Sea – IT recruitment of senior engineer for Polish software engineering hub (Maritech Serviced Ltd.)

Ani Gasparyan

Client overview

Sea is a leading independent provider of commercial software for the global maritime industry, using the power of data to promote more efficient, informed, and sustainable shipping. Its innovative platform transforms the vessel chartering process, supporting smarter decision-making from pre-fixture planning to execution, and is trusted by over 12000 users worldwide.

To date, over 750 million tonnes of cargo have been traded via Sea’s platform, with over 51000 contracts negotiated and documented annually. The platform has also helped track 46.9 million tonnes of carbon, contributing to more environmentally conscious shipping practices.

By combining cutting-edge technology, strategic partnerships, and deep integration across the maritime ecosystem, Sea is emerging as the go-to digital marketplace for freight professionals.

Project summary

Sea’s growing platform required more than generalist developers. With new product features on the roadmap and a shift toward modern infrastructure, the company needed experienced engineers who could lead backend architecture decisions, introduce scalable DevOps practices, and take ownership of testing frameworks and delivery processes.

The internal teams were already stretched, and the demands of international coordination added complexity. To meet delivery timelines and strengthen their presence in Central Europe, Sea prioritized roles that combined technical depth with autonomy, adaptability, and cross-functional collaboration.

The hiring goals were clear but ambitious. Each role came with distinct responsibilities tied to Sea’s technical evolution:

That’s when DevsData LLC joined as a recruitment partner, helping Sea identify and onboard experienced professionals across backend development, DevOps, QA, and project management. Each hire brought both technical depth and the ability to work effectively within an international team environment.

“DevsData LLC successfully recruited 11 senior professionals who now form the core of Sea’s engineering team in Poland. Their technical contributions support ongoing product development, DevOps infrastructure upgrades, and delivery across multiple teams.”

Challenge

This project presented several recruitment challenges:

Building a cross-functional team from scratch

As mentioned above, this wasn’t a typical recruitment engagement. Sea needed professionals who could take ownership, collaborate across disciplines, and contribute without constant oversight. Since the team was being built from the ground up, each hire had to be chosen not only for their individual expertise but also for their ability to support a larger engineering function with changing priorities. The recruitment process had to focus on more than technical skills. It needed to identify people who could influence team structure, lead delivery efforts, and grow into key roles within a new engineering hub.

Finding engineers with strong technical foundations

For backend roles, Sea was looking for developers with strong architecture skills, experience in modern frameworks (Node.js, Symfony, Laravel), and the ability to work independently. For DevOps positions, the team sought engineers with deep knowledge of cloud infrastructure, automation tools, and containerization.

QA specialists were expected to build testing processes almost from scratch, and project managers were expected to work across functions, time zones, and teams.

Limited employer brand awareness in Poland

While Sea was well-known in maritime circles, it had limited visibility in Poland’s tech sector, making outreach to top-tier candidates more difficult. This posed a challenge in candidate outreach, especially for passive candidates with multiple offers.

Speed without sacrificing quality

The hiring needed to happen fast, but the roles were senior, technical, and strategic. DevsData LLC had to balance a rapid pace with careful screening to avoid mis-hires that could slow down product delivery or strain the company’s culture.

DevsData LLC’s approach

Building on prior experience with fast-scaling tech companies, DevsData LLC applied a step-by-step process shaped by real-world hiring challenges. The team focused on creating a recruitment plan that matched Sea’s technical goals, preferred work culture, and hiring timeline. Before any candidate outreach began, DevsData LLC worked closely with Sea’s technical leaders to understand each role beyond the written description.

These early sessions helped clarify what each hire would be expected to accomplish within the first few months. Sea shared details about their tools, workflows, team structure, and preferred communication style. The discussions also touched on plans for expanding their presence in Poland, which helped define both immediate and longer-term hiring needs.

With clear priorities established, DevsData LLC began sourcing candidates through a combination of its internal talent pool and public platforms. The search included professionals who were not actively applying but had the right experience and interest. Outreach messages described the technical nature of Sea’s projects and the opportunity to take part in meaningful engineering work. This approach drew interest from candidates who valued hands-on contribution and thoughtful design.

Each applicant was evaluated through a role-specific process. Backend engineers worked through live programming tasks. Infrastructure candidates completed system architecture reviews. Quality assurance professionals solved test design problems. Product managers handled case exercises that mirrored real work. All interviews were conducted by experienced engineers who assessed both technical ability and communication.

The process remained flexible. Weekly updates, direct communication, and ongoing feedback allowed the team to adjust quickly. When priorities shifted to focus more on test automation skills, the search adjusted accordingly. Feedback from Sea’s hiring managers helped refine the process with each new candidate.

Key points from the approach:

• Clear expectations defined through early collaboration
• Focused outreach to relevant candidates with strong technical profiles
• Evaluation steps tailored to each discipline
• Open communication to stay aligned throughout the engagement

Results

The recruitment partnership between DevsData LLC and Sea delivered outstanding outcomes, resulting in the successful hiring of 11 senior professionals across engineering, DevOps, QA, and project management.

This was a high-stakes effort to build a fully functioning product team from the ground up, and DevsData LLC delivered within just 4 months from initial brief to onboarding. The hires now play a critical role in driving Sea’s product roadmap and engineering execution across its expanding Central European operations.

The individuals placed were not only highly skilled technically, but also brought the autonomy, adaptability, and strong communication needed to succeed in a distributed, fast-paced environment. Several had prior experience in scaling digital platforms, modernizing legacy systems, or leading technical initiatives in agile teams. Today, many of them are directly contributing to Sea’s feature development, CI/CD improvements, and cross-functional coordination across time zones.

Business impact

The recruitment collaboration between Sea and DevsData LLC delivered a direct and measurable impact on Sea’s product development and global operations.

“With 11 senior professionals successfully hired for the company’s Polish hub, Sea accelerated its platform roadmap, increased development velocity, and improved delivery across backend systems, infrastructure, and QA.”

Each hire brought not only deep technical expertise but also the independence and collaborative approach needed to succeed in a fast-paced, globally distributed team. DevsData LLC provided Sea with access to top-tier engineering talent that they couldn’t reach through traditional channels.

By establishing a strong engineering presence in Central Europe, Sea tapped into a deep, underutilized talent pool, improved cross-time-zone collaboration, and accelerated its platform development with greater agility and confidence.

This partnership also alleviated the burden on internal recruitment teams, enabling Sea’s leadership to focus on strategic growth while maintaining visibility and control throughout the hiring process.

Building a global product team from scratch?

DevsData LLC helped Sea rapidly assemble a senior, multidisciplinary engineering team, comprising backend developers, DevOps specialists, and project managers, that now plays a key role in the company’s platform delivery.

Reach out at general@devsdata.com or visit www.devsdata.com to start building your team today.

Any questions or comments? Let me know on Twitter/X.

Discover how IT recruitment and staffing can address your talent needs. Explore trending regions like Poland, Portugal, Mexico, Brazil and more.

🗓️ Schedule a consultation

Read full bio

Ani Gasparyan Senior copywriter and marketer

Ani is a marketing enthusiast and content writer. With 6+ years of expertise in marketing, she succeeded in developing engaging marketing collaterals, including blog articles, social media content, and other promotional materials. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for storytelling, she thrives in crafting compelling content that resonates with the target audience.

Read more about our IT staffing services