How to hire a remote developer in Egypt as a US startup

The short answer: most US startups hire their first Egyptian developer as an independent contractor, paid monthly against an invoice, under an agreement that assigns all IP to the company. The hard part is not the paperwork. It is finding the few candidates who fit, out of the many who apply.

This page describes common practice. It is not legal or tax advice. Have a US attorney and an Egyptian employment lawyer review your setup before you sign.

Should you hire as a contractor or through an employer of record?

• Independent contractor. The developer invoices your company. Low cost and quick to set up, which is why it is the usual starting point for one or two hires.
• Employer of record (EOR). A third party employs the developer in Egypt on your behalf and handles payroll and local employment obligations, for a monthly fee.
• Your own Egyptian entity. Only worth it once you are building a sizeable local team.

The label on the contract is not what decides the question. Egypt’s new Labour Law, No. 14 of 2025, took effect on 1 September 2025, and the way the relationship works in practice matters. A person on fixed hours, working only for you, under your day-to-day direction, looks more like an employee than a contractor. If that is the role you want, talk to your lawyer about an EOR.

What should the agreement cover?

• IP assignment. Your company owns the code and everything produced for you.
• Confidentiality. Business information, customer data and credentials.
• Security obligations. Device, access and password rules.
• Scope and payment. The services, the monthly fee, the invoicing schedule and the currency.
• Termination. Notice period and how outstanding work and payments are settled.

Do not reuse a generic US contractor template without checking how it holds up under Egyptian law.

How do you pay an Egyptian contractor?

The common routes are an international bank transfer to the developer’s Egyptian bank account, a payments platform such as Payoneer, or the payroll built into an EOR or contractor-management platform. Whichever you choose:

• Agree up front whether the fee is fixed in US dollars or in Egyptian pounds.
• Pay against an invoice, on a fixed day each month.
• Keep every invoice and payment confirmation. Your accountant will tell you what US reporting applies.

Where does the time actually go?

In sorting. A remote role open to Egypt draws far more applicants than you can interview, and most will not fit.

Our own intake shows how steep the drop is. Of 320 professionals who applied to our talent pool, 194 (61%) never got as far as a usable audio or video introduction. They sent a broken link, the wrong file, or nothing at all. That is before anyone assessed their English, their skills or their salary expectations.

A sound do-it-yourself process looks like this:

1. Write the role: stack, seniority, salary band and the working hours you need.
2. Source widely, then screen CVs against the real requirements, not the title.
3. Hold a short call to check spoken English and confirm hours and salary.
4. Run a technical interview built around a realistic problem.
5. Give finalists a short, paid practical task.
6. Check references, then start with a defined trial period.

Expect it to take weeks of a founder’s or an engineering lead’s time for a first hire.

The shortcut

We run those steps before you meet anyone. Every candidate is checked for CV fit, job description match, English, role competence, salary alignment and availability for your hours. For tech and customer support roles you get five qualified candidates within 48 hours of the brief call, with a 90-day replacement guarantee. For salary bands, see what it costs to hire an Egyptian developer.