top of page

Breaking New Ground: Offshore Expansion, AI Rebuild, and Vietnam as a Strategic Engineering Hub

Overview

- Client: An Australia-based IT consulting firm secured a major project to rebuild an enterprise travel platform serving ~50,000 users.

- Services Provided: JT1 partnered with the client to provide executive headhunting, Employer of Record (EOR), and end-to-end talent verification services.

- Key Outcome: The platform required a full AI-driven rebuild to enhance personalization, efficiency and scalability, while establishing a new tech hub in Vietnam to support global expansion.

Client Challenges

- 30-day timeline to build a founding team under strict validation requirements

- No offshore experience and limited understanding of Vietnam’s talent market

- Misaligned hiring structure (titles, JDs, unrealistic senior expectations)

- Overly complex hiring process (6–7 stages, not suited for top engineers)

- Ineffective sourcing strategy (high volume, low quality)

- Offer-stage resistance due to stability, compensation, and trust concerns

- Limited availability of top-tier talent with 30 - 45 day notice periods

JT1’s Recruitment & EOR Solution

1. Hiring Scope Redesign


JT1 expanded the hiring scope from 9 to 12 roles, ensuring full coverage across:

  • Engineering

  • Platform operations

  • Quality assurance

  • Product direction

→ Established a complete delivery ecosystem, not just a development team


2. Job Title & Role Repositioning


JT1 identified a fundamental mismatch between global role definitions and local talent expectations.

  • Key transformations included:

    • Data & SQL → Senior SQL Server Engineer (Azure / Microsoft Stack)

    • System Analyst → Senior System Analyst (System Design & Domain Modeling)

    • ChargeBee Specialist → Backend Engineer (ChargeBee Integration)

    • Principal Technical Lead → Engineering Manager

  • Additionally:

    • Recalibrated all roles to reflect true seniority (Senior → Principal levels)

    • Clarified ownership and impact scope

→ Result: Higher targeting precision and improved funnel efficiency


3. Hiring Process Re-engineering


JT1 reduced the process from 6–7 stages to 4 stages:

  • Phone screening

  • Technical assessment

  • Technical interview

  • Final interview (management + end-client)

→ Maintained evaluation rigor while significantly improving speed and candidate experience


4. Precision Sourcing Strategy


Instead of mass hiring, JT1 implemented a targeted headhunting model:

  • Direct outreach to top-tier engineers

  • Curated candidate pipeline

  • Early-stage qualification

→ Reduced noise and increased conversion efficiency


5. EOR as a Strategic Bridge


JT1 provided EOR services for the first 3 months, enabling:

  • Immediate onboarding

  • Legal compliance during entity setup

Additionally, JT1 advised and structured a market-competitive benefits package:

  • Annual Gross Salary

  • Year-end Bonus

  • Performance Bonus

  • Social Insurance

  • Private Health Insurance & Annual Health Check

  • Annual Leave

→ Positioned the client competitively against top product companies


6. End-to-End Verification Layer


Background Checks:

  • Employment verification

  • Education verification

  • Criminal record check

Reference Checks: conducted with previous managers

→ Ensured credibility and reliability of all hires


7. Offer Strategy & Candidate Advisory


  • JT1 operated as a trusted intermediary and career advisor, bridging:

    • Client ambition

    • Candidate risk perception

    • Market reality

  • Key actions:

    • Translated business vision into tangible career value

    • Provided transparent trade-off analysis (risk vs growth)

    • Built trust through consistent and informed communication

    • Allowed decision space instead of forcing closure

→ Converted high-resistance candidates in competitive situations

Results

Results:

  • Successfully hired 10 out of 12 roles within 30 days

  • Built a high-calibre founding team aligned with global standards

  • Offer Conversion Outcome

  • Overcame strong counteroffers and retention packages

  • Addressed risk concerns effectively

  • Achieved high acceptance among top-tier candidates

  • Notice Period Reality

  • Majority: 30–45 days notice period


However:

  • Selected candidates accelerated onboarding by:

    • Using annual leave

    • Fast-tracking handovers

→ Reduced to 15–20 days in some cases

  • Business Impact

    • End-client validated team quality during in-person meetings

    • Increased confidence in Vietnam as a delivery hub

    • Successfully launched tech hub with strong scaling potential

Key Takeaways

  • Talent strategy must be localized, not replicated → Global hiring models fail without adaptation to local market dynamics

  • Role definition drives funnel quality → Misaligned job titles and seniority can break the entire hiring pipeline

  • Speed must be engineered, not forced → Optimized processes outperform rushed execution

  • Offer stage is a strategic conversion point → Top talent decisions are driven by trust, risk perception, and long-term value - not just compensation

  • Recruitment is advisory, not transactional

  • High-impact hiring requires:

  • Market intelligence

    • Stakeholder alignment

    • Candidate-level consulting

    • Highlighted Consulting Value Delivered by JT1

    • Transformed hiring from role-filling → system design (12-role ecosystem)

    • Repositioned roles to align global expectations with local talent reality

    • Re-engineered hiring process for speed without compromising quality

    • Acted as a strategic advisor in high-stakes offer negotiations

JT1_LOGO-11.png

Project Gallery

Clients background

Talent Requirements

  • Engineering: .NET Backend Engineer, Technical Lead, Frontend Engineer, Backend Engineer (Payment Platform Integration)

  • Data & AI: Senior SQL Server Engineer (Azure / Microsoft Stack), AI/ML Engineer

  • System & Architecture: Senior System Analyst (System Design & Domain Modeling), Solution Architect, Engineering Manager

  • Platform & Delivery: DevOps / Cloud Engineer (Azure), Senior QA Automation Engineer, Technical Product Owner

- Core Expectations

  • Top-tier engineers in the Vietnam market

  • Strong English communication (client-facing)

  • AI adoption mindset

  • Leadership potential (future scaling roles)

  • Ability to meet global engineering standards

- The client is an IT services and consulting firm headquartered in Australia, delivering technology solutions to international enterprise clients.

- This project marked a strategic inflection point:

  • First offshore delivery hub outside Australia

  • First large-scale AI-integrated platform rebuild

  • First attempt to leverage Vietnam as a long-term engineering base

- The Vietnam team was expected to:

  • Act as the core delivery unit for the project

  • Be validated directly by the end-client before contract signing

  • Scale from 0 → 30 engineers in year one, and 50–70 engineers thereafter

bottom of page