A strong software development team is not necessarily a large one. The better approach is to match the team’s skills to the product, give people clear responsibilities, and fix technical bottlenecks before adding more headcount.

There is still strong demand for software talent. The U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics reports that employment of software developers is expected to increase by 15.8% between 2024 and 2034, adding 267,700 jobs. Median annual pay for software developers reached $133,080 in May 2024. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

For companies hiring in 2026, the challenge is not simply finding developers. It is building a team that can deliver and scale software without creating unnecessary complexity.

Define the Software Development Team Before Hiring

The best hiring decisions start with the product, not the job title. Before writing a job description, identify what the team needs to maintain and improve.

Consider:

1. Current programming languages and frameworks
2. Product and development roadmap
3. Existing technical gaps
4. Infrastructure and cloud requirements
5. Testing and security responsibilities
6. Expected workload over the next 6 to 12 months
7. Decisions that require senior technical ownership

This process also determines whether the business needs a generalist, a specialist, or a senior technical lead.

A small product may work well with a few full-stack developers. A growing platform may need separate front-end, back-end, QA, DevOps, and technical leadership responsibilities.

Build a Balanced Software Development Team

A balanced team brings together different technical skills:

• Front-end developers handle interfaces, browser performance, accessibility, and client-side functionality.
• Back-end developers work on application logic, APIs, databases, authentication, and server-side systems.
• Full-stack developers cover both sides of the application and can be useful in smaller teams.
• QA engineers test software and prevent defects from reaching production.
• DevOps engineers handle areas such as cloud infrastructure, deployment automation, monitoring, and reliability.
• Technical leads or architects deal with larger decisions around system design, security, scalability, and technical standards.

The structure should change as the product grows. A five-person startup team will not need the same setup as a 50-person engineering department.

When Does a Business Need a DevOps Engineer?

Businesses should consider dedicated DevOps expertise when infrastructure and deployment issues begin affecting development speed, reliability, or cost.

Common signs include:

• Manual or unreliable deployments
• Poor production monitoring
• Rising cloud costs
• Slow incident response
• Developers spending too much time on infrastructure
• Difficulty scaling applications

A DevOps engineer can handle CI/CD, infrastructure as code, cloud environments, containers, monitoring, automation, and production reliability.

When these problems become persistent, it may be time to hire devops engineer with experience that matches the company’s cloud platform and operating environment.

What to Look for When Hiring a PHP Developer

PHP hiring should be based on the requirements of the application, as well as the candidate’s years of experience. Look for developers who understand PHP, Laravel or Symfony, databases, APIs, testing, security, and the existing codebase.

It is also worth checking how candidates approach real development problems. Ask how they would improve slow queries, structure an API, refactor legacy code, handle security issues, or test a new feature. These questions give a better view of practical ability than a list of technologies on a CV.

When you hire a PHP developer, make sure their experience matches the project’s current stack and future plans. A developer who can work with the existing system while improving its reliability and maintainability will usually bring more value over someone who simply knows the language.

Build a Hiring Process That Tests Real Skills

A CV can show where someone has worked, but it does not show how they will handle an unfamiliar technical problem.

A more effective hiring process for software developers should pair experience with practical assessment.

A practical hiring process should include:

1. A technical screening against the actual role.
2. A discussion about previous projects.
3. A realistic technical exercise.
4. Questions about debugging and trade-offs.
5. A conversation about communication and teamwork.
6. References where appropriate.

It’s not the point to trick candidates with challenging technical questions. It’s to find out how they solve problems when there isn’t a clear answer.

Hire for Engineering Judgement

A good developer is more than just a coder. They also need to make sensible decisions around performance, security, cost, and maintainability.

This is important as development teams adopt new tools. In Stack Overflow’s 2025 Developer Survey, 84% of respondents said they were using or planning to use AI tools in their development process. But 46% are sceptical about the accuracy of AI output, compared to 33% who trust it. (Stack Overflow Developer Survey).

The lesson for employers is so simple. New tools can speed up development, but experienced engineers still need to review code, spot risks, and decide what is suitable for production.

In-House vs External Development Teams

There is no single approach that works for every business. An in-house team offers strong product knowledge and close collaboration, but hiring specialists can take time and cost more.

External developers provide access to a wider talent pool and specialist skills but can bring challenges around communication, time zones, and long-term ownership.

Consider the budget, project length, technical requirements, security needs, and internal capacity before choosing the best way forward. In some cases, a hybrid model can also work well.

Use Data Before Adding Headcount

Hiring decisions should be based on the company’s own numbers as well as wider labour-market data.

BLS figures provide the labour-market context, while the Stack Overflow data shows how developer workflows are changing. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Businesses should also track their own time-to-hire, developer turnover, project delays, workload, and unfilled-role costs. Those figures can reveal where another hire likely will have the greatest impact.

Scale the Team by Solving Bottlenecks

Sometimes, another developer isn’t the solution.

• If features are taking too long, it may be a capacity issue on the development side.
• If releases keep failing, maybe it is better to invest in DevOps.
• If customers are reporting too many bugs the gap could be with QA.
• If projects are stalling because of technical decisions, it shows that the team may need senior engineering leadership.

As the team grows, documentation, testing, code reviews, CI/CD, monitoring, and clear ownership become increasingly important.

The Right Team Beats a Larger Team

A strong software development team starts with a clear understanding of the work ahead. Identify the gaps, hire to fill them, test practical skills, and monitor performance.

The best team is rarely the one with the most people. It is the one with the right skills and enough technical discipline to keep delivering the tangible goods as the business grows.

Yes. Corporate subscriptions are available for teams and organisations, with discounted rates as user numbers increase. Pricing starts from $1,625 + GST per user.
Get in touch
to discuss the right option for your organisation.

Business News subscriptions are used by executives, investors, consultants and professionals who need to stay informed and make better decisions about the WA market. When you subscribe you’ll get

• Unlimited access to WA’s most trusted business journalism
• Data & Insights — detailed profiles of WA companies, people, projects and deals
• MyBN — a personalised feed based on the companies, people and sectors you follow
• Special publications and industry reports
• Daily and weekly email newsletters

Data & Insights is a research tool built specifically for the WA market. It draws on more than 30 years of Business News reporting, updated regularly to reflect what’s happening now. Use it to:

• Look up detailed profiles of WA companies, including financials, directors and ownership
• Find decision-makers and track their career movements
• Research live and completed projects across WA industries
• Monitor deals, appointments and market activity
• Access industry rankings and league tables

Data & Insights is updated daily by our dedicated research team, which uses the latest announcements, ASX filings and editorial coverage to keep our person, company, list and project records up to date.

Business News welcome all opportunities to make our dataset accurate, complete and current, so if you have an update request, please email the team at
general@businessnews.com.au, and we’d be happy to assist.

MyBN
is part of every subscription. It’s your personalised view of Business News. You can follow the companies, people, sectors and projects that matter to you, and get a news feed and alerts tailored to your interests. You can save articles to read later and retain only what you need.

Only subscribers have full access to all content on the Business News website.

If staying informed about the WA economy is part of your job, and/or you’re looking for networking opportunities in WA, Business News is built for you.

Business News subscribers are:

• Executives and directors tracking competitors, clients and market movements
• Investors and advisers researching companies, deals and industry trends
• Consultants and professionals staying across sectors relevant to their clients
• Business owners looking for leads, context and market intelligence

Most Business News publications cover national or global markets. Business News is focused entirely on Western Australia, which means the journalism, the data and the intelligence are all built around WA companies, people and projects — not adapted from a national feed. Data & Insights, included with every subscription, combines more than 30 years of WA-specific editorial research with live business data. There’s no comparable product for the WA market.

The Morning Digest Email provides a comprehensive wrap of the major headlines, relevant to WA business, and includes with a snapshot of the overnight news covering oil, gold and ASX-listed companies.

The Afternoon Wrap Email focuses on the news covered by our team of journalists during the course of the working day, including exclusive stories and analysis, all of which relates to WA business and the local economy.

The BN Weekender Email contains a wrap of the Business News from the week that was, highlighting the top stories in each area of WA business.
Sign up for free.

We’re happy to help.
Get in touch
and our team will come back to you.

Steak ‘n Shake, the fast-food chain embracing Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, announced that it will launch a new “Protein Steakburger” next month.

The restaurant chain unveiled the Protein Steakburger, along with a Double Steakburger Double Cheese, with both menu items set to launch Sept. 1.

“Real ingredients. Real food. The Protein Steakburger consists of two 100% grass-fed, grass-finished Steakburgers,” the company wrote. “It’s the perfect meal after a hard workout.”

The announcement comes amid Steak ‘n Shake’s broader push toward what the company has described as simpler and more transparent ingredients.

STEAK ’N SHAKE SHAKES UP POPULAR ‘PATRIOT MILKSHAKE’ WITH NEW, EDIBLE TWIST AVAILABLE ONLY IN 2026

Steak ‘n Shake has embraced principles associated with the Make America Healthy Again movement as it makes changes to its ingredients and menu. (iStock / iStock)

Steak ‘n Shake said the Protein Steakburger contains 530 calories, 31 grams of protein and 6 grams of carbohydrates. The Double Steakburger Double Cheese contains 690 calories, 31 grams of protein and 38 grams of carbohydrates.

Images released by the company show the Protein Steakburger served with lettuce in place of a traditional bun, while the Double Steakburger Double Cheese is served on a traditional bun.

In a previous social media post, Steak ‘n Shake said it was embracing “MAHA principles” as it embarked on a “mission to change the landscape of fast food with healthier options.”

“We are the only national chain offering 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef and 100% beef tallow fries,” the company wrote. “It is not only better tasting but also better for you!”

SWIG’S ‘DIRTY SODA’ BOOM GROWS BEYOND UTAH AS INVESTOR TOUTS ‘STARBUCKSIFICATION’ OF SOFT DRINKS

Steak ‘n Shake is launching its Protein Steakburger and Double Steakburger Double Cheese on Sept. 1 as the chain continues revamping its menu. (Steak ‘n Shake via X)

The new burgers come months after Steak ‘n Shake tapped Michael Boes in April as its first-ever chief MAHA officer, an executive role the company said is “dedicated to advancing nutritional integrity, ingredient transparency and the healthiness of our products.”

Boes, who previously served as a senior advisor at HHS, said at the time that fast food does not have to mean processed or artificial menus, but rather “real, simple and delicious” food.

Steak ‘n Shake framed the hire as part of a broader effort to return to its roots.

Steak ‘n Shake’s new Protein Steakburger features two 100% grass-fed, grass-finished steakburgers and contains 31 grams of protein, according to the company. (iStock; Steak ‘n Shake via X / Unknown)

“The move marks a major step in the company’s efforts to restore the original spirit of American fast food: food that is simple, real and delicious,” the company said.

The move also received praise from President Donald Trump, who shared the company’s post and wrote: “Awesome.”

CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN CO-FOUNDER OPENS UP ABOUT FAMOUS CHAIN’S WILD RISE, BANKRUPTCY AND COMEBACK

Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. visited a Steak ‘n Shake location in 2025.  (Steak ‘n Shake via X / Unknown)

Boes discussed Steak ‘n Shake’s embrace of the MAHA movement during an interview with Fox News last month, arguing that consumers increasingly want more natural ingredients.

“The reality is people want this,” Boes said. “It’s this ode to what the food environment was 50, 60 years ago, what my grandfather, my parents enjoyed. I think people want that. No one ever demanded these chemicals and highly processed seed oils. It was never implemented due to taste. It was profits. And we wanted to put a stake in the ground on being an American company and delivering the best food for Americans.”

The new menu items also drew praise from some social media users.

“Amazing option!” one user wrote. “I told my oldest two (now at college) if they get hungry and opt for fast food, head to a Steak ‘n Shake since you use tallow and grass-fed beef. Appreciate your fast-food new healthy ingredients and menu.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Steak ‘n Shake has switched to cooking fries and other fried menu items in 100% beef tallow as part of its broader ingredient overhaul. (Getty Images)

In recent months, Steak ‘n Shake has switched to cooking fries, tater tots and other fried items in 100% beef tallow, eliminating seed oils from those products. The chain has also moved to 100% Wisconsin butter in certain applications, offered Coca-Cola made with cane sugar as an alternative to high-fructose corn syrup and introduced A2 milk products.

FOX Business has reached out to Steak ‘n Shake for additional information.

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Bardolf contributed to this report.

Market Review

Munis rebounded. After declining slightly in the first quarter, municipal bonds (munis) rebounded to deliver a solid second-quarter gain. Attractive municipal bond yields and a healthy supply/demand backdrop helped support the asset class.

Inflation in the UK rose to 2.9% in the 12 months to July, the latest figures show.

The increase was driven by an increase in gas prices and a lift to the energy price cap, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Energy costs rose on 1 July after regulator Ofgem’s 13% increase in the price cap on household gas and electricity bills, adding £221 a year to the typical household’s bill.

The uptick means the price of goods and services is rising at a faster pace than in the year to June, when the figure was 2.6%.

Yes. Corporate subscriptions are available for teams and organisations, with discounted rates as user numbers increase. Pricing starts from $1,625 + GST per user.
Get in touch
to discuss the right option for your organisation.

Business News subscriptions are used by executives, investors, consultants and professionals who need to stay informed and make better decisions about the WA market. When you subscribe you’ll get

• Unlimited access to WA’s most trusted business journalism
• Data & Insights — detailed profiles of WA companies, people, projects and deals
• MyBN — a personalised feed based on the companies, people and sectors you follow
• Special publications and industry reports
• Daily and weekly email newsletters

Data & Insights is a research tool built specifically for the WA market. It draws on more than 30 years of Business News reporting, updated regularly to reflect what’s happening now. Use it to:

• Look up detailed profiles of WA companies, including financials, directors and ownership
• Find decision-makers and track their career movements
• Research live and completed projects across WA industries
• Monitor deals, appointments and market activity
• Access industry rankings and league tables

Data & Insights is updated daily by our dedicated research team, which uses the latest announcements, ASX filings and editorial coverage to keep our person, company, list and project records up to date.

Business News welcome all opportunities to make our dataset accurate, complete and current, so if you have an update request, please email the team at
general@businessnews.com.au, and we’d be happy to assist.

MyBN
is part of every subscription. It’s your personalised view of Business News. You can follow the companies, people, sectors and projects that matter to you, and get a news feed and alerts tailored to your interests. You can save articles to read later and retain only what you need.

Only subscribers have full access to all content on the Business News website.

If staying informed about the WA economy is part of your job, and/or you’re looking for networking opportunities in WA, Business News is built for you.

Business News subscribers are:

• Executives and directors tracking competitors, clients and market movements
• Investors and advisers researching companies, deals and industry trends
• Consultants and professionals staying across sectors relevant to their clients
• Business owners looking for leads, context and market intelligence

Most Business News publications cover national or global markets. Business News is focused entirely on Western Australia, which means the journalism, the data and the intelligence are all built around WA companies, people and projects — not adapted from a national feed. Data & Insights, included with every subscription, combines more than 30 years of WA-specific editorial research with live business data. There’s no comparable product for the WA market.

The Morning Digest Email provides a comprehensive wrap of the major headlines, relevant to WA business, and includes with a snapshot of the overnight news covering oil, gold and ASX-listed companies.

The Afternoon Wrap Email focuses on the news covered by our team of journalists during the course of the working day, including exclusive stories and analysis, all of which relates to WA business and the local economy.

The BN Weekender Email contains a wrap of the Business News from the week that was, highlighting the top stories in each area of WA business.
Sign up for free.

We’re happy to help.
Get in touch
and our team will come back to you.

SAO PAULO — Brazilian soccer star Neymar became the first player affected by a newly piloted rule aimed at curbing goalkeeper time-wasting in the country’s top domestic league, after he was ordered to leave the field for one minute during a match between Santos and Vasco da Gama.

According to Reuters, Brazil’s Serie A is piloting the new rule as part of an effort to prevent goalkeepers from intentionally delaying matches under the guise of receiving injury treatment, a tactic that has long drawn criticism from fans, coaches and match officials across professional soccer for disrupting the flow of games and unfairly running down the clock.

Under the new rule, if play is stopped to allow a goalkeeper to receive medical treatment, the team’s head coach is required to designate one outfield player to leave the pitch for one minute once play resumes. If the coach fails to name a player within 10 seconds of being prompted to do so, responsibility shifts automatically to the team’s captain, who must then leave the field for the one-minute period instead.

The rule was applied for the first time in Brazil’s top flight during a match in which Santos defeated Vasco da Gama 3-0. The triggering incident occurred after Santos goalkeeper Gabriel Brazão requested treatment during the match. When Santos head coach Cuca did not designate a player to leave the field within the allotted time limit, the referee ordered team captain Neymar off the pitch instead.

Neymar, 34, complied with the ruling, waiting off the field for the full one-minute period before returning to play. He went on to help seal his team’s victory following his return to the pitch, according to the report.

The pilot program represents one of several recent experiments across global soccer aimed at addressing persistent frustration over time-wasting tactics, particularly those involving goalkeepers, who have historically had more opportunities than outfield players to delay restarts through injury timeouts, prolonged ball retrieval, or extended preparation before goal kicks. Brazil’s Serie A appears to be among the more aggressive leagues globally in directly penalizing a team’s overall roster availability, rather than simply cautioning or fining the individual goalkeeper accused of stalling.

By requiring a healthy outfield player, rather than the goalkeeper themselves, to leave the field for a fixed period, the rule is designed to create a direct competitive disincentive for teams that might otherwise be tempted to use injury treatment stoppages strategically to protect a lead or disrupt an opponent’s rhythm late in a match. Because the rule applies regardless of whether the goalkeeper’s need for treatment is genuine, it places pressure on coaching staffs to more carefully weigh the tactical cost of any stoppage request.

Neymar’s involvement in the rule’s debut carries particular significance given his stature as one of the most recognizable and closely followed players in world soccer. Since returning to Santos, the club where he began his professional career, Neymar has remained a central figure in Brazilian domestic soccer, drawing significant media attention to matches involving his current team. His being the first player affected by the new time-wasting rule is likely to ensure the pilot program receives outsized public and media attention as Brazilian soccer officials evaluate its effectiveness during this trial period.

It remains unclear from currently available reporting how long Brazil’s Serie A intends to continue piloting the rule before deciding whether to adopt it permanently, or whether governing bodies overseeing other domestic leagues or international competitions might consider similar measures if the pilot proves effective at reducing goalkeeper-related time-wasting. Soccer’s global lawmaking body, the International Football Association Board, has in recent years experimented with various other approaches to reducing time-wasting across the sport more broadly, including stricter enforcement of six-second limits on goalkeepers holding the ball and, in some competitions, running a stoppage clock specifically during goalkeeper-controlled possession.

Time-wasting by goalkeepers has long been a source of tension in professional soccer, particularly in matches where a team holding a slim lead has an incentive to run down the clock through any means available, including prolonged treatment stoppages that fall into a gray area between legitimate medical necessity and deliberate gamesmanship. Referees have traditionally had limited tools to definitively distinguish between the two in real time, making rules like Brazil’s new pilot program, which shift the competitive cost onto the team as a whole rather than relying solely on referee discretion regarding the legitimacy of an injury, an increasingly common approach among leagues seeking a more automatic and less subjective deterrent.

Neymar’s compliance with the rule during its debut application, without apparent protest or delay, suggests Brazilian players and coaching staffs have been made aware of the new regulation ahead of its implementation, reducing the likelihood of significant on-field confusion or dispute during the early stages of the pilot program. Whether the rule proves effective at meaningfully reducing goalkeeper-related stoppages over a larger sample of matches will likely become clearer as Brazil’s Serie A season continues and additional data on stoppage frequency and match duration becomes available for officials to evaluate.

As Brazilian soccer authorities continue monitoring the pilot program’s early implementation, Wednesday’s incident involving Neymar is likely to serve as a widely referenced example both within Brazil and among international soccer observers tracking how different leagues around the world are experimenting with new approaches to addressing time-wasting, a persistent point of frustration for fans and broadcasters seeking to preserve the flow and watchability of professional matches.