract handling, onboarding support, and the six-month replacement guarantee.
Why a flat fee instead of a percentage of salary?+−
A percentage fee means the recruiter earns more when your salary bill goes up. Ours is agreed before we start and never moves, whatever you pay your hire.
Why is a Manila salary a third of a local one, and is that fair to the hire?+−
Cost of living and market rates. The salaries in our table sit at the top end of the Manila market, which is why our hires stay.
What are the ongoing costs?+−
Nothing ongoing from us. You negotiate salary directly with your hire and pay them directly. No monthly management fees and no BPO margins. Optional add-ons are Employer of Record at AUD $349 a month, managed office space in BGC at AUD $275 a month, and hardware rental at AUD $99 a month.
What if the hire doesn't work out?+−
In the first 30 days, you get your money back in full. After that, we replace them free, like for like, for six months. Not ready to rehire straight away? You get a credit valid for 12 months.
What kinds of roles can you place?+−
Any role that supports your team without needing to sit in your Australian office. Engineering, QA and DevOps, product and data, customer support and success, go-to-market, finance and operations. If you're not sure whether a role fits, ask on the call.
How long does it take?+−
Most shortlists land within 10 business days. Allow four to six weeks from the first call to your hire's first day.
Can we hire them direct, or do we have to use your EOR?+−
Direct is fine. Most clients hire through Deel, Remote.com or Rippling. The EOR is for teams that want a single point of contact and one invoice covering everything.
See what your next hire would cost.
Tell us who you need. We'll tell you what they'd cost in Manila and how long it'd take.
Book a call30 minutes, direct with a founder.