Toptal Engineering Expert
Tips to Attract, Manage, and Retain Software Developers
What makes software developers tick? With this theme in mind, we will present some ways to retain employees that we have identified in successful software development teams.
![Fernando Martinez](http://assets.toptal.io/images?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbs-uploads.toptal.io%2Fblackfish-uploads%2Ftalent%2F4497%2Fpicture%2Fretina_64x64%2Flarge-fb521a22d9a7f3cb03046e7ae0f805c0.jpg)
Fernando Martinez
Fernando is a veteran systems and computing engineer with 30 years of experience. He has developed in Java, C#, SQL Server, and more.
How to Avoid the Curse of Premature Optimization
Premature optimization hurts experts and novices alike. How can you know when and how to optimize without shooting your project in the foot?
This week, Toptal Freelance Software Engineer Kevin Bloch walks project managers through some time-tested optimization strategies and when to use them.
![Kevin Bloch](http://assets.toptal.io/images?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbs-uploads.toptal.io%2Fblackfish-uploads%2Ftalent%2F3907%2Fpicture%2Fretina_64x64%2Fhuge-395ada679c83eb570529f6a4c2024f47.jpg)
Kevin Bloch
Kevin has 20+ years among full-stack, desktop, and indie game development. He lately specializes in PostgreSQL, JavaScript, Perl, and Haxe.
A Guide to Security Best Practices for Remote Teams
Learn how, with the right remote worker security policy, distributed teams can be just as secure as in-house teams.
Toptal Freelance Software Engineer and full-time remote worker Amin Shah Gilani walks us through common security attack methods, cyber defense strategies, and, finally, an example of a good remote worker security policy.
![Amin Shah Gilani](http://assets.toptal.io/images?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbs-uploads.toptal.io%2Fblackfish-uploads%2Ftalent%2F4046%2Fpicture%2Fretina_64x64%2Fhuge-be28982e08a189bfa1b207b594dceab6.jpg)
Amin Shah Gilani
Amin is a developer and entrepreneur who loves writing clean, test-driven Ruby and ES6 code—crafted for CI/CD.
A Beginner’s Guide to Managing Software Development With Kanban and Trello
While the success of your project depends on many factors, one of the most common reasons projects fail is a lack of management or downright bad project management.
In this post, Lead Engineering Editor Demir Selmanovic teaches you the basics of Agile project management using Kanban and Trello.
![Demir Selmanovic](http://assets.toptal.io/images?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbs-uploads.toptal.io%2Fblackfish-uploads%2Ftalent%2F1731%2Fpicture%2Fretina_64x64%2Fhuge-d157a85a92351596a6c614128fe1d48c.jpg)
Demir Selmanovic
Demir is a developer and project manager with over 15 years of professional experience in a wide range of software development roles.
Keep Calm and Transition to a New Development Team
Many product owners don’t have a technical background and thus often find themselves unprepared and scrambling when it comes to bringing on a new development team. This often results in hindered progress, wasted time, and frustration for everyone involved. If this sounds like it could be you, either now or in the future, then you should be somewhat concerned.
In this blog post, Toptal Freelance Software Engineer Carlos Ramirez III will walk you through the various steps of a typical transition process in project management so you can prepare for this eventuality and make the transition as smooth as possible.
![Carlos Ramirez III](http://assets.toptal.io/images?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbs-uploads.toptal.io%2Fblackfish-uploads%2Ftalent%2F3118%2Fpicture%2Fretina_64x64%2Fhuge-23e8f4e96ff6136210ab3ef426eb1cc5.jpg)
Carlos Ramirez III
Carlos is a professional software engineer specializing in the Ruby on Rails framework. He has worked with US tech companies for years.
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The Vital Guide To Hire Great Freelance Developers
Technically, hiring freelance developers has never been easier, but don’t lull yourself into a false sense of security. The number of freelance platforms and skilled developers on the market is going up, but so are the challenges associated with finding, testing and selecting a truly great candidate.
![Nermin Hajdarbegovic](http://assets.toptal.io/images?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbs-uploads.toptal.io%2Fblackfish-uploads%2Fcomponents%2Fblog_author%2F4082866%2Fphoto%2Fretina_64x64%2Fheadshot.jpg-5457ff2737fe4bcb3acd04c7fc389fcc.jpg)
Nermin Hajdarbegovic
As a veteran tech writer, Nermin helped create online publications covering everything from the semiconductor industry to cryptocurrency.
How Not To Manage Your Remote Team of Developers
When entering the remote developers’ world, the biggest obstacle that managers must overcome is to change their mindset by accepting that the developer will not be in plain sight, and where they can manage and follow the work being done.
This new paradigm requires businesses to implement a number of mechanisms to track progress and avoid a redundant workload. Such mechanisms will help both manager and developer be more productive, which is in everyone’s best interest.
![Senad Biser](http://assets.toptal.io/images?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbs-uploads.toptal.io%2Fblackfish-uploads%2Ftalent%2F542%2Fpicture%2Fretina_64x64%2Flarge-4a090e12-4787-494a-bedc-1d05cbc9446f-54086252f6b5223ea1df7b377b81240d.png)
Senad Biser
Senad is a highly experienced software engineer and project manager, skilled in a variety of technologies, most notably Java ands Android.
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