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Hire senior AI engineers from Latin America

Pick a role to see what it costs per hour in Latin America, the skills to screen for, and the countries to hire from.

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Short answer

Plugg Technologies places senior engineers from Latin America with US companies, with a focus on AI, data, backend, DevOps, Salesforce and QA roles. Each role page shows median hourly rates by country, the skills Plugg screens for and the countries to hire from. Shortlists arrive in about 3 days.

Every role below is placed through Plugg Technologies, a nearshore recruiting partner with more than 500+ placements across 11 years in Latin America. You choose the engineer, direct the work and keep your own tools and process. Plugg handles sourcing, vetting, payroll, compliance and hardware. The rates come from the 2027 hiring report.

AI engineers

Engineers who build and ship LLM, machine learning and AI-assisted product features.

Data

Data engineers

Pipelines, warehouses and the data layer that AI features depend on.

Backend

Senior backend engineers

Senior engineers for APIs, services and architecture decisions.

DevOps

DevOps and cloud engineers

Pipelines, infrastructure as code, cloud and reliability.

SFDC

Salesforce developers

Apex, Lightning and integration developers for Salesforce teams.

QA engineers

Automation, performance and release testing.

What each role costs

Median client bill rate per hour in Mexico, Brazil and Colombia.

Median client bill rate per hour by role and country (USD, October 2026). Engagements in parentheses.
Role	Mexico	Brazil	Colombia
AI engineers	$54 (18)	$64 (11)	$52 (8)
Data engineers	$54 (18)	$64 (11)	$52 (8)
Senior backend engineers	$42 (43)	$52 (10)	$37 (12)
DevOps and cloud engineers	$48 (15)	$55 (10)	$47 (7)
Salesforce developers	$37 (51)	$46 (14)	$40 (9)
QA engineers	$28 (52)	$32 (12)	$28 (10)

How to read these rates

What the figures are. Median client bill rates in US dollars per hour, by role and country, from Plugg Technologies' own engagement data as published in the 2027 Latin America Tech Hiring Report. The number in parentheses is how many engagements sit behind each median.

Bill rate is not pay. The bill rate is what the client pays. The contractor's pay is lower. For senior and lead engineers the report shows contractor pay of $30 to $38 an hour against a client bill rate of $44 to $52.

Do not stack these with the country-level medians. The report also cites country-level software engineer medians. It says they are reported separately and do not reconcile with this table, so each page here uses one or the other.

These are illustrative medians from a Plugg sample, not a quote. Your rate depends on the role, seniority, stack and country. Request talent rates for a real number.

Not our first placement

Nearshore AI Talent is run by Plugg Technologies, a nearshore recruiting firm that has placed engineers in Latin America for 11 years.

500+placements across Latin America

11years recruiting in LATAM

91%developer retention in 2026

3 daysaverage time to a vetted shortlist

I have a technical background and can be quite picky, and this was my first time trying the nearshoring model. Plugg listened carefully to my requirements and after showing me a shortlist, I hired Matias from Argentina. He’s a senior level full-stack developer. 5 months later and we’re all really happy with him! He delivers ahead of schedule, communicates clearly and boosts our team morale with his positive and proactive energy. We’ve since hired additional developers from Plugg. I’m impressed!

Sung ChoFounder & CEO, Chartmetric

Engineering teams that hired through Plugg

SingleOps
Chartmetric
Cloud Cath
Blinkfreight
Action Face

Argentina / Series A

Built a full-stack dev team for a Series A startup

Read the story →Bolivia / SaaS

Hired a senior React engineer for a hyper-growth SF startup

Read the story →

Frequently asked questions

Why does this site focus on senior AI talent?

Plugg's own demand has moved that way. In its 2026 openings, 72% of technical roles were senior, up from 26% in 2024. AI and data roles are the ones recruiters report growing fastest. For general developer roles, Plugg runs a separate gateway site at hirelatamdevs.com.

Can I hire more than one engineer at a time?

Yes. Plugg builds pods and teams as well as single hires. Describe the team you need on the first call and the shortlist is built around it.

How do I choose between roles and seniority levels?

Start with the outcome you need in the first 90 days, then pick the role and level that owns it. Senior engineers earn their rate when the work needs judgment on architecture and trade-offs. A mid-level engineer fits well-scoped work in an established codebase.

Tell us the role. We'll send a shortlist.

One call, then vetted candidates in about 3 days.

See Available Talent