Usually not for the first two or three. A recruiter earns their fee on two jobs: finding people who would never apply, and reading more applications than you have time for. Most first engineering roles at a Singapore or Indonesian startup need the second job done, not the first, and the second is the one you can fix yourself. Write down what good looks like as a scored rubric, then measure every applicant against it. HyreTech does that reading part for you. A recruiter still earns their fee when the role is senior, niche, or drawing almost no applications, because then the bottleneck is sourcing, not screening.
The first engineers at a startup are hired by someone already doing three other jobs. The applicant who gets read carefully is often whoever applied first, not whoever fits best.
That is a structural problem, not a judgement one. If your current process is still a handful of names in a spreadsheet, start with what a candidate database needs to preserve.
Volume Problem or Sourcing problem?
Skipping a recruiter works when three things are true:
- A founder or technical lead can judge the role directly.
- A job post is drawing a workable pool of applicants.
- The company can absorb a few weeks of screening rather than needing someone seated next Monday.
It works badly when the skill is genuinely rare and the right people are not looking, when the hire is a VP or head of engineering whose evaluation is as much reputation as skill, or when nobody on the team can write a credible rubric for the role.
The short version: a rubric fixes a volume problem, reading everyone the same way. It does not fix a sourcing problem. If almost nobody is applying, consistent screening changes nothing.
For where Indonesian engineers actually look for work, see our guide to sourcing tech talent in Indonesia.
What a Recruiter Costs in Singapore and Indonesia
Few agencies publish their rates. One that does is Robert Walters Singapore, whose standard terms for permanent placements charge 25% of the annual remuneration package up to S$119,999, 27% up to S$199,999 and 30% above that.
The package includes employer CPF, guaranteed bonuses and commissions. At 25%, a first engineer on a S$96,000 package costs S$24,000 in fees. That is one premium firm's list price, not a market average, but it is a concrete number to negotiate against.
Singapore law does not cap that number. The Employment Agencies Rules limit what an agency may charge the candidate: one month's salary per year of contract, at most two months. What it charges the employer is whatever you agree.
Indonesia has no equivalent published rate card from a major firm that we could find. The figures circulating online come from recruiting vendors' own blogs. What the rules do say is that an agency placing workers in Indonesia needs a business licence as a PPTKS, and its agreement with you must state the placement fee, under Permenaker 18/2024. Get the rate, what it is calculated on and the replacement terms in writing before the first CV arrives.
Local Rules a Rubric Does Not Change
Hiring a foreign engineer in Singapore
An Employment Pass currently needs a minimum qualifying salary of S$5,600, rising with age to S$10,700 at 45 and above, and S$6,000 for new applications from 1 January 2027, per MOM's eligibility page.
Unless exempt, the application must also score 40 points on COMPASS. Firms with fewer than 25 PMETs score 10 points by default on both the diversity and the local-employment criteria. MOM's Self-Assessment Tool is open to employers as well as agencies, so you can check a candidate's eligibility before you make an offer.
Advertising first
Under the Fair Consideration Framework, the role must be advertised on MyCareersFuture for at least 14 consecutive days before an EP application. Companies with fewer than 10 employees are exempt, as are roles paying S$22,500 a month or more. A five-person startup can skip the advert, but not the salary floor or COMPASS.
Notice periods in Indonesia
An employee resigning must give written notice at least 30 days before their last day, under PP 35/2021 Article 36. The candidate you offer today usually starts a month later at the earliest, so plan the offer date around it. This is the rule as of September 2026. A new manpower law is being drafted, so check it before you quote it in an offer letter.
Write The Criteria Down Before Applicants Arrive
A rubric is three decisions made once: which skills matter, how much each one weighs, and what the minimum bar is. When you create a role in HyreTech, it drafts all three from your job description. Edit them before you publish the role.
Applicants are scored automatically as they arrive, including the one who applies at 2am on a Sunday, and every one is measured against the same rubric. How to get your first scorecards walks through the order, and how weights become a score shows the arithmetic.
It also leaves a written record. Each score carries the reasoning for every criterion, so when someone asks months later why a person was hired, the answer is attached to the scorecard rather than reconstructed from memory.
For technical roles, if a resume links a GitHub profile, HyreTech reads the public repositories and activity and weighs them as supporting evidence for the resume's claims.
What a rubric does not fix: culture mismatches and gaps a reference check would catch. Those still need a person.
When a Recruiter is Worth It, and What to Check First
A good agency earns its fee on a search you could not run yourself: a senior or niche role, a market where the right people are not looking, or a deadline your own screening cannot meet.
If that is your situation, the difference between an AI recruiter, an AI headhunter and an agency is covered in what each one actually does. Before signing, check:
- Contingency or retained. Contingency is paid on placement; a retainer is paid whether or not the search succeeds.
- What the percentage applies to. Base salary, or a full package that includes employer CPF and bonuses. The Robert Walters terms above count the highest bonus you quote when bonuses are not guaranteed.
- The replacement guarantee. How long, and whether it is a refund or a replacement. Robert Walters offers a 13-week replacement and no rebate.
- The ownership window. Whether the fee still applies if you hire an introduced candidate later through another route, and for how long. The Robert Walters terms set 12 months.
- The licence. In Singapore, an agency placing job seekers with employers needs an MOM employment agency licence, searchable in the EA Directory. In Indonesia, ask for the PPTKS business licence.
- Exclusivity and realistic numbers. Whether the role is exclusive to them, and how many candidates they expect to put forward for this role, not their network size.
Start Without Committing
To see what a scorecard looks like before creating anything, the free resume screener takes a job description and one PDF with no signup. For a real search, the Free plan covers one active role, one seat and 20 one-time credits, where one credit is one resume analysed.
That is enough to check whether the ranking matches your judgement on a first batch, not to score a few hundred applicants. Credits top up pay-as-you-go on any plan, including Free, and the Starter plan covers three roles and three seats.
The pricing page has the current rates and what consumes a credit lists every action that costs one. For how the plans map to a founding team, see HyreTech for startups, and for where candidate data is processed, HyreTech in Singapore.
Start free and edit the drafted rubric before your first applicant arrives, or book a demo and we will walk through it on your open role.
FAQ
Do I need a recruiter to hire my first engineer in Singapore?
Usually not, if a job post is drawing a workable pool of applicants and someone on the team can judge the role. A recruiter is worth the fee when the role is senior or niche and the right people are not applying, because then sourcing, not screening, is the bottleneck.
How much do recruitment agencies charge in Singapore?
Few publish their rates. Robert Walters Singapore's standard terms charge 25% of the annual remuneration package up to S$119,999, 27% up to S$199,999 and 30% above, with the package including employer CPF and guaranteed bonuses.
Is there a cap on recruitment agency fees in Singapore?
Only on fees charged to the candidate: one month's salary per year of the contract, at most two months, under the Employment Agencies Rules. There is no cap on what an agency charges the employer.
Does a startup have to advertise on MyCareersFuture before hiring a foreign engineer?
Not if it has fewer than 10 employees, or if the role pays S$22,500 a month or more. Otherwise the advert must run for at least 14 consecutive days before the Employment Pass application. The EP salary floor and COMPASS still apply either way.
How long is the resignation notice period in Indonesia?
At least 30 days' written notice before the resignation date, under PP 35/2021 Article 36, as of September 2026. Plan offer dates around it.
What does HyreTech's free plan include?
One active role, one seat and 20 one-time credits, where one credit is one resume analyzed. Credits can be topped up on the Free plan without upgrading.