Salaries, hiring trends, AI talent and remote recruiting insights for international companies.
Brazil operates one of the largest formal technology labour markets in Latin America, with more than 2.1 million CLT jobs across the ICT macro-sector in 2025. For US and UK companies, the market combines scale, working-hour overlap and an established remote-work culture. This report consolidates verified, source-attributed indicators on employment, salaries and hiring considerations — and is explicit about what the available data does not show. Figures marked as 2027 outlook are forward-looking observations, not observed facts.
Scale, formal employment and the trends shaping international interest.
Brazil's ICT macro-sector employed 2,125,602 professionals under formal CLT contracts in 2025, according to Brasscom's sector report. The figure spans the entire ICT macro-sector — software, IT services, telecom and related segments — and reflects formal employment only.
For international companies, three structural characteristics stand out: the sheer size of the talent pool, a time zone that overlaps with both US and UK working hours, and a professional culture already accustomed to remote collaboration with foreign teams.
Demand is concentrated in software engineering, data and AI, cloud infrastructure and digital marketing — the same segments where international hiring interest is strongest.
Each indicator shows its value, scope, reference period, original source and verification date. These metrics come from different populations and methodologies — they are not directly comparable.
2,125,602
formal jobs
Sector-level indicator covering the whole ICT macro-sector. Not limited to software development roles.
R$ 6,591
BRL / month
Sector indicator, NOT the average salary of a software developer. Averages across roles, seniorities and regions.
US$ 135,980
USD / year
Occupation-specific median for the US labour market. Not directly comparable to Brazilian sector-wide CLT averages.
Comparability warning: the three indicators above measure different populations (a sector-wide Brazilian average, total sector employment, and a US occupation-specific median), in different currencies and contract frameworks. They provide context, not a like-for-like comparison.
Where international demand concentrates — stated only where evidence exists.
Front-end, back-end, full-stack and mobile development remain the largest hiring segments. International companies typically recruit senior and mid-level engineers for distributed product teams.
Data engineering, analytics and machine learning roles are growing segments of international hiring interest in Brazil. Specific workforce counts for AI roles are not yet verified from a public source — this report does not estimate them.
Performance marketing, SEO and marketing operations professionals increasingly work with international clients, supported by English proficiency in major tech hubs.
Role-level benchmarks are shown only when verified against a public source. Where a figure cannot be verified, the table says so — we do not publish estimates as data.
| Role | Seniority | Location | Currency | Engagement | Benchmark | Source / date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software segment (all roles) | All levels | Brazil (national) | BRL | CLT | R$ 6,591 / month (sector average) | Brasscom, 2025 |
| Software Developers | All levels (median) | United States | USD | US employment | US$ 135,980 / year (median) | US BLS, May 2025 |
| Software Engineer | Senior | Brazil — São Paulo | BRL / USD | Varies | Data not verified | Under review — Robert Half Salary Guide 2026 |
| Data Engineer | Mid–Senior | Brazil — national / remote | BRL / USD | Varies | Data not verified | Under review — Robert Half Salary Guide 2026 |
| Machine Learning Engineer | Senior | Brazil — national / remote | BRL / USD | Varies | Data not verified | Under review — Robert Half Salary Guide 2026 |
| Digital Marketing Specialist | Mid | Brazil — national / remote | BRL / USD | Varies | Data not verified | Under review — Robert Half Salary Guide 2026 |
Need a benchmark for a specific role? Request a Brazil Hiring Benchmark and we will research it against verified sources.
Cost comparisons are only valid between equivalent indicators.
The verified indicators in this report describe different things: total sector employment in Brazil, a sector-wide average salary across all software-segment roles under CLT contracts, and a US occupation-specific median. None of these is a like-for-like measure of "what a senior developer costs" in each country.
A valid comparison requires role-level data segmented by seniority, location, currency and engagement model (CLT, contractor, EOR) on both sides. Until equivalent indicators are verified, this report does not publish savings percentages or side-by-side salary claims.
Related reading: Hiring tech talent in Brazil from the US · Recruiting in Brazil from the UK · Global recruiting with Vettarya
Practical dimensions international teams evaluate. This section is market context, not legal advice.
Common structures include direct employment via a local entity, contractor agreements and employer-of-record arrangements. Each carries different legal and tax implications that require specialist advice.
São Paulo time overlaps several hours with both US Eastern and UK working days, supporting synchronous collaboration uncommon in more distant offshore markets.
Brazilian labour law (CLT), data protection (LGPD) and tax rules differ from US and UK frameworks. Compliance planning should involve qualified local counsel.
Teams report evaluation consistency, English-level verification and onboarding across cultures as the main friction points — all addressable with structured assessment.
Original analysis from our recruitment practice in the Brazilian market.
Sourcing is not hiring. Finding profiles that match a job description is the easy part of international recruiting. The harder work is structured evaluation: verifying real technical depth, assessing communication in English under interview conditions, and understanding motivation and expectations before an offer is on the table.
Diagnosis before search. Searches that start with a clear diagnosis of the role — seniority, must-have skills, team context, decision criteria — produce shorter, better shortlists than searches that start with a keyword list.
Data discipline matters. International hiring decisions are often made on numbers that were never comparable to begin with. We hold this report to the same standard we apply to candidate assessment: claims need evidence, and evidence needs context.
Sources. This report uses publicly available, attributable sources: sector reports from industry bodies (Brasscom), official labour statistics (US Bureau of Labor Statistics) and published salary guides (Robert Half Brazil). Each indicator links to its original source.
Scope and currencies. Brazilian figures are reported in BRL under CLT employment terms; US figures in USD under US employment definitions. No currency conversion is applied, because converted figures would imply a comparability the underlying methodologies do not support.
Periods. Each indicator carries its own reference period (2025 sector data, May 2025 US median, 2026 salary guide). The 2027 outlook is directional analysis based on observed trends — it is not observed data and is not presented as such.
Limitations. This report does not conduct primary research, surveys or interviews. It does not publish role-level Brazilian salary medians, savings percentages or hiring-time statistics, because verified public sources for these figures have not been confirmed. Where data is missing, the report says "Data not verified".
Updates. Indicators are re-verified when new editions of underlying sources are published. Each indicator displays its verification date.
[1]Brasscom — Relatório Setorial 2025
Sector report on the Brazilian ICT macro-sector: formal employment and salary indicators, 2025.
[2]U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Outlook Handbook: Software Developers
Median annual wage for software developers in the United States, May 2025.
[3]Robert Half Brazil — Salary Guide: Technology
Reference for role-level salary research in the Brazilian technology market (2026 edition). Used as a research source; tables are not reproduced.
The Brazilian ICT macro-sector recorded 2,125,602 formal CLT jobs in 2025, according to Brasscom's sector report. This is a sector-wide figure covering all ICT segments, not only software development roles.
Brasscom reports an average monthly salary of R$ 6,591 in the software segment for 2025. This is a sector-level average across roles, seniorities and regions — it is not the average salary of a software developer, and should not be read as one.
Not with the indicators currently verified. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of US$ 135,980 for software developers (May 2025), an occupation-specific median, while the Brazilian figure available is a sector-wide CLT average. Comparing the two directly would mix different populations, contract types and currencies.
Role-level benchmarks require sources that segment by position, seniority and location. The Robert Half Brazil Salary Guide is one reference point for further research. Where this report cannot verify a figure, it shows 'Data not verified' rather than estimating.
São Paulo time is typically one to three hours behind US Eastern time and three to four hours behind the UK, depending on daylight saving periods. This leaves several shared working hours per day, which is one reason international companies consider Brazil for distributed teams.
No. Engagement models, employment law, tax and compliance questions require specialist advice. This report describes considerations and market context only.
Sources are reviewed periodically and indicators are re-verified when new editions of the underlying reports are published. Each indicator shows its reference period and verification date.
Tell us which role, seniority or market question you need answered. We will research it against verified sources and respond by email.
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