01Owns
ASP.NET Core APIs
Builds minimal APIs or controllers with model validation, problem details for errors, versioning and authentication through Microsoft Entra ID or your identity provider.
Hire · Backend
Hire .NET Developers
Senior .NET engineers for your team, looking after ASP.NET Core services, background workers and integrations across a Microsoft estate. Shortlisted candidates have fixed an EF Core tracking problem and an async deadlock in a paid exercise before we introduce them.
Paid ASP.NET Core and EF Core exercise
Senior and lead levels only
Works in your Azure DevOps or GitHub flow
On your team
What a .NET developer owns on your team.
02Owns
Data access with EF Core
Designs DbContexts and entities, writes migrations, chooses between tracking and no-tracking queries and drops to Dapper or raw SQL when a query needs it.
03Owns
Async and background work
Writes async code end to end without blocking on .Result, and runs hosted services or Azure Functions for queued and scheduled work.
04Owns
Azure-hosted infrastructure
Deploys to App Service, Container Apps or AKS, reads secrets from Key Vault and wires telemetry into Application Insights.
05Owns
Windows and legacy integration
Connects to Active Directory, SQL Server, Windows services and older .NET Framework systems while moving code towards modern .NET.
Two very different .NET worlds
The .NET label covers both modern cross-platform ASP.NET Core and older .NET Framework applications tied to Windows and IIS. Many companies run both. Before hiring, decide whether the job is building new services, maintaining legacy ones or migrating between them, because the skills overlap less than the name suggests.
For new work, look for comfort with dependency injection lifetimes, the options pattern and async all the way down. For legacy work, look for patience with Web Forms, WCF and configuration transforms.
Vetting
Skills we test before a .NET developer joins.
01Tested
C# fluency
Nullable reference types, records, pattern matching, LINQ used with care, and Span<T> where allocation matters.
02Tested
Dependency injection
Understands singleton, scoped and transient lifetimes, and why injecting a scoped DbContext into a singleton causes trouble.
03Tested
EF Core performance
Reads generated SQL, avoids client-side evaluation, uses split queries for large includes and compiled queries for hot paths.
04Tested
Async correctness
Avoids sync-over-async deadlocks, passes CancellationToken through and knows when ConfigureAwait matters.
05Tested
Migration from .NET Framework
Assesses old projects for porting, replaces System.Web dependencies and moves configuration to the options pattern.
06Tested
Testing
xUnit or NUnit, WebApplicationFactory for integration tests and Testcontainers or a real SQL Server for data access tests.
Work sample
How the .NET developer work sample runs.
- 01Step 1
Fix a slow EF Core query
The candidate gets an endpoint that loads whole object graphs with tracking on, reads the generated SQL and returns the same data in far fewer round trips.
- 02Step 2
Remove an async deadlock
A service hangs under load because of .Result calls in a request path; they make the chain properly async with cancellation.
- 03Step 3
Add a secured endpoint
They add an endpoint with policy-based authorisation, validation and an integration test via WebApplicationFactory. The time is paid.
- 04Step 4
Explain a hosting choice
They justify App Service versus Container Apps for the sample to a non-technical stakeholder, briefly and without jargon.
What the exercise reveals
The most common .NET production issues we see are EF Core loading too much data and async code that blocks threads. So the paid exercise asks candidates to fix exactly those, then add an authorised endpoint with an integration test. It shows whether they read generated SQL and whether they treat cancellation as routine.
Levels
.NET Developers: what changes at each level.
01Level 1
Senior
Ships features within your existing solution structure and reviews teammates’ EF Core and async code.
02Level 2
Lead
Sets solution layout, shared NuGet packages, coding standards and the release pipeline for .NET services.
03Level 3
Solutions architect
Plans migration off .NET Framework, Azure landing zones for applications and the integration map across Microsoft and third-party systems.
Senior, lead or solutions architect
Add a senior engineer when your solution layout and pipelines are already sound. Bring in a lead when projects share code through copy-paste rather than packages, or when every team deploys differently. An architect is worth it for a .NET Framework migration or a broader Azure application strategy.
Other options
When to hire someone other than a .NET developer.
01Consider
Your services run on the JVM
If your organisation standardised on Spring Boot and Maven, a Java developer will slot in more easily.
Open register02Consider
CRM customisation on Salesforce
If the work is mostly Apex, flows and Salesforce data, hire a Salesforce specialist instead.
Open register03Consider
Cross-platform mobile apps
For a phone app rather than a backend, look at a Flutter developer or a mobile team.
Open registerGetting value in the first month
Start with a small fix that passes through your Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions pipeline to production. Then give the engineer one service or bounded area, including its Application Insights dashboards. Ask them to list any projects still on .NET Framework and what blocks each from moving; it turns a vague worry into a plan.
FAQ
Questions to resolve before the build.
01Can a .NET developer move us off .NET Framework?
Yes. Leads and architects assess which projects can port directly, which depend on Windows-only APIs such as WCF servers or System.Web, and plan the order of migration so the system keeps running throughout.
02Do they need to be hosted on Azure?
No. Many of our .NET engineers deploy to Azure, but ASP.NET Core runs well on Linux containers in AWS, Google Cloud or your own servers, and vetting covers containerised hosting too.
03Do your .NET developers write front-end code?
Some are comfortable with Razor Pages or Blazor, which can be matched on request. For substantial single-page apps we recommend pairing with an Angular or React specialist.
Works alongside
Roles a .NET developer works best alongside.
01Pair with
Azure developers
For networking, identity, Bicep or Terraform and cost control around the services a .NET engineer builds.
Open register02Pair with
Angular developers
A common front-end pairing for line-of-business apps built on ASP.NET Core APIs.
Open register03Pair with
Data analysts
When SQL Server data needs to feed Power BI or other reporting without slowing the application.
Open registerProduct delivery
Need the whole product built instead?
Primary sources
References behind this page
Dated official documentation, standards, and research that support the factual claims on this page.
- 01Microsoft Learn: ASP.NET Core documentation
Official documentation for building web apps and APIs with ASP.NET Core.
- 02Microsoft Learn: Efficient querying in EF Core
Guidance on tracking, projections and query performance in Entity Framework Core.
How to read this page
Scope, cost and timeline figures are planning guidance until confirmed in a written proposal. Diagrams and screens are illustrations, not client deliverables, and source-code rights and handover follow the signed agreement. See the delivery process and the full disclaimer.
Next decision
Turn the brief into an accepted product scope.
Define outcomes, constraints, evidence, rights and handover before delivery begins.
Commercial rights, repositories, environments, documentation, acceptance and handover remain contract-defined.