An on-site requirement limits a search to people who can and will work at that location. A remote option removes that particular constraint, but adds decisions about working hours, employment geography and how the team shares context. Choose the model around the work, then describe it precisely.
That principle applies in San Francisco, New York and London. A city name alone does not define a realistic commute, and “hybrid” does not tell a candidate which days, office or hours you mean. The clearer the requirement, the sooner both sides can make a useful decision.
This guide offers Corellia Talent’s practical framework for choosing and testing that requirement. For an early hire, first define the founding engineer’s work. Location is one part of the brief, not a substitute for it.
Start with the work that needs people together
Choose office time by naming the activities that benefit from it. Those might include access to physical equipment, close customer collaboration, pairing through an unfamiliar codebase or making rapid product decisions with the same small group.
Then distinguish those needs from habits. If an engineer comes in to join video calls with colleagues elsewhere, the office may not be delivering the benefit you intended. If a laboratory task requires equipment, say so directly rather than presenting attendance as a measure of commitment.
Write down three things: the work that requires co-location, how often it happens and who needs to be present. Use the answers to form a policy a candidate can understand. A specific reason is more persuasive than a general claim that good work happens in an office.
Understand what current evidence can tell you
Public hiring data indicates that working arrangements influence who enters a process. A 2026 report based on more than 1,200 venture-backed startups found that remote jobs received more inbound applications than in-office jobs. Most of its underlying data was from 2025. The same report found a decline in the share of jobs with remote options across its earlier and later observations. [Source 1]
That gives useful context, but the number relevant to your search is how many suitable people meet the actual requirements. Total applications, qualified candidates and accepted offers are different measures. A remote advert can attract more applications while still requiring careful selection.
Measure your own search using a clear requirement and recorded reasons for withdrawal. Separate qualified responses from application volume, and compare the requirement against the people you actually need to reach.
Make the geography concrete
The right geographic description lets candidates judge the arrangement before investing time in interviews. State the office location, expected attendance, core working hours and whether relocation is supported.
| Market | Make explicit in the brief |
|---|---|
| SF | Whether the office is in the city or elsewhere in the Bay Area, attendance expectations and any travel between locations |
| New York | Office location, fixed versus flexible days, and whether proximity is required at the start |
| London | Office location, required days and whether occasional travel or customer visits are part of the job |
Discuss the practical requirement without making assumptions about someone’s home life. Ask whether the arrangement works for them and what they need to assess it. If the company can offer flexibility, describe its boundaries instead of making a private exception late in the process.
For a cross-city team, state the overlap in local working hours. Check the calendar around daylight-saving changes rather than assuming that the difference remains identical throughout the year. A working arrangement should be sustainable for the people in both locations.
Decide what hybrid actually means
A hybrid policy should explain when people meet and how work continues when they are apart. Specify whether office days are fixed, chosen by teams or agreed individually. Say who decides if that changes.
Consider a worked policy example: a product team uses two shared office days for planning, customer learning and collaboration, then protects focused work on the other days. The important detail is the purpose and coordination, not the number of days itself.
If senior leaders are in the office every day, make sure remote colleagues can still access decisions and opportunities. Share the conclusion of an informal discussion, not only the meeting invitation. Someone should not need to happen to be beside the right desk to understand a changed priority.
In Great Britain, employees can make a statutory flexible-working request from their first day. That is a right to request a change, rather than an automatic entitlement to the requested arrangement; employers must handle requests reasonably. [Source 2]
Design remote work before advertising it
A remote search needs an operating plan as well as a location label. Agree where the company can employ people, which hours overlap and whether travel is expected. Get employment and tax arrangements checked before promising a new hiring jurisdiction.
Then consider how a new engineer learns the system. They need working access, a named source of support, a map of current priorities and a way to ask small questions without waiting for a weekly meeting.
Use written decisions, concise handovers and visible ownership. Keep a record of why a change was made, especially when people are not online together. Schedule discussion where it adds value, and make it clear which work can progress without a meeting.
The same habits can improve an office-based team. They become particularly important when a candidate is joining from somewhere else and cannot recover missing context through conversation nearby.
Sell on-site work through the experience
An on-site role should explain what someone gains from being there. Show who they will work beside, how product decisions happen and what they can learn or influence. Let candidates meet the relevant colleagues rather than relying on photographs of the office.
If you require five days in person, say so at the start. Explain the reason, the expected working hours and any flexibility you genuinely offer. Do not describe the role as hybrid to increase response and correct the expectation later.
Ask candidates what they want from their working environment. Some will value close daily collaboration; others need a different arrangement. A useful process identifies that fit early instead of treating a preference as a judgement on ambition.
Assess capability separately from location
A working-model requirement should not replace an assessment of engineering ability. Keep the role criteria consistent and explain the interview format in advance.
For remote work, explore how the person communicates decisions, requests help and resolves ambiguity. For an on-site role, explore the same things. Being in the same building does not remove the need for clear communication or thoughtful collaboration.
If a candidate is relocating, give them enough information to assess the move. Separate questions about the role from practical questions about starting dates and location. The guide to choosing a startup role is a useful basis for those conversations.
Test the requirement against your hiring evidence
Track where suitable people leave the process and record their stated reasons. Keep location separate from compensation, scope, timing and assessment concerns. Otherwise, every decline risks becoming evidence for whichever explanation the team already prefers.
Review a small set of questions with the hiring team:
- Are relevant people declining before the first conversation because of attendance?
- Is the office location clear in the advert and outreach?
- Are candidates discovering a different policy during interviews?
- Are we requiring more overlap or travel than the work needs?
- If we changed one requirement, could the team support that change properly?
Adjust one meaningful constraint at a time and keep the role otherwise consistent. This gives you a clearer view of what improved the search than changing the title, pay and working model together.
Compare the whole arrangement
Candidates assess the job as a whole: the work, the team, compensation and the conditions under which they will deliver. A location decision should therefore sit alongside a clear package and realistic responsibilities.
Use the three-city compensation guide and salary guide to separate salary evidence from equity and planning assumptions. Then explain your working model with the same clarity. The aim is a requirement the company can sustain and the right person can choose knowingly.
If you are defining a technical hire, Start a conversation.
Legal and tax points are summaries; take professional advice.
Sources
- Original 2026 startup-hiring report and sample definition, published 23 February 2026, checked 31 October 2026. The findings describe the provider’s customer sample, not a census of SF, New York or London.
- GOV.UK: flexible working, checked 31 October 2026. Northern Ireland has separate rules.
The policy examples, geographic checklist and search-review process are Corellia Talent’s editorial recommendations.