The iPhone. The cell phone. Those clunky cell phones you see in late 80’s or early 90’s films. These devices, and other technological advances of the 21st century have changed our lives and how we communicate with one another. But these marvels didn’t pop out of nowhere. Someone had to design the chip to go into them, or code them to make it all work. Somebody we oftentimes forget: the engineer.

If you’re looking for an engineer to create the next Android, or build an app, look no further than Toptal, a marketplace that connects employers with the top 3% of engineers and designers. CEO Taso Duval sat down with Josh Constine from TechCrunch to discuss how Toptal is supplying the huge demand out there.

If there’s one thing you might be short on as a startup, it’s time. As we all know, it takes time to find qualified engineers or designers to build the backbone of your business. Many employers are scrounging to find top-tier engineers. Sites that do provide contractors, such as Elance and Odesk, oftentimes don’t have engineers who are highly qualified -- at the levels top companies seek. Toptal saves you time by putting candidates through a rigorous screening process made up of various levels and strict criteria.

“Toptal finds high quality engineers who for whatever reason don’t want a traditional 9 to 5…or a 9 to 9 as is more common in startupland. It screens them to ensure they’re top talent, and works to set a reasonable rate for their services.”

If confident both sides are legit, Toptal makes a match. Instead of making the employer search through dozens of resumes, Toptal sends just 1.7 of coders before the client signs a contract. It’s a great example of a for-hire marketplace: client pays Toptal, Toptal pays the contractor and takes a reasonable percentage. If the business is happy with the new hire, they can always buy out their contract. With a supply of over 2,000 engineers, Toptal works with high profile clients such as JP Morgan, Pfeizer, but also smaller companies like Zendesk and fledging startups. Toptal is also working on building special tools to make working remotely more efficient, including HR systems and performance review.

The old adage of spending 60 hour weeks writing code or designing software in closed offices just might be yesterday’s work life. Many engineers have the skillset, but are looking for a better work-life balance -- Toptal seems to be the marketplace that will help them do just that.

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