About
We built Arca to find the engineers we'd want on our own team.
Arca connects US companies with senior, AI-fluent engineers from the Philippines and across Asia. They work your hours and build like owners.
Why Arca exists
Jake Parks was CTO of Scout RFP, and he built the engineering team behind the platform through its acquisition by Workday in 2019. Much of that team was remote, and it taught him something he still believes: the best engineer for the job rarely lives closest to the office.
After Scout, Jake started working with developers in the Philippines and was struck by their aptitude. They were sharp, they learned fast, they were happy to work US hours, and they were genuinely great to build with. Meanwhile AI was changing what one great engineer could do. Developers are busier than ever, and teams that pair strong people with AI can afford to be far more ambitious.
Arca brings those two things together: companies with big plans, and the senior engineers in Asia who can help them launch faster and with less risk.
What makes us different
- Engineers vetting engineers. We're technologists, not recruiters. We look at a lot of candidates and introduce only the best.
- Matched on what actually matters. That means deep stack expertise, narrow domain knowledge, standout work history, and a proven ability to ship AI systems fast.
- Senior only. That includes founding engineers for new products and senior hires for growing teams.
- Simple terms. Pricing is all-in, month-to-month, with no recruiting fee and unlimited replacements.
Meet the founder
Jake Parks
Founder
Jake Parks is the founder of Arca. He was CTO of Scout RFP, and he built the engineering team behind the platform through its acquisition by Workday in 2019.
Jake Parks on LinkedIn
Why look in Asia?
He started working with Filipino developers later, and was really impressed by their aptitude.
There are insanely talented engineers in Asia who are passionate about their craft, work US hours, and are wonderful to work with. If you need exceptional talent, look in Asia.
How do we match engineers to your needs?
We start with the hiring manager and look for what actually matters for the role. For example:
- Deep expertise in a specific stack
- Narrow domain expertise. For a crypto company, someone who has built systems handling millions of concurrent transactions and understands settlement
- Exemplary work in their history
- Hackathon wins
- The ability to build AI systems quickly
- Founder-caliber people
- Engineers who have held founding-engineer roles and grown teams
We are technologists. We use our technical ability to screen large numbers of candidates and take only the very best.
Why does AI make great engineers more valuable?
AI is a force multiplier. The fear was that it would make software developers redundant, but developers are busier than ever because everyone can be more ambitious and do more. Senior engineers who use AI well are worth more, not less.
Arca is the name used by BriarBear Labs Inc., a Wyoming corporation. The legal contact address published in our privacy policy and terms is 30 N Gould St Ste N, Sheridan, WY 82801, United States.