For US, UK, EU, and israeli tech startups

Your engineering team in Budapest, Warsaw, or Bucharest. Live in weeks, no entity needed.

We recruit the engineers, employ them through our own legal entities in Hungary, Poland, and Romania, and run payroll, contracts, and HR.
They work only for you, inside your team, on your hours.

Own entities in Hungary, Poland, and Romania · Placing tech talent since 1999 · ISO 9001 and
ISO/IEC 27001 certified · GDPR-compliant

Book a team-planning call

Compare Hungary, Poland, and Romania

WHO it's for

Built for founders who need engineers fast

Israeli startups

Senior engineers in Tel Aviv are scarce and expensive. A team in Romania works the same hours as Israel, and one in Hungary or Poland is an hour behind. All three are a short flight away.

US startups

Get senior EU engineers without opening an entity in Europe. Their afternoons overlap your East Coast mornings, so the daily handover fits in one call.

Companies expanding into Europe

Start with an engineering hub in the EU, under GDPR, and keep the option to move the team to your own entity later.

UK startups

Hire in the EU without opening an EU company. Budapest and Warsaw are one hour ahead of London, and Bucharest two, so you share almost the whole working day.

Three ways to work with us.
Start with one and move to the next as you grow.

Model	What we do	Who employs the engineers	Best for	Fee
Hire	We find, vet, and close the candidates.	Your own entity, or Chronos EOR	Startups that already have an EU entity or EOR provider	Success fee per hire, paid only when someone starts
Build	We recruit the team and employ it through our entities in Hungary, Poland, or Romania. Payroll, contracts, benefits, and HR are included.	Chronos Systems	Your first CEE team, 1 to 20 engineers, no local entity	Monthly fee per engineer: salary plus a transparent margin
Operate & Transfer	We set up and run a full R&D center (team leads, office, equipment, local admin), then move it to your own entity when you're ready.	Chronos Systems, then your entity	Teams growing past 20 engineers, or companies planning a permanent EU presence	Monthly fee, plus a transfer fee agreed in advance

Every model includes IP assignment to your company, background checks, and a free replacement within the guarantee period agreed in your contract.

Why Chronos

One partner from first hire to full R&D center

We own our entities

We employ your engineers through our own companies in Hungary, Poland, and Romania, with no subcontracted EOR layer and no hidden markup. When something needs fixing, the people you talk to can fix it.

25+ years of experience

Operating and placing tech talent since 1999. We have seen every hiring cycle, the good ones and the bad.

Recruiting and employment under one roof

Our sister company, CoberonChronos, runs executive and technical search in 30+ offices. You get headhunter-quality recruiting and compliant employment from one team, not two vendors.

We know Israeli startup culture

Direct, fast, Sunday-to-Thursday. We brief candidates on how Israeli teams work before they join, so the first month isn't spent adjusting.

Engineers who stay

We look after the people we employ: contracts that match the local market, benefits, equipment, and a named HR contact. That is what keeps retention high.

Three EU countries, one employer, one contract

Swipe to see all three countries →

	Hungary	Poland	Romania
Main tech hubs	Budapest, Debrecen, Szeged	Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław	Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iași
IT talent pool	About 120,000	About 150,000	About 105,000
Strongest in	Java, .NET, data, automotive, fintech	Java, .NET, cloud, gaming, fintech	Java, embedded C/C++, QA, cybersecurity, automation
Time vs. Tel Aviv	1 hour behind	1 hour behind	Same time
Overlap with US East Coast	Their 3–6 p.m. = your 9 a.m.–12 p.m.	Their 3–6 p.m. = your 9 a.m.–12 p.m.	Their 4–7 p.m. = your 9 a.m.–12 p.m.
Currency	HUF	PLN	RON
Typical senior salary, gross	HUF 1.6–2.1 million / month	PLN 21,500–23,500 / month	RON 23,500–30,500 / month
Employer cost on top of gross	About 16.5%	About 20.5%	About 2.25%
Time to a hired engineer, including notice period	Usually 3–4 weeks	Usually 3–4 weeks	Usually 3–4 weeks
	Hungary details →	Poland details →	Romania details →

All three countries are in the EU, so your team works under GDPR and EU labor law. Not sure which to pick? Most clients choose based on the stack and how closely they need to share working hours. We'll recommend one on the first call.

Salaries are typical market ranges for senior engineers on an employment contract. Employer costs are estimates based on 2026 rates and may change.

How it works

From first call to a working team

Usually 3–4 weeks to a hired engineer, including notice periods, then 1–2 weeks of onboarding.

1. Team-planning call

We go through the roles, stack, budget, and the hours you need to share. You get a country recommendation and a cost estimate for each role.

2. Shortlist

Our recruiters, drawing on CoberonChronos's search network, send screened candidates with technical assessments.

3. You interview and choose

You run your own final interviews. Nobody joins your team without your approval.

4. Offer and contract

We make the offer and sign a local employment contract with IP assigned to your company. Where needed, we handle notice-period buyouts.

5. Onboarding (1–2 weeks)

Once you have chosen your engineers, we set up equipment, accounts, payroll, and benefits. Your team joins your standups within 1–2 weeks.

6. Ongoing support

One monthly invoice, a named account manager, local HR, and retention check-ins. Scale-up, scale down, or move to Operate & Transfer when you're ready.

Why good engineers join and stay

A stable team starts with a good employer. Here is what every engineer we employ for you gets.

A permanent local employment contract, not a freelance arrangement
Work on the international product team of a global startup
Laptop and home-office equipment
Paid leave, health insurance, pension, and social security under local law
A learning budget
Co-working space or office access
A named Chronos HR and payroll contact who speaks the local language and fluent English

Frequently asked questions

Who owns the code and IP?

Your company does. Every employment contract assigns IP to you, and we sign an IP assignment agreement with you directly.

Do the engineers work only for us?

Yes. They are full-time members of your team, take direction from your managers, and use your tools. We handle employment, payroll, and HR.

How is this different from an outsourcing agency?

An agency delivers a project and keeps the team. With us, the engineers are yours in practice: you choose them, manage them, and can take them onto your own entity later.

Can we move the team to our own entity later?

Yes. That is what Operate & Transfer is for. The transfer terms are agreed in the contract at the start.

What does it cost?

Each engineer's gross salary and employer costs, plus our monthly fee. You see the full breakdown before anyone is hired.

What if an engineer leaves or isn't working out?

We replace them at no extra recruiting cost within the guarantee period agreed in your contract. Terminations follow local law and notice periods, and we handle the process.

How fast can we start?

A new engineer usually joins your team within 3–4 weeks, including their notice period. We set up equipment, accounts, and payroll within 1–2 weeks after you make your choice.

Is our data safe?

Our entities operate under GDPR, and Chronos Systems is ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 27001 certified. We sign a data processing agreement and can enforce your own security policies on company devices.

Do we need a European entity or bank account?

No. We invoice you monthly in USD or EUR.

Planning your next 5 engineers?
Let's work out where they should sit.

A 30-minute call. You leave with a country recommendation, salary ranges for your roles, and a hiring timeline. No commitment.