Working in French tech
Developer, data engineer, DevOps: French Tech recruits skilled profiles through Passeport Talent and skilled employee status.
Full-stack developer, DevOps engineer, data engineer, data scientist, cybersecurity expert, product manager: French Tech is hiring massively from abroad. France is the second-largest tech ecosystem in Europe with over 1,000 funded startups and 25 unicorns, and benefits from accelerated visa schemes — Passeport Talent — Skilled Employee (CESEDA Art. L421-9), Passeport Talent — EU Blue Card, or Innovative Young Company status. Lead times are short (typically 2 to 8 weeks) and the procedure is fully digital. On OuiJob, your tech profile is presented to verified companies (scale-ups, IT services firms, SMEs, large groups) actively sponsoring visa and relocation. Market-rate salaries, frequent remote work, full administrative support included.
Six tech roles open to international candidates.
According to Numeum (the French tech industry body), more than 60,000 tech jobs remain unfilled every year. Below are the most sought-after profiles in 2026 — eligible for Passeport Talent or EU Blue Card.
№ 01
Full-stack developer
€3,200 – €5,500PermanentFront and back development (React, Vue, Node, Python, Go). Master's degree or equivalent experience. Eligible for Passeport Talent — Skilled Employee.
Voir les offres№ 02
Data engineer
€4,000 – €6,500PermanentDesigning and maintaining data pipelines (Spark, Airflow, dbt, Snowflake). Very strong demand in finance and e-commerce.
Voir les offres№ 03
DevOps / SRE engineer
€4,500 – €7,000PermanentCI/CD, Kubernetes, Terraform, observability. Most-strained role in French tech. Salaries trending up.
Voir les offres№ 04
Data scientist / ML engineer
€4,200 – €6,800PermanentML/AI models, MLOps, NLP. Strong demand in AI scale-ups (Mistral, Hugging Face, etc.) and large groups.
Voir les offres№ 05
Cybersecurity expert
€4,500 – €7,500PermanentSecOps, audit, pentest, ISO 27001 governance. Strategic profession. Confidentiel-Défense clearances sometimes required (then EU citizenship needed).
Voir les offres№ 06
Product manager
€4,000 – €7,000PermanentProduct roadmap, strategy, team coordination. French-English bilingual often required. Highly sought-after in B2B scale-ups.
Voir les offres
Three reasons to join French Tech.
— I
Europe's #2 tech ecosystem
Over 1,000 funded startups, 25 unicorns (Doctolib, Mistral AI, Back Market, Contentsquare, Qonto). €8.3 billion raised in 2024 — behind the UK but ahead of Germany.
— II
Passeport Talent in weeks
Passeport Talent — Skilled Employee (CESEDA Art. L421-9) is issued in 4 to 8 weeks. Valid 4 years, renewable. Family included from day one — spouse with automatic work authorization.
— III
Quality of life & remote work
Hybrid or full-remote work very common in French tech. Universal healthcare, 5 weeks paid leave, RTT (extra days), subsidized childcare. Strong legal framework (right to disconnect).
Your steps, with the law to back them up.
Tech benefits from accelerated, digital-first visas. Below are the texts your OuiJob advisor applies.
- — CESEDA Art. L421-9
Passeport Talent — Skilled Employee
4-year residence permit for employees with a Master's degree (or equivalent) and pay of at least 1.8 SMIC (~€41,000 gross/year). Procedure is fully digital.
- — CESEDA Art. L421-11
Passeport Talent — EU Blue Card
For Bachelor's degree minimum with a contract of at least 1 year and pay equivalent to 1.5 times the average annual salary (~€53,000 gross/year). Easier mobility to other EU countries.
- — CESEDA Art. L421-10
Passeport Talent — Innovative Young Company
For employees of a JEI-labelled company (Ministries of Economy and Research). Eased salary criterion (1.5 SMIC). Widely used by deeptech startups.
- — Syntec Agreement — IDCC 1486
Engineering and consultancy
Covers IT services firms, scale-ups and software vendors. Minimum salaries by tier, holiday bonus, continuous training, right to disconnect.
How much do you earn in French tech?
Indicative gross monthly figures in euros, excluding variable pay and stock options. Tech salaries have grown by 30% since 2020. Source: Maki, Talent.io, Numeum panels.
| Role | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Junior developer (0-3 yrs) | €3,000 | €4,200 |
| Senior developer (5-8 yrs) | €4,500 | €6,500 |
| Data engineer | €4,000 | €6,500 |
| DevOps / SRE | €4,500 | €7,000 |
| Lead / Staff engineer | €6,000 | €9,000 |
| Engineering manager | €6,500 | €10,000 |
— Source: Numeum, Talent.io Salary Report 2025, APEC panels. BSPCE/stock options can double total compensation in high-growth scale-ups.
Where French Tech hires.
Paris concentrates 60% of the French tech ecosystem, but six regional metropolises offer better quality of life and comparable salaries.
Île-de-France & Paris
— Station F, Saclay, La Défense
Continental Europe's leading tech hub. Doctolib, Mistral, Qonto, Back Market, Alan: unicorns hire massively from abroad. Highest pay range.
Lyon & Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
— Tech for good, AI, biotech
Dynamic ecosystem around Esker, Algolia, Tagpay. Quality of life and housing costs 30% below Paris. Good work-life balance.
Toulouse
— Aerospace & space
European aerospace capital (Airbus, ArianeGroup, Thales). Strong demand for embedded software, scientific computing, space cybersecurity.
Bordeaux
— Scale-ups, e-commerce
Cdiscount, Webhelp, Smile: tertiary and tech ecosystem in expansion. Exceptional quality of life — metropolis + ocean + vineyards.
Nantes & Atlantic
— Responsible tech, fintech
French Tech capital since 2014. Lengow, iAdvize, Akeneo: solid scale-ups. Tight-knit tech community, frequent events (Web2day).
Sophia Antipolis & French Riviera
— Deeptech, applied AI
Europe's first technopole (3,000 tech companies). IBM, Amadeus, Renault Software Labs. Year-round exceptional climate.
Three steps to your tech role.
- 01
Build your candidate file
Primary tech stack, secondary stack, years of experience, key projects, GitHub, portfolio. Contract preferences: city, remote, type of company.
- 02
Get visible to tech companies
Your profile is presented to startups, scale-ups, IT services and large groups verified through the Recherche Entreprises API. Several remote technical interviews — decision in weeks.
- 03
Prepare your arrival
Digital Passeport Talent application (4 to 8 weeks), long-stay visa, OFII, social security, bank, housing. Family included on arrival with spouse work permit.
Applying from the Maghreb?
Consular procedures, work authorisation and qualification recognition vary by country of origin. Check the dedicated guide for your nationality and the official channels (OFII, ANAPEC/ANEM/ANETI, France-Visas).
— By country of origin
— Process & support
They took the leap.
Tech candidates supported by OuiJob share their arrival in French Tech. Anonymized testimonials.
Senior developer in Tunis for eight years. Passeport Talent obtained in six weeks, signed with a Parisian scale-up. My wife has her own work authorization from day one.
Karim, 34Senior software engineer · TunisiaData scientist with a Stanford degree. EU Blue Card in four weeks, hired by an AI scale-up in Lyon. Three days remote per week works perfectly for me.
Yasmine, 28Data scientist · MoroccoDevOps/SRE with ten years of cloud experience. Hired by a Parisian unicorn in two months. Net salary almost doubled compared to my previous role in Senegal.
Adama, 31Senior DevOps engineer · Senegal
Everything you need to know before leaving.
What is the difference between Passeport Talent and EU Blue Card?
Passeport Talent — Skilled Employee (Art. L421-9) requires a Master's or equivalent and a salary ≥ 1.8 SMIC. EU Blue Card (Art. L421-11) requires a Bachelor's and a salary ≥ 1.5 times the French average annual wage. Both grant a 4-year renewable card with family included.
Is my foreign degree recognized for Passeport Talent?
Yes, provided it is a recognized Master's-level (Bac+5) qualification in your home country. The ENIC-NARIC France centre can issue a comparability certificate if your degree is in an equivalent discipline. OuiJob supports this.
How much does a developer earn in France in 2026?
A junior developer (0-3 years) earns €3,000-€4,200 gross/month on average. A senior (5-8 years) earns €4,500-€6,500. A lead/staff engineer €6,000-€9,000. Paris salaries are 15% to 30% above the regions, but so is the cost of living.
Is remote work really common in French tech?
Yes, very common. Most startups and scale-ups offer hybrid (2-3 days/week) or full-remote work. The right to disconnect is enshrined in law (Labour Code Art. L2242-17). Traditional IT-services firms are less flexible.
Are BSPCE / stock options worth it?
Very, in high-growth scale-ups. BSPCEs (founder warrants) are tax-efficient and can double total compensation at 4-7 years. Always ask for full details (strike price, vesting, cliff).
Do I need to speak French to work in tech?
English is the working language at most international scale-ups and startups (Doctolib, Mistral, Alan…). French becomes useful for daily life and for traditional IT-services firms. A2 sufficient on arrival, B1 advised after 1 year.
How long does the Passeport Talent procedure take?
Digital procedure: 4 to 8 weeks on average between submission and visa issue. EU Blue Card: 4 to 6 weeks. OuiJob centralizes the steps: ANEF, consulate, OFII, bank, housing.
Can my spouse work in France during my Passeport Talent?
Yes, automatically. The spouse of a Passeport Talent holder gets a Vie Privée Familiale permit with built-in work authorization. No additional procedure required — one of the major perks of the scheme.
Are there any fees to pay to OuiJob?
No candidate fees, ever. OuiJob is paid by employers when matches are made. No upfront payment will be requested. Anyone using our name to demand payment is a scam.
Can I become French after a Passeport Talent?
Yes. Five years of regular French residency grant the right to apply for naturalization (Civil Code Art. 21-15), provided you master French (B1) and prove republican integration. Passeport Talent fully counts toward this duration.
Join French Tech.
An email to start. A guided file. A team by your side. Never alone in front of paperwork again.
— No fees — you never pay anything to OuiJob, ever.