Lab-Type Development
Senior engineers from our Sri Lanka hub, chosen for your stack and held for the length of your build, billed monthly with Japanese project management built in.
3 weeks
To first commit
35+
In-house engineers
100%
IP ownership at close
When it fits
Lab-type development gives you the engineers your roadmap needs without the year-long hiring cycle. Same team month after month, working as part of your business, learning your codebase and sitting in your sprints. The team holds across builds so velocity compounds the longer you go.
Your roadmap is bigger than your engineering capacity, and senior engineers in Japan are taking months to bring on. A dedicated team in three weeks gets product velocity in line with your ambitions, without committing to permanent headcount you may not need in twelve months.
You've signed deals your bench can't deliver alone. We work as a white-label or named subcontractor under your direction, taking on the engineering while the client relationship stays yours. The team holds across multiple projects so domain knowledge compounds rather than restarting with each engagement.
Several internal builds are competing for the same in-house team. A dedicated lab-type team works exclusively on your work, learns your stack and your business deeply, and stays available for whichever project surfaces next.
What you get
You get engineers who know your tech from day one, not generalists you have to train. We assemble the team based on what the project needs, and you have final say on who joins.
A Japan-based account lead handles day-to-day team management, sprint planning, performance and escalations, in your timezone and your language.
Sprint boards, repos, CI dashboards and design files are shared from day one. Weekly demos walk you through what shipped, and decisions happen in your Slack or LINE channel.
Daily standups, tickets and demos happen during your working day. The team works your timezone so coordination feels like talking to colleagues down the hall.
Every commit goes through mandatory code review, automated CI tests, manual QA on every release and a dedicated pre-production staging environment.
All code is committed to your repositories from day one, with cloud keys and build pipelines under your accounts. At the close of the engagement, 100% of intellectual property transfers across.
How it works
A free scoping call covers your roadmap, technical stack and team needs. We come back within 24 hours with a proposed team composition, monthly cost and a three-week ramp-up plan. NDAs and contracts are signed inside the first week so onboarding can begin immediately.
We assemble the engineers you approved, run them through your codebase, set up shared tooling and start short pair-programming sessions with your in-house team. Daily standups begin from day three so communication channels are tested before delivery work starts.
The team is producing commits, attending sprint planning and demoing work back to you. By the end of week three, your dedicated engineering team is operating like the rest of your engineering organisation, with sprint cadence and quality checks running on autopilot.
VS alternatives
Lab-type gets you senior engineering from our Sri Lanka team in two to three weeks at a predictable monthly rate. Hiring the equivalent in-house in Japan typically takes 6 to 12 months and adds up to annual salary plus benefits, recruitment fees and ongoing HR overhead. For teams that need engineering capacity now rather than next year, lab-type closes the gap.
Lab-type carries codebase knowledge across every build, so the same team gets faster the longer you work together. Project-based outsourcing fits better for one-off builds with a clear scope and end date, where starting fresh on each engagement is fine. For ongoing roadmaps, the continuity is the point.
Lab-type fits ongoing work that needs continuity, senior engineering judgement applied to every decision and code review built into every sprint. Freelance platforms suit shorter specific tasks where management overhead can stay light. The split usually comes down to commitment level and codebase complexity.
Pricing
One line item to budget for, every month. You pay a flat monthly rate per engineer, agreed before the engagement starts, covering recruitment, salary, benefits, equipment, code review and the Japan-based account lead. The rate stays the same as the project evolves.
Trust and security
Your code lives in your repositories from day one, with cloud keys and build pipelines under your accounts. NDAs are signed before any technical detail is discussed, and PII handling follows Japanese data protection standards including APPI.
FAQs
Most lab-type engagements get to first commit within three weeks. The first week covers scope and contracts, the second covers team assembly and onboarding, and by week three the team is running standups, sprint planning and producing commits. Urgent timelines can sometimes move faster with the right scope.
We match engineers to your stack, project type and team culture, drawing from our Sri Lanka-based pool of 35+ in-house engineers. Every candidate is interviewed by a Japan-based lead before being proposed to you. You meet shortlisted engineers, see their portfolios and technical assessments, and have final say on who joins the team.
Engineer replacement is built into the contract. If an engineer leaves or the fit isn't right, we propose a replacement within two weeks and run a knowledge handover so the team picks up where it left off. There's no replacement fee, and the rest of the team stays in place throughout.
Lab-type engagements start with a three-month minimum, then continue month-by-month with a rolling 30-day notice. Most clients run engagements for twelve months or more, since the value compounds as the team learns the codebase, your product domain and the people they're working with.
A Japan-based account lead is your day-to-day point of contact. They handle sprint planning, escalations, performance management and weekly demos, while you stay in control of priorities and the roadmap. The operational coordination of the offshore team sits with us, so you can focus on the product rather than the management.
Monthly rates depend on engineer seniority, technical stack and team size. A typical team of four mid-to-senior engineers runs significantly below the all-in cost of hiring the same team in Japan, including salary, benefits, recruitment and overhead. We provide a specific quote within 24 hours of a free scoping call.
GET IN TOUCH
Tell us what you're building. We'll come back within 24 hours with your team composition, monthly cost and a three-week ramp-up plan. NDA in place before any technical detail is shared.
