Hiring Your First Dev in Indonesia: Frontend, Backend, or Fullstack?

This is one of the most common questions RainTech gets from founders making their first Indonesian engineering hire: "Should I hire a frontend, backend, or fullstack developer?"

It sounds like a technical question. It is actually a product question, and the answer depends entirely on where your biggest bottleneck is right now.

This guide gives you a framework to answer it for your specific situation, with honest data on what each role type looks like in the Indonesian developer market, what you can realistically expect, and what it costs.

Why The Role Type Decision Matters More Than You Think

Most hiring guides tell you to "define your technical requirements first." That advice is correct but incomplete. The role type decision — frontend vs backend vs fullstack — has downstream effects on:

Sourcing speed: Fullstack engineers take longer to source because the bar is higher.
Output velocity: A backend engineer will not unblock your frontend if your actual bottleneck is the API layer, but hiring a fullstack when you only need backend can mean paying more for skills you will not use for months.
Cost: Fullstack commands a premium that is not always justified for early-stage products.

Getting this right on the first hire saves time, money, and the very specific pain of realising three months in that you hired the wrong type.

The Global Role Distributions and What It Means

According to the Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 (49,000+ responses from 177 countries):

Fullstack developers are the most common role globally: 27% of professional developers identify as fullstack.
Backend developers are the second most common: 14.2%.
Architect emerged as a new distinct category at 6.1%.

Frontend is not reported separately at the top level in the 2025 survey, but the large fullstack percentage reflects a market reality: many developers who could work purely frontend have extended into full-stack to remain competitive.

What this means for hiring from Indonesia: the fullstack label is common, but depth varies enormously.

A developer who describes themselves as fullstack may have genuinely balanced frontend and backend skills, or may be primarily a frontend developer who has touched some backend, or vice versa. The label requires verification. This is exactly why vetting matters more than job titles.

Frontend Engineers: When You Need The Interface to Move Fast

What Frontend Engineers Do

Build everything the user sees and interacts with: React, Vue, Next.js components, responsive layouts, state management, API integration from the client side, and performance optimization.

When to Hire Frontend First

Your backend exists (in-house, API, or third-party) but your product interface is the bottleneck.
You are redesigning or rebuilding a product layer that users interact with directly.
You have a designer but no one to implement their work at production quality.
Your current frontend is slow, inconsistent, or technically in debt and it is blocking growth.

When not to Hire Frontend First

You have no data model, no API, and no backend foundation — a frontend engineer cannot build on nothing.
Your bottleneck is data processing, integrations, or server-side logic.

Indonesian Frontend Developer Reality

Indonesia has a large and capable frontend developer pool. React is dominant — driven by adoption at Indonesian startups and e-commerce companies. Vue.js has strong representation, particularly among mid-level developers who learned it through the large Indonesian Vue community. Next.js adoption has grown quickly over the past two years.

Strong Indonesian frontend engineers typically also know TypeScript, are comfortable with REST API integration, and have worked with design systems or component libraries. The senior level — engineers who can architect a frontend, make performance decisions, and lead a design system — is smaller but findable.

What to Watch for

Frontend quality in Indonesia spans a wide range. A candidate who lists "React, 3 years" may have built production applications — or may have built tutorial apps and freelance projects with limited code review. Always screen for production deployments, not just personal projects.

RainTech Salary Ties for Frontend Engineers

Tier 1 Junior (0–2 years): $800–$1,200/month.
Tier 2 Mid-level (3–5 years): $1,200–$2,000/month.
Tier 3 Senior (5+ years): $2,000–$3,000/month.

Backend Engineers: When Your Architecture is The Bottleneck

What Backend Engineers Do

Build APIs, business logic, database schemas, server-side processing, authentication systems, integrations, and the infrastructure layer that frontend and mobile clients consume.

When to Hire Backend First

Your product idea requires data processing, integrations, or complex business logic that does not exist yet.
You have a prototype or MVP but the backend is cobbled together and cannot scale.
Your team can handle frontend but the API layer is the blocker.
You are building a data pipeline, internal tool, or API-first product.

When not to Hire Backend First

You already have a working backend but your users cannot interact with it properly because the frontend is broken or nonexistent.
Your bottleneck is user experience, not data.

Indonesian Backend Developer Reality

Backend is where Indonesia's engineering depth is strongest. The country's large startup ecosystem — GoTo, Tokopedia, Traveloka, and dozens of Series A and B companies — has produced a generation of backend engineers who have worked on real scale, real load, and real production incidents.

Node.js is dominant at mid-level. Python is growing fast, particularly for backend engineers adjacent to data. Java has a strong presence, particularly in larger enterprise and fintech contexts. Go is available at senior level but with a smaller pool.

One consistent quality signal in Indonesia: backend engineers who have worked at or with Indonesian unicorns tend to have meaningfully stronger production experience than those who have only done freelance or agency work. Ask specifically where they have deployed, what the traffic was, and what they had to fix at 2am.

RainTech Salary Tiers for Backend Engineers

Tier 1 Junior (0–2 years): $800–$1,200/month.
Tier 2 Mid-level (3–5 years): $1,200–$2,000/month.
Tier 3 Senior (5+ years): $2,000–$3,000/month.
Tier 4 Staff/Principal (8+ years, system design): $3,000+/month.

Fullstack Engineers: Flexibility With Trade-offs

What Fullstack Engineers Do

Handle both frontend and backend work — building features end-to-end, from UI component to database query, without needing to hand off between specialists.

When to Hire Fullstack First

You are at early stage (pre-PMF or early MVP) and speed of iteration matters more than depth.
Your product surface area is not large enough to keep two specialists fully productive.
You cannot afford two engineers and need one person to cover both sides.
You are building an internal tool or admin interface where production polish matters less than functionality.

When not to Hire Fullstack First

You need genuine depth in either frontend (complex design system, performance-critical UI) or backend (high-throughput API, complex data model, security-critical system).
You are scaling a team that already has backend coverage, adding another fullstack instead of a specialist is often the wrong call.
Your product has crossed the complexity threshold where end-to-end ownership by one person creates more coordination cost than it saves.

Indonesian Fullstack Developer Reality

The fullstack label is the most common in Indonesia, and the most variable in quality. At Tier 2 (mid-level), most Indonesian fullstack engineers have a dominant side: either a frontend engineer who has learned basic Node.js backend, or a backend engineer who has worked with React enough to call themselves fullstack. Genuine balance at senior level exists but is harder to source.

The best Indonesian fullstack engineers at Tier 3 typically have 5–7 years of experience, have worked at startups that moved fast and required engineers to context-switch constantly, and have a track record of shipping features end-to-end without handoffs.

Sourcing time for verified senior fullstack is typically 2–3 weeks — longer than specialists because the qualification bar is higher.

RainTech Salary Tiers for Fullstack Engineers

Tier 2 Mid-level (3–5 years): $1,200–$2,000/month.
Tier 3 Senior (5+ years): $2,000–$3,000/month.

Note: True senior fullstack engineers in Indonesia often command the same as senior specialists — do not assume fullstack means cheaper.

The Decision Framework: Which to Hire First

Use this to determine your first hire:

Step 1 — Identify Your Bottleneck

Where is your product or team stuck right now? If the answer is in the user interface → frontend. If it is in data, APIs, or server-side logic → backend. If you need someone to move fast across both → fullstack.

Step 2 — Check Your Existing Coverage

What engineering capability do you already have, even partially? If you have a technical co-founder who can handle backend, your first hire might be frontend. If you have a no-code or prototype frontend, your first hire might be backend to build what it actually needs.

Step 3 — Assess Your Timeline

If you need to move in 2 weeks, fullstack is faster to deploy because they can pick up whatever needs doing. If you have 4–6 weeks to source and onboard properly, a specialist will typically deliver more depth.

Step 4 — Consider Your Budget Reality

All three types sit at similar salary ranges in Indonesia, but a Tier 2 mid-level specialist who is genuinely good at one thing often outperforms a Tier 2 fullstack who is mediocre at both. If budget constrains you to one hire, think about which half of the problem you would rather own yourself.

Role Comparison at a Glance

Factor	Frontend	Backend	Fullstack
Pool depth (ID)	★★★★ Large	★★★★★ Very large	★★★★ Large
Quality consistency	★★★ Variable	★★★★ More consistent	★★★ Variable
Sourcing speed	1–2 weeks	1–2 weeks	2–3 weeks (verified senior)
Best for	UI bottleneck	API, data, logic	Early stage, small team
Tier 2 Salary	$1,200–$2,000/mo	$1,200–$2,000/mo	$1,200–$2,000/mo
Tier 3 Salary	$2,000–$3,000/mo	$2,000–$3,000/mo	$2,000–$3,000/mo
Caveat	Prod vs tutorials	Real scale & incidents	Balance of skills

FAQs

Is a fullstack engineer always more expensive than a specialist?

Not necessarily, and not in Indonesia. At Tier 2 and Tier 3 level, salary ranges are similar across all three types. The cost difference is in sourcing time and quality risk — verified senior fullstack takes longer to find and requires more rigorous vetting. Do not assume fullstack means affordable generalist.

Can a good frontend engineer learn backend, or vice versa?

Yes, over time. Many Indonesian developers have done exactly this. But "can learn" is different from "currently capable." If your first hire needs to deliver backend work from Week 1, do not hire someone who will spend Weeks 1–4 learning it. Hire for the bottleneck you have today, not the versatility you hope for in six months.

Should I always hire backend before frontend?

No. This is a common misconception driven by "build the foundation first" logic. If your product has a working backend but your users cannot use it because the frontend is broken, the backend is not your bottleneck. Hire for where your team is actually stuck.

What is the realistic output difference between Tier 2 and Tier 3 in Indonesia?

Significant. A Tier 3 senior engineer ($2,000–$3,000/month) can typically design and implement systems independently, make architecture decisions, and require minimal oversight. A Tier 2 mid-level ($1,200–$2,000/month) needs clearer direction, more code review, and will produce less complex output.

For early-stage startups with strong technical co-founders who can provide direction, Tier 2 is often the right value call. For teams without senior technical leadership, Tier 3 pays for itself.

How does RainTech determine whether a self-described "fullstack" engineer is genuinely balanced?

Our co-founder Veri Ferdiansyah (former CTO and VP of Engineering) personally leads technical screening for every candidate. For fullstack candidates, we assess both sides independently: a frontend challenge and a backend challenge. We also ask candidates to describe the last three features they shipped end-to-end and probe which side required more outside support. Most candidates reveal their dominant side within the first 20 minutes of a technical screen.

Not Sure Which Type You Need? Tell Us Your Bottleneck.

RainTech's team can help you map your bottleneck to the right role type before you post anything. We have seen enough early-stage and scaling teams make this decision to know the patterns.

Schedule a free 30-minute call and tell us where you are stuck. We will tell you what to hire, and have a shortlist of pre-vetted candidates ready within 5 business days.

References:

Share this article: