Case study
How an AgriTech company reclaimed engineering time with a remote QA contractor
A US AgriTech company needed to reduce the time developers spent on repetitive QA, data entry, and internal tool validation. Global Squirrels helped the company hire a full-time Latin America contractor aligned with Pacific Time. The contractor added 40 weekly hours of dedicated QA capacity while allowing engineers to redirect more time toward automation development and higher value technical work.
Executive summary: Reclaiming engineering time with dedicated QA and data entry support
A growing agriculture technology company was investing heavily in internal automation software, but its development team was spending too much time on repetitive QA, data validation, and manual page checks.
Rather than hire another full-time software engineer for work that did not require advanced engineering skills, the company partnered with Global Squirrels to hire a full-time remote QA and data entry contractor in Latin America.
The goal was straightforward: move repetitive validation tasks away from developers, maintain consistent QA coverage, and keep the new team member aligned with Pacific Time working hours.
Global Squirrels helped define the role, source and screen candidates, coordinate interviews, support onboarding, and manage contractor payroll.
The selected contractor joined for an initial three month engagement at approximately $1,500 to $1,700 per month. The hire provided 40 hours of dedicated QA and data support each week and helped the development team reclaim approximately 20 hours of engineering capacity per week for automation development, bug fixes, and higher value technical work.
About client: AgriTech company building complex internal automation software
The role was intentionally practical. The company did not need another senior engineer for the work. It needed a reliable person who could take ownership of repetitive validation and give developers back more focused engineering time.
The challenge: Engineers were spending too much time on repetitive QA work
The company’s biggest problem was not a lack of engineering expertise. It was how engineering time was being used.
Approximately half of the development team’s available time was being pulled toward manual QA, validation, and repetitive internal tooling checks.
Every time a workflow changed, developers needed to move between pages, enter data, verify outputs, identify errors, and repeat tests across different sections of the system.
These tasks were essential, but many of them did not require a software engineer.
Hiring another engineer could have increased payroll without addressing the real resource allocation problem. The company first needed someone who could take ownership of repetitive testing and data work so its developers could focus on building and improving the software.
There was another concern: time zone alignment.
India and the Philippines offered lower monthly hiring costs, but the company preferred a contractor in Latin America who could work closely with its Pacific Time development team. Immediate communication was more valuable than achieving the lowest possible payroll cost.
The technical lead also wanted a hiring process that reduced administrative pressure. Screening candidates, making the right hiring decision, handling payments, and potentially managing future termination requirements created additional concerns.
The solution: A full-time Latin America QA contractor aligned with pacific time
Global Squirrels recommended hiring a full-time QA and data entry contractor rather than automatically adding another developer.
This allowed the company to match the cost and skill level of the hire to the actual bottleneck.
The search focused on Latin American candidates who could:
- Work 40 hours per week
- Maintain significant Pacific Time overlap
- Perform repetitive tasks accurately
- Test internal tools systematically
- Follow written processes
- Complete spreadsheet based data validation
- Navigate multiple application pages
- Communicate issues clearly to developers
- Adapt as the internal system evolved
Global Squirrels sourced candidates from its talent network and external recruiting channels and filtered applicants against the company’s requirements.
The client received a shortlist of up to three candidates, including relevant experience, skills, and expected monthly compensation.
Candidates could be interviewed before the company made any hiring commitment.
The company ultimately selected a Latin America based contractor within its target monthly range of approximately $1,500 to $1,700.
How the hiring process runs: From bottleneck analysis to contractor onboarding
1. Define the actual workload
Instead of beginning with a generic QA job description, Global Squirrels worked from the tasks consuming the development team’s time.
The role was built around manual validation, data entry, internal application testing, and repeatable quality checks.
2. Prioritize time zone compatibility
The company preferred Latin America because the contractor needed to communicate regularly with a Pacific Time based development team.
Although candidates in India and the Philippines could offer lower salary ranges, real time collaboration was treated as an important operational requirement.
3. Screen candidates before client interviews
Global Squirrels filtered candidates based on availability, communication ability, task fit, location, compensation expectations, and ability to work full-time.
This reduced the amount of recruiting work handled internally.
4. Let the client select the final hire
The hiring manager interviewed shortlisted candidates and selected the person who best matched the team’s workflow.
There was no charge simply for reviewing resumes or conducting interviews. Hiring related charges began after a candidate was selected.
5. Complete onboarding and payroll setup
Global Squirrels supported contractor onboarding and payment administration.
Monthly invoices were based on approved working hours, while the client retained control over daily tasks, priorities, and performance management.
6. Expand responsibilities as workflows evolve
Because the internal platform continued to change, the role was designed with flexibility.
Once the contractor became comfortable with the core QA process, additional validation and operational tasks could be assigned without creating a new position.
Results: 160 monthly hours of QA capacity and more time for software development
The most immediate result was dedicated capacity.
40 hours per week of QA support
The contractor took ownership of routine testing, validation, spreadsheet updates, and repetitive page checks.
Approximately 160 hours of monthly support
The development team gained a consistent resource for work that had previously been distributed across technical employees.
Around 20 engineering hours reclaimed each week
By shifting repeatable validation work away from developers, the team recovered significant time for software development, automation improvements, troubleshooting, and higher value technical priorities.
Pacific Time aligned collaboration
Hiring in Latin America allowed the contractor to work alongside the core team instead of depending primarily on asynchronous communication.
Predictable monthly cost
The contractor remained within the client’s expected budget of approximately $1,500 to $1,700 per month.
A scalable role beyond the first three months
As internal tooling continued to evolve, the contractor could remain responsible for recurring QA while taking on additional data and operational workflows.
The engagement also gave the company a practical lesson in workforce planning: not every development bottleneck requires another developer. Sometimes the better solution is to identify the work slowing engineers down and hire specifically for that workload.
Testimonial: Hiring for the bottleneck instead of adding another engineer
Why companies choose Global Squirrels
Global Squirrels helps companies hire international employees and contractors based on operational needs, required skills, location, budget, and working hours.
Instead of providing anonymous task based outsourcing, Global Squirrels helps businesses build dedicated remote teams.
Companies can use Global Squirrels for:
- Candidate sourcing and screening
- Shortlisted candidate profiles
- Interview coordination
- International contractor hiring
- Employee hiring support
- Payroll administration
- Timesheet based invoicing
- HR and onboarding support
- Country specific employment support
- Scaling international teams
The client continues to manage the employee or contractor’s daily work, while Global Squirrels handles the administrative side of international hiring.
Build support around the work slowing your team down
Adding expensive technical talent is not always the answer to an engineering capacity problem. If your developers, managers, or specialists are spending hours every week on repeatable operational work, Global Squirrels can help you identify and hire remote talent for those responsibilities.