Why Romania has become Eastern Europe's IT powerhouse — salary bands, top employers, tax incentives, and the cities outside Bucharest worth considering.
Romania employs roughly 220,000 IT professionals as of 2026, making the sector ~7% of GDP — one of the highest IT-to-economy ratios in the EU. Key drivers:
English fluency in IT teams is near-universal; Romanian is rarely required for tech work.
| Role | Bucharest | Cluj | Iași | Timișoara |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior dev (0–2 yrs) | RON 6,000–9,000 (€1,210–€1,815) | RON 6,500–9,500 | RON 5,500–8,500 | RON 6,000–9,000 |
| Mid dev (3–5 yrs) | RON 14,000–22,000 (€2,820–€4,435) | RON 14,500–22,500 | RON 12,000–19,000 | RON 13,500–21,000 |
| Senior dev (5+) | RON 22,000–35,000 (€4,435–€7,055) | RON 22,000–34,000 | RON 19,000–30,000 | RON 21,000–33,000 |
| Tech lead | RON 30,000–48,000 (€6,045–€9,675) | RON 30,000–45,000 | RON 26,000–40,000 | RON 28,000–42,000 |
| Engineering manager | RON 40,000–65,000 (€8,060–€13,100) | RON 38,000–60,000 | RON 32,000–55,000 | RON 35,000–58,000 |
After tax + social contributions: roughly 58% take-home (10% income tax + 25% SS + 10% health). With IT exemption (qualifying COR codes): roughly 65% take-home — €200–€350/month extra in pocket.
1. SaaS engineering — UiPath, Bitdefender, eMag, Adobe Romania, Microsoft Romania 2. Banking + fintech — ING Hubs, Société Générale European Business Services, Revolut, Capital One Romania 3. Outsourcing — Endava, Wipro, Capgemini, Accenture, Infosys 4. Embedded + automotive — Continental, Bosch, Vitesco, Veoneer, Hella, Renault Mioveni 5. Game dev — Ubisoft Bucharest (Far Cry, Tom Clancy series), King (Candy Crush), Electronic Arts
Hot skills: Go, Rust, Kotlin, React/Next.js, AWS/Azure infrastructure, Kubernetes, Python ML/AI, embedded C, Android automotive.
1. Build a strong LinkedIn — Romanian recruiters live there. Use Romanian English (no Americanisms). 2. Browse bestjobs.ro, ejobs.ro, angel.co Romania, TechBucharest Slack. 3. Direct apply to company career pages (Bitdefender, UiPath, Endava). Recruiter response within 48h is normal. 4. Interview style: 1 HR screen → 1–2 technical screens (HackerRank, CoderPad, system design) → final culture-fit. Mostly remote until offer stage. 5. Negotiate the IT tax exemption — confirm your COR occupation code qualifies AND your contract states "activitatea de creare a programelor pentru calculator". 6. Many companies cover relocation: 1 month hotel + flights + Romanian Work Permit paperwork.
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No — English is universal in IT teams. Local outreach (banking, healthcare appointments, government) benefits from basic Romanian, but tech work itself is fully English.
Many companies allow it within EU/Schengen for short stints (≤90 days/year). Long-term remote-from-abroad usually requires switching to a local entity in your country or contractor status.
From offer to first day: usually 4–8 weeks. Work Permit issuance is the slowest piece (3–6 weeks); many employers prefer to onboard EU citizens first and time non-EU starts around the permit cycle.
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