A venture-backed US software company from the San Francisco Bay Area needed an application support engineer for its EMEA team. It builds an AI-powered translation platform for enterprises and employs more than 300 people. It came to us with one total budget for the hire. Six weeks later, an engineer in Bulgaria had accepted the offer.
At a glance
| Client | Venture-backed US SaaS company, AI-powered enterprise translation |
| Headquarters | San Francisco Bay Area, California |
| Company size | 300+ employees |
| Role | Application Support Engineer, EMEA team |
| Hired in | Bulgaria |
| Service | Turnkey EOR – recruitment and employment from one provider |
| Brief to accepted offer | About 6 weeks |
| Interview process | The client’s own technical and cultural rounds, unchanged |
The problem
The client already knew the Employer of Record model. Its international team members were employed through a global EOR platform.
This hire was different. The engineer would cover European clients in European hours, while sitting inside the company’s global support organization. The budget was fixed: one total figure, everything included.
A global EOR platform employs the person you have already found. It does not find them. It also cannot tell you what a fixed budget buys in a specific local market. The client needed someone on the ground who could answer both questions.
The solution
We started from the budget and worked backwards. We turned the client’s total figure into a salary range a candidate in Bulgaria would actually see, after employer-side costs and our fees.
Then we sourced and screened against two filters at once: the technical requirements of the role and that salary range. Candidates who met one but not the other did not go forward.
A small shortlist went into the client’s standard hiring process – several rounds of technical and cultural interviews. We did not ask the client to change how it hires. It assessed our candidates the same way it assesses everyone.
Once the client chose its engineer, we handled the offer and the employment. The engineer is employed in Bulgaria through Perpetum’s own Bulgarian entity, South Gate Tech EOOD, registered since 2018. Contract, payroll, taxes and compliance sit with us. The engineer’s day-to-day work sits with the client.
Why not the existing EOR partner? The client chose Perpetum for this hire for two reasons: local market knowledge, and one package covering both the search and the employment. Its global EOR stayed in place for the rest of its international team.
The outcome
About six weeks from brief to accepted offer.
The engineer works as part of the client’s EMEA support team, covering European clients and time zones. Day to day, they are embedded in the global organization, not managed as an outside contractor.
The hire came in within the budget the client set at the start. The client kept its own interview process. And it added a second, local provider alongside its global EOR without disruption.
When Turnkey EOR fits
Turnkey EOR suits a company that knows what it can spend and what the role needs, but has no local network to find the person. You set the budget and run your own interviews. We find the candidates, then employ the one you choose. See how the numbers work in the hiring cost calculator, or tell us about your hire.
FAQ
What is Turnkey EOR? Turnkey EOR combines recruitment and employment. Perpetum finds and screens candidates, the client chooses who to hire, and Perpetum then employs that person as Employer of Record. Pricing is a monthly EOR fee plus a separate placement fee, both published on the Turnkey EOR page.
How long does it take to hire an application support engineer in Bulgaria through Turnkey EOR? In this case, about six weeks from brief to accepted offer. Timing depends mostly on the client’s own interview rounds and the candidate’s notice period.
Can I use Perpetum alongside my existing EOR provider? Yes. The client in this case kept its global EOR for its wider international team and used Perpetum for this hire.
Can you hire to a fixed total budget? Yes. We convert your total budget into a realistic local salary range first, then only put forward candidates who fit both the role and that range.
