Nearshore Software Development Services
Leanware provides nearshore software development from Colombia with full US timezone alignment. Our 40+ engineer team delivers AI-first development, staff augmentation, and dedicated teams for American companies, offering 30%+ cost savings without communication barriers or time zone delays.
Leanware is a Trusted Partner for Great American Companies.
How
How Our Nearshore Software Development Company Works
We offer three engagement models based on how much control and integration you need. Staff augmentation extends your existing team. Dedicated teams operate as your remote development department. Full outsourcing handles projects end-to-end.
Our Engagement Models
Staff Augmentation
Individual developers or small groups integrate directly into your existing teams. They attend your standups, use your tools, and follow your processes. You maintain full control over task assignment and priorities. Ideal when you have established processes but need additional capacity or specific expertise.
Dedicated Agile Teams
Self-managed teams of 4-8 developers, QA engineers, and a tech lead work exclusively on your product. We handle team management, you provide product direction. Teams operate as your remote engineering department with consistent velocity and deep product knowledge. Works for companies building products but lacking full engineering leadership.
Full Outsourcing Partnerships
We handle the entire development lifecycle from architecture to deployment. You define business requirements and acceptance criteria, we deliver working software. Includes project management, technical decisions, and quality assurance. Suitable for companies needing complete solutions without building internal technical teams.
Service Offerings
AI Strategy & Integration Services
AI implementation for existing products, building recommendation engines, automating workflows with LLMs, integrating AI APIs into applications. Recent projects include AI-powered quality control systems, chatbot implementations, and document processing automation. We handle model selection, integration architecture, and production deployment.
Data Engineering Solutions
Building data pipelines, warehouses, and analytics infrastructure. Work includes ETL pipeline development, data lake architecture, real-time streaming systems, and business intelligence integrations. Projects range from migrating legacy databases to building modern data platforms that support ML workflows.
Mobile & Web App Development
Full-stack development using React, React Native, Node.js, Python, and modern cloud platforms. We've shipped consumer apps, enterprise SaaS platforms, and internal tools. Development includes API design, database architecture, cloud infrastructure, and CI/CD setup.
Digital Products Development
Building products from concept to launch, discovery, design, development, deployment. Includes market validation, UX design, MVP development, and scaling infrastructure as products grow. We've launched fintech apps, healthcare platforms, and marketplace products.
UX/UI Design & Product Management
Product discovery, user research, interface design, and roadmap planning. Design work includes user flows, wireframes, high-fidelity mockups, and design systems. Product management covers backlog prioritization, sprint planning, and stakeholder communication to keep development aligned with business goals.
What is
What Is Nearshore Software Development?
Nearshore software development places development teams in nearby countries with similar time zones and cultural alignment. For US companies, this means teams in Latin America working the same business hours, eliminating the coordination issues of offshore development while maintaining significant cost advantages over domestic hiring.
Access to Specialized Skills
Latin America produces strong technical talent in AI/ML, data engineering, and full-stack development. Colombia alone graduates 13,000+ engineers annually. Nearshore teams provide access to specialists difficult to hire domestically, senior engineers with modern tech stacks, AI implementation experience, and domain expertise.
Why
Why Choose Nearshore Development?
Nearshore development solves the core problems of both onshore and offshore models: onshore costs too much, offshore creates communication and coordination friction. Nearshore provides qualified developers at competitive rates who work your business hours and understand your market context.
VS
Nearshore vs Onshore vs Offshore: How They Compare
Onshore provides maximum communication ease at maximum cost. Offshore provides maximum cost savings with maximum coordination friction. Nearshore balances both, significant cost savings with minimal coordination overhead.
When Nearshore Makes More Sense
Local markets can't supply enough AI engineers, data scientists, or developers with specific framework experience. Nearshore expands your talent pool to Latin America's technical workforce without offshore communication barriers.
Hiring and firing domestically creates HR overhead and legal risk. Nearshore contracts scale capacity up or down based on project phases without long-term employment commitments or severance costs.
Real-time collaboration compresses development timelines compared to offshore asynchronous workflows. Same-day feedback loops and immediate blocker resolution keep sprints moving at full velocity.
Time zone alignment enables relationship building through daily interaction. Teams become familiar with your product, codebase, and business context over time, increasing velocity and reducing onboarding overhead.
Overlapping work hours enable spontaneous calls, immediate Slack responses, and participation in real-time meetings. No waiting overnight for answers or scheduling calls at inconvenient hours.
Teams with Latin American market knowledge provide insights for localization and regional expansion. Cultural understanding helps adapt products for Spanish-speaking markets.
Colombia is 3-5 hours flight from major US cities. On-site visits for kickoffs, planning sessions, or critical sprints are practical. Geographic proximity enables hybrid engagement models.
30-40% cost reduction compared to US hiring rates while maintaining senior-level expertise. Lower operational costs in Colombia don't correlate with lower developer capabilities or output quality.
Consistent teams build product expertise over time, increasing velocity and reducing onboarding costs. Long-term engagements enable knowledge retention and deeper understanding of business context.
Hear What Startups and Companies Are Saying About Leanware
"Leanware unlocked our frontend dev—now we ship major updates every 2–3 weeks and move faster."
Morgan Venable,
Head of Product Groundlight
“Leanware's adaptability in project methodology greatly enhances our unique startup operations”
Ricardo Patino,
CEO 2MoonCapital
"Leanware is incredibly responsive. Their team is quick to reply and fantastic at tackling problems."
Barb Heathcote,
Manager docbraces
Latin America – Near-Time Zone Alignment
Operating from Colombia (EST/CST) means our team works US business hours. Developers attend 9am standups, respond to Slack messages during your workday, and participate in afternoon planning sessions. No split shifts or overnight coverage required.
Cultural Fit & Communication Strength
Colombian developers understand US business culture, communication styles, and work expectations. English proficiency is standard for technical roles. Teams use familiar tools (Slack, Jira, GitHub), follow Agile methodologies, and integrate into existing workflows without cultural friction.
Operational Efficiency & Low Overhead + AI Advantage
Lower cost of living in Colombia enables 30-40% savings on developer salaries compared to US rates. We leverage AI development tools to increase engineering velocity, code generation, automated testing, documentation, maintaining high output quality while controlling costs.
Location
Our Location & Nearshore Advantage
Our Colombian base provides structural advantages for US companies: time zone alignment, cultural fit, cost efficiency, and AI-first development approach that increases productivity without quality tradeoffs.
Trusted By Leading Brands
Our client portfolio includes American startups, mid-market SaaS companies, and enterprise organizations across healthcare, fintech, and logistics. Projects range from staff augmentation for established tech companies to full product development for early-stage startups.
Awards
Awards, Recognitions & Client Success
Case Studies & Proven Outcomes
Our portfolio spans wellness and fitness apps, legal tech platforms, fintech trading systems, AI computer vision, healthcare management software, accounting SaaS, and business development tools. Clients range from early-stage startups building MVPs to established companies scaling engineering capacity through staff augmentation.
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FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Monthly rates vary by seniority and role. Junior developers (1-3 years) run $4K-$5K/month. Mid-level developers (3-5 years) cost $5K-$6.5K/month. Senior developers (5-10 years) range $6.5K-$8K/month. Tech leads and architects cost $8K-$10K/month. Compare to US equivalents at $12K-$18K/month for contractors or $140K-$180K annually for full-time employees.
Toptal vets freelancers (hourly rates $80-$150+) for short-term projects. BairesDev operates at larger scale with standardized processes, higher rates, and longer contracts. Turing focuses on remote individual contributors via their platform. Leanware provides dedicated teams and staff augmentation at competitive nearshore rates with US timezone alignment from Colombia. Choose based on engagement type: freelance project (Toptal), enterprise scale (BairesDev), vetted individuals (Leanware Staff Augmentation), or dedicated teams (nearshore providers like Leanware).
Main risks: communication gaps despite English proficiency, cultural misalignment on work expectations, developer turnover disrupting projects, and underestimating integration complexity with existing teams. Technical quality varies between providers. Some nearshore companies oversell capabilities or provide junior developers marketed as senior. Mitigation requires trial periods, clear technical assessments during hiring, documented processes, and realistic onboarding timelines.
Initial setup takes 2-3 weeks for developer selection, contract execution, and access provisioning. Developers reach 50-60% productivity in first sprint (2 weeks) as they learn codebase and processes. Full productivity typically hits by week 6-8 depending on codebase complexity and documentation quality. Teams with strong documentation and clear technical onboarding reach full speed faster.
Developer replacement follows standard process: we identify replacement from talent pool within 1-2 weeks, conduct technical assessment matching project requirements, and begin knowledge transfer with overlap period when possible. Contracts include replacement guarantees at no additional cost. Risk mitigation includes documentation requirements, code review processes, and knowledge sharing across team members.
Standard contracts include monthly billing cycles, 30-day cancellation notice, IP assignment to client, and defined payment terms (net 15-30). Minimum engagement typically 3 months to justify onboarding investment. Contracts specify team composition, hourly rates or monthly fees, communication expectations, and deliverable timelines. NDAs and data security provisions included. Payment via wire transfer or international payment platforms.
Technical roles require B2-C1 English proficiency (CEFR scale). Developers participate in daily standups, write technical documentation, and communicate via Slack/email in English. Accent exists but doesn't prevent technical communication. Some grammatical errors in written communication are common but don't affect technical clarity. Video interviews during hiring assess communication capability for specific roles. Higher proficiency correlates with seniority and prior experience with US clients.
Minimum engagement is typically 3 months to justify onboarding and knowledge transfer investment. Minimum team size is 1 developer for staff augmentation, 3-4 developers for dedicated teams (to ensure coverage and knowledge sharing). Projects under 3 months or needing single developers short-term are better suited for freelance platforms. Long-term engagements (6+ months) provide better ROI as teams build product expertise.
Minimum engagement is typically 3 months to justify onboarding and knowledge transfer investment. Minimum team size is 1 developer for staff augmentation, 3-4 developers for dedicated teams (to ensure coverage and knowledge sharing). Projects under 3 months or needing single developers short-term are better suited for freelance platforms. Long-term engagements (6+ months) provide better ROI as teams build product expertise.
All code, documentation, and intellectual property created during engagement transfers to client via IP assignment clauses in contracts. Developers work as contractors creating work-for-hire. Contracts explicitly state client owns all deliverables. Standard practice includes IP assignment documentation and confidentiality agreements. No retained rights or licensing fees for code produced.
Get Started With Our Nearshore Development Tea
Schedule a Consultation
Discovery calls assess your technical needs, timeline, and team structure. We discuss engagement models, team composition, and provide cost estimates based on scope. Initial conversations identify whether nearshore development fits your project and what team configuration makes sense for your situation.