Employer of Record · China · Role

Hire Software, AI & Data Engineers in China

PIO coordinates a confirmed China EOR arrangement so you can hire software, AI or data engineers in China without setting up your own entity. Share the work city and target start date, and PIO confirms availability for that specific hire, then coordinates the contract and payroll.

Best for: Companies building product with a China-based engineering team, a local user base, or datasets that benefit from being close to China.
Work pattern: Often fully or partly remote-friendly within China, working across time zones with a distributed engineering team.
Compensation inputs: Base salary, any bonus or equity-equivalent policy, and the tools or hardware allowance you want reflected in the offer.

What to plan for

Practical points to line up before you hire your Software, AI & Data Engineers in China.

Time zone overlap

Plan how much working-hours overlap your China-based engineers need with the rest of your team, and set expectations early.

Code & IP handling

Confirm what your standard employment contract already covers on IP assignment for work created during employment, and flag anything unusual to PIO before the contract is drafted.

Tooling access

Plan how engineers get access to your codebase, cloud environment and internal tools without creating unnecessary delays on day one.

Data handling scope

Clarify what data your China-based engineers will touch, since data-residency and cross-border transfer rules for your product are a separate matter from employment.

Where this fits — and where it doesn't

What PIO's China EOR covers for a Software, AI & Data Engineers hire — and what stays with you.

Once availability is confirmed for this specific role, work city and hire, PIO coordinates the China EOR arrangement covering your software, AI or data engineer — contract, payroll, tax and leave. PIO doesn't handle data-residency compliance, ICP filings, export controls or your product's own regulatory requirements — those are your company's responsibility, typically with specialist counsel.

China employment baseline

The same four national rules apply to every hire. What's confirmed per hire is the work city's registration steps and contribution parameters.

Individual income tax
Monthly withholding from wages, with an annual reconciliation.
Labor contract
A written contract is required once employment begins.
Social insurance & leave
National participation rules apply everywhere; statutory paid annual leave scales from 5 to 15 days by tenure.
Termination
Follows national labor-contract law; closeout steps can vary by work city.

Local registration steps and contribution parameters are confirmed for the employee's actual work city.

4 official sources

Practical guidance is grounded in these official references, but local law and public requirements can change and should be reconfirmed. Your PIO contract and quote govern only PIO's service scope, terms and fees.

Individual Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China (Opens in a new tab)State Taxation Administration
Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China (Opens in a new tab)State Administration for Market Regulation
Social Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China (Opens in a new tab)State Administration for Market Regulation
Regulation on Paid Annual Leave for Employees (State Council Order No. 514) (Opens in a new tab)State Council of the People's Republic of China

How it works

A straightforward path from sign-up to your employee's first day.

Step 1
Share the hire
Tell us the role, the work city and your target start date.
Step 2
We confirm the arrangement
PIO confirms what's available for that specific hire, then coordinates the contract and payroll setup.
Step 3
Your employee starts
You manage day-to-day work; PIO helps coordinate ongoing payroll, tax and leave administration.

Frequently asked questions

Does PIO handle data-residency, ICP filing or export-control compliance for our product?

No. Those are your product and business compliance matters, best handled with specialist counsel. The confirmed EOR arrangement PIO coordinates covers the employment side — contract, payroll, tax withholding and social insurance — for the engineers you hire.

Can a software engineer hired through PIO work fully remotely within China?

Often yes, depending on the role — share the work city where the employee is actually based, since that determines the local registration and administration PIO coordinates, even for a remote-friendly role.

See all China roles and industries

Roles in China

Industries in China

Ready to hire your Software, AI & Data Engineers?

Share the role, work city and target start date for your Software, AI & Data Engineers hire — PIO confirms the arrangement, then coordinates the contract, payroll and leave around it.