CLIENT STORY · HEYGEN · AI VIDEO PLATFORM
Nine senior engineers in eight weeks. The first two seated in three days.
HeyGen's product was growing faster than its engineering team could. Odesa placed nine senior engineers in eight weeks, saved HeyGen about $800,000 against US-based hiring, and eight of the nine were retained. HeyGen's own words: a remote team that feels in-house and has contributed to multiple product rollouts.
Staff augmentation · US contracts · Senior engineers from Eastern Europe · Month-to-month
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
9
senior engineers placed8 weeks
from brief to full team3 days
to the first two engineers seated$800K
saved vs US-based hiring88% retained. Eight of the nine engineers stayed on the HeyGen team.
We started seeing strong engineer profiles from Odesa within days, and the process from tech interview to onboarding was smooth and straightforward. The remote team Val built for us now feels like part of our in-house team and has contributed to multiple product rollouts over the past year.
David Steffes
Head of Talent, HeyGen
VERIFIED CLUTCH REVIEW · 5.0
“Odesa.co requires little hand-holding.”
“Project management is responsive, offers solutions, and sets expectations.”
David Steffes, Head of Talent, HeyGen
THE CHALLENGE
A product shipping faster than the team could grow.
HeyGen builds an AI video platform, and its roadmap was moving at the pace of a market that does not wait. The engineering team needed senior capacity now, not after a six-month US hiring cycle, and not at US salaries for every seat.
The brief to Odesa was specific: senior engineers who could join existing product workflows in HeyGen's own tools, contribute to live rollouts within weeks, communicate like teammates, and stay.
✓ Senior engineers, not a bench of juniors
✓ Seated in days, not quarters
✓ A team that would still be there a year later
WHAT ODESA DID
Personal matching, HeyGen's decisions, Odesa's follow-through.
No marketplace, no database dump. Val ran the search personally against HeyGen's brief. HeyGen's engineers interviewed every candidate and made every hiring decision. Odesa handled everything around it.
Profiles within days
Hand-picked senior engineers matched on the stack, the product context and the communication HeyGen's team needed. In David Steffes's words: strong engineer profiles within days.
HeyGen interviewed. HeyGen chose.
Odesa coordinated the technical interviews and feedback loop. Every engineer who joined was selected by HeyGen's own team.
Two seated in three days. Nine in eight weeks.
The first two engineers were working inside HeyGen's tools three days after contract. The full team of nine was in place within eight weeks.
Part of the team, not a vendor
Odesa stayed involved through onboarding and the engagement. The result HeyGen describes: a remote team that feels in-house and has shipped multiple product rollouts.
THE RESULTS
Nine engineers. Eight weeks. Eight still there.
Numbers HeyGen has approved us to share.
9
Senior engineers placed
All senior, all hand-picked for HeyGen's product and stack, every one interviewed and chosen by HeyGen's own engineers.
8 weeks
From brief to full team
The first two engineers were seated in three days. A US hiring cycle for one senior role often takes longer than that entire eight weeks.
$800K
Saved against US-based hiring
Compared with hiring the same nine senior engineers in the US. Month-to-month terms, US contracts, no recruiter fees.
88%
Retained: eight of nine
Retention is the number that proves the match was right. Eight of the nine engineers stayed on the HeyGen team.
Figures are for the HeyGen engagement and are shared with HeyGen's written permission. Every engagement is scoped to its own roles and timeline.
WHY IT HELD
Three things made the HeyGen team stick.
Matched by a person, not a database
Val read HeyGen's brief, understood the product and the team, and picked engineers for how they would work, not just what they listed. HeyGen's team then made the call.
Senior engineers who joined the workflow
Working in HeyGen's tools, standups and code review, with the working-hour overlap agreed up front. That is why HeyGen describes the team as part of its own.
A founder who stayed involved
US contracts and invoicing, month-to-month terms, and Val and Zhanna as the direct points of contact through onboarding and beyond. Eight of nine retained is the result.
ADD THE SAME KIND OF ENGINEERS TO YOUR TEAM
“We were impressed with their cost, speed, and having a US-based interface.”
“The onboarded developers were able to help us develop and launch a specific feature quickly and under budget. Clear communication, very responsive, and a solid team.”
Erik Rivera
Founder & CEO, CertaPet
“Odesa.co's communication and delivery speed are very good.”
“They embedded a software developer in one of our teams, who has performed quite well from very first day.”
Ferran Caellas
CTO, MAD Collective
“Odesa.co requires little hand-holding.”
“Project management is responsive, offers solutions, and sets expectations.”
David Steffes
Head of Talent, HeyGen
YOUR TEAM NEXT
Build the team your product needs.
Tell us the roles, the stack and the timeline. You will see hand-picked senior profiles within days, interview the ones you like, and decide. Month-to-month, US contracts, from $45/hr.
Prefer email? hello@odesa.co
Val Narodetsky
Founder, Odesa.co · Lighthouse Point, Florida
I ran the HeyGen search personally. I will run yours the same way.