What CTOs need to know before scaling engineering in CEE

 Introduction

Growing an engineering team is expected to accelerate delivery, but in practice it often introduces friction first: more coordination, more overhead, and more ways for progress to slow before output improves. The way this friction is absorbed depends heavily on the environment in which teams scale. That is why broad market commentary is rarely enough. What matters is how each market behaves once growth moves from planning into delivery. 

That is the lens we bring to this overview of Poland, Bulgaria, and Ukraine. We have been building and extending engineering teams across these markets for almost 20 years. In this report, we focus on the factors that usually matter most: market size, talent mix, key technologies, salary context, process expectations, notice periods, and local employment norms. 

 Three markets, different conditions for scaling well

Across all three markets, similar themes occur: competition for strong specialists, rising demand in areas like AI, cloud, data and security, sensitivity to slow processes, and local differences in communication, notice periods and contract setup. Those factors shape how quickly a team can ramp, how stable it is likely to be, and how much friction is likely to be behind the plan.

 Poland

 Scale and technical range in one market

Poland remains the largest of the three markets in this overview and, on paper, the broadest as well. It is the largest IT market in Central and Eastern Europe and one of the most mature ecosystems in the EU. After the global tech slowdown, the market has stabilised and returned to moderate growth in 2025–2026.

With around 850,000 IT professionals and more than 15,000 annual graduates, Poland gives teams both scale and range. The main talent hubs are Warsaw, Cracow, Wroclaw, Katowice, Gdansk and Poznan.

 What stands out in the talent pool

Poland’s tech talent pool is highly skilled and diverse, with many developers working across multiple modern languages. TypeScript is growing faster than plain JavaScript, while Python remains strong not just in AI, but also in automation, backend, and data-related work.

The main market trends point to strong demand in AI and machine learning, data science, big data and analytics, alongside increased investment in automation, cybersecurity and cloud migration. The market is also more selective than during the hyper-growth years, with hybrid work now the dominant model.

That makes Poland the broadest option here for teams that need a large, mature market, especially when the goal is to build across several technical areas rather than solve a single narrow gap.

 What can make finding talent in Poland harder?

The market is facing high competition for talent, a severe shortage of specialised profiles, longer, more rigorous processes, and even fake profiles or inflated skills.

That combination matters. A large market does not automatically mean an easy one. Poland offers depth, but strong specialists still have options, and sloppy process design can slow things down fast.

 Process and speed

A typical recruitment process is fairly standard: recruiter screen, technical interview, and customer interview, with the option of one extra step if needed. But there is also a clear warning: more than four stages is seen as too long, and test tasks do not work well in the Polish market, especially for senior specialists. Technical interviews are the most common way to assess technical ability.

Notice periods depend on the person’s length of service. They are typically two weeks for employees with less than six months at a company, one month after six months, and three months after three years.

 Employment basics worth knowing

Poland has a mixed employment landscape. The most common forms are employment contracts and B2B contracts. Employment contracts are more common among junior and mid-level specialists, while many senior specialists favour B2B because it offers higher net earnings and more flexibility.

For a full-time employee, the income tax shown here is 12% for income not exceeding PLN 120,000, and 32% for the surplus above PLN 120,000.

For contractors, the picture is more mixed. The options shown here are a 19% flat tax, progressive tax at 12% and 32%, or lump-sum tax on revenue at 12%. There are also mandatory social and health insurance, as well as VAT.

In Poland, the same headline compensation can land differently depending on whether someone works as an employee or as a contractor, so it helps to look at the structure, not just the number itself.

 Quick takeaway: Poland

 Bulgaria

 A strong fit for stable, focused growth

Bulgaria is smaller than Poland, but it is a steadily growing ICT services market covering BPO, ITO and R&D. In 2025, it lists 111,500 IT professionals.

It is also a much more concentrated market. Sofia is the largest IT hub, home to nearly 80% of the country's IT companies and the majority of developers. Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas are the main secondary centres.

That concentration can make the market easier to read. Instead of a long list of major hubs, there is typically one dominant centre with a smaller supporting group behind it.

 What stands out in the talent pool

Bulgaria stands out for clear communication, a collaborative working style, and strong language capability. English is the primary working language for 71% of Bulgarian tech experts, and other languages are visible too, with 16% speaking German and 10% speaking French.

From a technical point of view, Bulgaria shows strong concentrations in Java, JavaScript, .NET/C#, and Python, with additional strength in C++, DevOps, and cloud-related expertise across AWS, Azure, and GCP. Current demand is especially visible in cloud computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data analytics, and Salesforce.

Bulgaria also has one of the highest shares of female ICT specialists in the EU, at 27%.

The main motivation drivers are technically challenging work, work-life balance, competitive pay, and job security.

This makes Bulgaria look like a market where the basics matter a lot: strong projects, decent flexibility, clear communication, and enough stability for people to feel good about the move.

 What can make finding talent in Bulgaria harder?

The challenges are familiar, but they still shape how teams scale. Competition for skilled professionals remains high, especially in emerging areas such as AI, machine learning, mobile development, and AR/VR. Economic uncertainty continues to affect the market, while remote work increases global competition by widening the pool of companies hiring from the same talent base.

Process design matters too. Lengthy interview processes and shifting requirements can still lead to candidate drop-off.

So while the market is growing, it is not a free-for-all. Good specialists are still being pulled in different directions, and delays in hiring can be costly.

 Process and speed

A typical hiring process in Bulgaria consists of a recruiter screen, an initial chemistry call with the client, and then a technical interview or pairing session, with an extra step only if needed. More than four stages is considered too long. Take-home tasks are generally not viewed as good practice and are not desired by many engineers, while live practical work during the technical interview is presented as the better option.

Notice periods are usually between one and three months, with one month being the most common. Some notice periods can be negotiated down to 2 or 3 weeks, and people in Bulgaria are ready to move quickly, so delays pose a real risk of losing them.

 Employment basics worth knowing

In Bulgaria, the standard setup is still full-time employment, and that is the option most people tend to prefer because it offers more security and stability. B2B exists too, but it is less typical and usually comes up in more specific cases rather than as the default.

The practical difference shows up clearly in how costs are structured. In a full-time employment setup, the employee pays 13.78% in social security plus 10% income tax, while the employer pays 18.92% in social security. Using the example shown here, a €2,000 net salary translates into a total company cost of €2,912.74.

In a B2B setup, 20% VAT may apply. The example shown here uses a total invoice cost of €2,400, with VAT reimbursed to the company by the state.

That matters less as a legal detail and more as a planning point. Even when two offers look similar on the surface, the cost structure and the way compensation is framed can differ quite a bit depending on the setup.

 Quick takeaway: Bulgaria

 Ukraine

 A resilient market with a real technical range

Ukraine is the market most shaped by external conditions. Despite the war, the tech industry has remained resilient, continues to supply talent globally, and remains one of the leading sectors of the domestic economy. In 2025, it lists 289,044 IT private entrepreneurs. In practice, that means a large share of specialists work as registered private entrepreneurs and provide services to companies under service agreements rather than through a standard full-time employment model.

The specialist base is spread across several regions, with Lviv, Kyiv city, Kharkiv, and Dnipro among the main hubs.

Ukraine remains a large and relevant engineering market, but one that needs to be understood on its own terms.

 What stands out in the talent pool

Ukraine has a developer-heavy talent mix. Developers make up 69% of the IT talent pool, followed by QA/Test engineers at 13%, DevOps/SRE at 5%, AI/ML/Data Science at 4%, and Data/Business Analysts at 3%. The most visible languages include TypeScript, Python, JavaScript, C#, Java and PHP.

Most technical specialists have at least intermediate English proficiency, which supports work in international teams. The share of women in IT has also been rising steadily and now stands at around 25–30% across specialisations. At the same time, miltech roles and offers linked to reservation benefits are becoming more visible, and many candidates now tend to prioritise those opportunities first.

The market is also supported by a steady education pipeline, with around 16,000 technical bachelors and 8,000 masters graduating each year, alongside roughly 25,000 junior professionals coming through non-formal education.

 What can make finding talent in Ukraine harder?

The main challenges are clear. The war still affects business conditions, candidate availability, and recruitment more broadly. Requirements are often too narrowly defined, and expectations around technical level have risen, especially where senior or full-stack profiles are preferred.

English is not a broad market problem, but it can still create friction in selected specialisations. Most technical talent has at least intermediate English, yet roles such as system administrators and LDBA may still show weaker proficiency.

Long interview cycles and shifting requirements can also lead to candidate drop-off.

 Process and speed

A typical hiring process is a recruiter screen, a technical interview, and a customer interview, with an additional step only if needed. As in the other markets, more than four stages is considered too long. Test tasks do not work well, especially for senior specialists, and technical interviews are the default way of evaluating capability.

Notice periods are usually around one month, but can sometimes be negotiated down to two or three weeks. Speed is also a key factor: candidates in Ukraine are often ready to move quickly, sometimes starting the first interview within a day or two. As a result, delays in the process create a real risk of losing them.

 Employment basics worth knowing

Most IT professionals in Ukraine are engaged through private entrepreneur arrangements, which remain the standard model in the market. Gig contracts have also become more common in recent years. This setup shapes how the market operates, including how compensation is typically discussed, with salary expectations usually framed in gross terms.

The cost structure looks quite different depending on the model. In a full-time employment setup, the employee pays 23% income tax and the employer pays 22% in social security. As a simple example, a $2,000 net salary translates into a total company cost of $2,900.

For a contractor working as a private entrepreneur, the tax burden is lighter. A typical example would include tax of up to 5% of revenue, pension tax of 1902.34 UAH, and 1% military tax. On that basis, a $2,000 net salary would be expensed at $2,164 to the company.

For a gig contractor, a comparable example would include 5% personal income tax, pension tax of 1902.34 UAH, and 5% military tax. In that case, a $2,000 net salary would be expensed at $2,244 to the company.

The practical point is that employment structure in Ukraine can affect cost quite significantly, so it is worth looking at the setup as closely as the headline salary.

 Quick takeaway: Ukraine

 How to think about these three markets in practice

Poland, Bulgaria, and Ukraine are all credible options for scaling engineering teams, but each offers different conditions.

Poland offers the most scale of the three, with around 850,000 IT professionals, a broad spread of technical roles, and strong demand in areas such as AI, machine learning, data, cybersecurity, automation, and cloud. Bulgaria is smaller at 111,500 IT professionals, but more concentrated, with Sofia at the centre and strong language capability alongside solid depth in Java, JavaScript, .NET/C#, Python, DevOps, and cloud-related work. Ukraine, measured here through 289,044 IT private entrepreneurs, remains a large and technically deep market with a strong developer base, fast-moving talent dynamics, and an employment structure that works differently from a standard full-time model.

What matters is not treating these markets as interchangeable. Each one shapes ramp-up, process design, hiring speed, and team setup in different ways. The more useful question is which market best matches the roles you need, the way you want to hire, and the level of complexity your team is prepared to manage.

 FAQ

What should CTOs compare before scaling engineering in CEE? 
Start with the factors that affect execution, not just cost. That usually means market depth, role mix, ramp-up speed, process expectations, notice periods, and local employment norms. The goal is to understand where a team is most likely to ramp well, stay stable, and support delivery without adding avoidable friction. 

How do Poland, Bulgaria, and Ukraine differ when scaling engineering teams? 
Poland offers the broadest and most mature market, which is useful when you need scale or wider technical depth. Bulgaria is smaller and more concentrated, which can make it easier to navigate. Ukraine offers a large and technically strong market, but one that needs to be approached with a clear understanding of current operating realities. 

Why does market choice affect delivery, not just hiring? 
Because market conditions shape how quickly a team can form, how realistic the role mix is, how much process friction you face, and how stable the setup is likely to be over time. That all feeds directly into delivery speed, continuity, and coordination overhead. 

What usually creates drag when scaling an engineering team? 
The most common issues are slow or overcomplicated processes, unrealistic role definitions, weak understanding of market conditions, and setup choices that look fine on paper but create friction once execution starts. In practice, team growth often slows delivery when the scaling plan is not grounded in how the market actually works. 

How should CTOs think about speed versus stability when entering a new market? 
Treat them as connected, not competing priorities. A faster start only helps if the team can ramp properly and stay stable long enough to contribute. The better question is which market conditions support both a realistic start and sustainable delivery. 

When is a market comparison actually useful? 
It is useful when it helps you pressure-test a real plan. That means looking beyond surface-level commentary and using market context to assess team shape, technical depth, process design, timeline, and operating fit.