Hire Remote Staff in Romania

Why hire in Romania

Romania is an EU member state with a well-established software and services sector, very high English proficiency by international comparison (11th of 123 in the EF English Proficiency Index 2025) and a working day that overlaps comfortably with Western Europe and the US East Coast. For a small business that wants the legal predictability and data-protection framework of the EU at a lower salary level than Germany, France or the UK, it is a practical nearshore choice.

The industry body ANIS, which describes itself as the Romanian employers' association of the software and IT services industry, says its members account for 66 percent of the turnover and 42 percent of the workforce of the Romanian IT industry. That is a self-reported figure from an association, but it points to a mature sector with a base of established companies that you will be competing with for talent. Another body, ARIES, represents software and IT companies and lists member products and services.

Where the talent is

• Bucharest: the capital and largest market, with the widest range of roles including enterprise software, fintech, shared services and multilingual support, and the highest salary expectations.
• Cluj-Napoca: a university city with a large technology community and a reputation for product engineering and startups.
• Timișoara: a western hub with automotive and embedded-software links and strong technical universities.
• Iași: a growing technology centre in the north-east with generally lower salary expectations than Bucharest.
• Other cities: smaller markets that suit remote hires who do not want to relocate.

Best roles to hire in Romania

Romanian teams are commonly hired for software engineering across the main stacks, embedded and automotive software, cybersecurity, DevOps and cloud, QA, data engineering, and fintech. Shared-service centres also hire Romanian speakers of several European languages for customer support, finance and back-office work. As in any market, test the specific skill: a short practical task is more informative than a CV.

Working hours and language

Romania uses Eastern European Time, UTC+2 in winter and UTC+3 in summer. It is two hours ahead of the UK and one hour ahead of Central Europe. Against US Eastern time it is seven hours ahead for most of the year, so a Romanian working day overlaps with the US East Coast morning and the West Coast has little natural overlap. The gap shifts briefly in spring and autumn because the EU and the US change their clocks on different dates. Check your own dates with the time-zone overlap tool.

English is widely used in technology and business in Romania, and the country sits in the very high band of the index. That is a national sample of online test-takers, so still check the person: ask for a written task and a short call.

How to hire: three routes

Through an employer of record

An employer of record employs the person under a Romanian individual employment contract, handles payroll, contributions and filings, and charges a fee, while you direct the daily work. This is the usual route for a first hire without a Romanian company because Romanian law requires a written contract in Romanian before the person starts and registration of that contract in the employer register, which the provider handles.

As a self-employed contractor

Some Romanian technology professionals work as self-employed contractors and invoice clients. This is suitable for defined projects and genuinely independent work. If you set hours, direct methods and integrate the person into your team over a long period, the arrangement can be treated as employment, so read contractor vs employee and misclassification before you use it for a core role.

Through your own Romanian company

A Romanian limited company gives full control and makes sense when you expect a team of enough size to justify incorporation, local accounting, payroll and filings with the tax authority ANAF. For one or two hires the fixed costs are rarely justified. Use the employer of record versus contractor comparison to decide.

Cost

The salary table on this page shows typical monthly ranges by role from named Romanian salary sources with dates. Use the Remote Hiring Cost Calculator to add employer contributions and any provider fee, and compare with the salary benchmark explorer. Employers pay social-security-related costs on top of gross pay, set in Romanian tax law and administered by ANAF, so ask your provider for the current schedule instead of relying on a rate quoted online. Salary levels in Romania have risen with demand from multinationals and local companies, so use recent figures when you budget.

Romania compared with its neighbours

• Poland: a larger pool, more specialisation and generally higher salary levels; also EU and very high English proficiency. See hiring in Poland.
• Ukraine: deep engineering talent outside the EU, with risks every buyer must assess for themselves. See hiring in Ukraine.
• Outside the EU: for how nearer and farther options compare, read offshoring vs nearshoring and the nearshoring definition.

Employment law basics for your first hire

Romanian employment is governed by the Labour Code (Law 53/2003). The contract must be in writing, in Romanian, and concluded no later than the day before the person starts, and it must be registered in the general register of employees before work begins. Full-time working time is 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, with a legal maximum of 48 hours including overtime. Probation is up to 90 calendar days for operational roles and up to 120 for management roles. On resignation, notice is whatever the contract sets, up to 20 working days for operational roles and 45 for management roles; for dismissals not based on conduct the employee is entitled to at least 20 working days' notice. The compliance notes for this country give the article references, and an employer of record will manage the registration and filings.

Hiring and retention

The market for experienced engineers is active, so a slow process loses candidates. Keep interviews short and practical, give a clear decision date, and state the salary range early. For retention, agree growth paths, review pay at least once a year against current salary sources, and give remote hires a named point of contact. If you are hiring through an employer of record, ask how it handles benefits and equipment so that the offer is clear on both.

Practical tips

• Sign a written contract before the first working day; Romanian law expects it, and an employer of record will arrange it in Romanian.
• Expect a probation period for employees of up to 90 calendar days for operational roles and up to 120 for management roles under the Labour Code.
• Plan notice periods: an employee who resigns can be required to work out notice that the contract sets, up to the legal maximum.
• Ask senior candidates about competing offers early; the market for experienced engineers is active.
• Use GDPR-compliant tools and agreements from the start; your Romanian hire is subject to the same data rules as any EU employee.
• Agree currency, payment dates and equipment responsibility in the contract.

A typical hiring process

1. Define the role and set a short, paid practical task so skills and written English are visible before interviews.
2. Interview in English for the role, then agree the salary range and start date.
3. Issue the offer and sign the written employment contract in Romanian no later than the day before the first working day (Labour Code, Article 16).
4. Have the contract registered in the general register of employees before work starts; an employer of record does this for you.
5. Set the probation period in the contract (up to 90 calendar days for operational roles, Article 31) and agree notice terms within the legal maximums (Article 81).

Sources

• EF English Proficiency Index 2025.
• Romanian Labour Code, Law 53/2003 (consolidated text on FAOLEX).
• ANSPDCP, the Romanian data protection authority; ANAF, the Romanian tax administration.
• ANIS, Romanian software and IT services employers' association; ARIES.

References checked on 13 October 2026. Rates and thresholds change; confirm current figures with ANAF, your provider or Romanian counsel. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.