DACH engineering hire
Hire AI/ML engineers for your DACH team.
Find an engineer who can connect data, modelling and product delivery. We shape the search around the problems your team needs to solve, then assess the breadth and depth needed to own them.
Standard recruitment
Your search at a glance
Standard: 18% of first-year salary, paid on placement. No upfront fee; 90-day replacement guarantee. We confirm the fee basis for contractor engagements in your mandate.
- Seniority
- Mid-level · Senior · Staff / Tech Lead
- Compensation guide
- €58–80K indicative annual CEE contractor budget for senior.
- Search markets
- CEE candidates for DACH teams; working-hour overlap and work location agreed in your brief.
Compensation is indicative. We agree the salary band, locations and working-hour overlap before search; the placement fee is separate.
Evidence for your hiring decision
CV evidence, a role-specific technical interview and recruiter notes, with a human review before the shortlist reaches your team.
DACH-specific hiring context
Scope the first outcomes before choosing a generalist.
An AI/ML generalist can fit a team whose work spans data preparation, model development and application delivery. Start with the first outcomes: improving a prediction, launching a model-backed feature or making an existing pipeline dependable. Describe the available data, current engineering support and decisions the new hire must own.
We assess problem framing, baseline selection, data quality, evaluation and how a model reaches production. A useful interview starts with an unclear request and asks the candidate which questions they would resolve before building. Follow the answer through measurement and operations so modelling depth is not confused with end-to-end ownership.
A generalist is not automatically the right first hire, nor a substitute for several unrelated roles. If the central bottleneck is retrieval, evaluation or serving infrastructure, a RAG engineer, evals engineer or ML platform engineer may fit better. Team size and funding stage alone do not decide that choice.
For DACH teams, define the language needed for stakeholder work, the expected overlap and the permitted engagement locations. We review evidence of collaboration and ownership from the candidate’s actual work. Education, home country and previous employer names are context, not shortcuts for deciding who can deliver your roadmap.
Across Recruo searches
Our recruitment results so far
Company-wide observations reported by Recruo’s founder on 11 September 2026. These describe our overall experience, rather than a separate cohort for this role or region.
- Pass client technical interviews
≈9/10
Among shortlisted candidates who reach the client’s technical interview stage.
- Candidates the client would offer to
≈4/5
Client willingness to make an offer after assessment. Offers sent, accepted and hires are separate outcomes.
- Completed probation periods passed
100%
All placed candidates whose probation has concluded have passed so far. Ongoing probation periods are excluded.
How to read these results
Pass client technical interviews: Candidates who pass the client technical interview stage, divided by shortlisted candidates assessed at that stage. Around 9 in 10 is an approximate general observation, not a published sample of exactly ten people.
Candidates the client would offer to: Presented candidates the client considers suitable for an offer, divided by candidates presented. Around 4 in 5 describes willingness to offer; it does not mean four offers or hires for every five candidates.
Completed probation periods passed: Placed candidates who passed probation, divided by placements whose probation period has ended. Probation lengths vary by engagement; this is not a 90-day retention measure or a guarantee of future outcomes.
Sample sizes and the reporting period are not yet published. The candidate ratios are approximate; none of these results is a forecast for your vacancy.
Germany budget guide
Plan the salary, contract budget and placement fee.
Swipe across to compare placement fees →
| Seniority | Germany employee salary | CEE contractor budget | 18% of CEE contract budget | 25% of Germany salary (example) | Illustrative fee difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-level | €70–90K | €42–58K | €7.56–10.44K | €17.5–22.5K | €9.94–12.06K |
| Senior | €100–130K | €58–80K | €10.44–14.4K | €25–32.5K | €14.56–18.1K |
| Staff / Tech Lead | €130–160K | €80–108K | €14.4–19.44K | €32.5–40K | €18.1–20.56K |
Indicative planning ranges for Germany employee base salaries and CEE annual contractor budgets, not measured market medians or a Switzerland/Austria benchmark. Fees are paid once: 18% of the CEE contractor budget shown versus 25% of the Germany salary shown. The difference combines two effects: different compensation bases and different fee rates. It is not a like-for-like saving on the same salary. Employer taxes, benefits, EOR costs and other engagement costs are excluded. The comparison agency rate is an assumption, not a market-wide standard. Figures are rounded; the fee difference on the same salary is 7 percentage points.
Budget assumptions
Budget the placement fee and the engagement separately.
These ranges are indicative planning estimates, not a measured salary survey or a candidate quote. The local column describes annual employee salary; the CEE column describes annual B2B contract fees. They are different engagement models. Compare employer contributions, benefits, leave, equipment, tax treatment and any EOR fees before comparing total costs. The figures are not a country-specific quote for Austria or Switzerland.
Illustrative fee example: on the same €100,000 first annual salary, Recruo Standard at 18% is €18,000. A hypothetical agency fee of 25% is €25,000, a €7,000 difference. The 25% is a comparison assumption, not a claimed market standard. Table fee differences also reflect different compensation bases; they are not savings from the fee rate alone. For B2B engagements, agree the annual fee basis in the mandate.
First-shortlist timing
Recruo first shortlist: First shortlist in 5 business days after an approved brief and signed mandate
The shortlist starts your interviews; a signed offer is a later milestone. Timing begins after the approved JD and signed mandate.
What affects the start date
No directly comparable market benchmark is presented
Client interviews, offer decisions and notice periods follow the shortlist.
Recruo service commitment for the first shortlist. Interviews, notice periods and the start date follow a separate timeline.
Work-authorisation patterns
- • Confirm the hiring entity, candidate’s actual work location and engagement model before agreeing terms.
- • Review local employment, contracting and work-authorisation requirements for the planned arrangement with the relevant advisers or provider.
- • Germany, Austria and Switzerland need separate country review; a German rule or an EU-region hosting choice is not a DACH-wide clearance.
Level of ownership
A senior generalist fits independent delivery across a clearly bounded AI product area. Staff scope adds architecture and coordination across teams. Assess gaps openly instead of expanding a single role until it covers every AI responsibility.
Remote setup
Agree access to data owners and product decision-makers as well as engineering hours. Specify working language, onsite expectations and approved work locations before sourcing; these are requirements to confirm with each candidate.
Contracting and candidate data: what to agree before search
DACH contracting review
Choose the contracting structure for the actual engagement.
B2B contracting and employment through an EOR are different arrangements. Review employment status, payroll, worker-leasing and local requirements with qualified advisers before the role starts. A foreign registered business is not a blanket exemption from employment obligations.
Privacy and human oversight
Human-in-the-loop is the default, not a retrofit.
A human recruiter reviews shortlist evidence before client handoff. Data-processing roles, notices, retention, hosting and transfer arrangements need to match the engagement. Ask our team for the applicable terms and documentation for your review.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Get started
Tell us about your open role
Share your DACH AI/ML engineer brief. We agree scope, budget and timing with you; the 5-business-day first-shortlist timeline starts after the brief is approved and the mandate is signed.
Pay on placement
No upfront fee on the Standard plan
90-day guarantee
On Standard: free re-search if hire leaves
Human review
Recruiters review the screening evidence
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Further reading
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