LebGeeks

tricky

Member

What are good software companies in Lebanon?

Hello, am looking to settle back in Lebanon and looking for a good/stable company that are hiring software developers / Technical Manager /Lead Developer with around 11 years of experience as a software developer. 

Just wondering what are good companies in Lebanon, that I might apply for.  I know a lot of companies relocated to Cyprus and Dubai... Thought I would take people's opinion on what good companies still operate in Lebanon.

specility

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

Your best option is to stick to bigger companies that work for abroad. Those typically are the ones that are able to pay decent amounts in fresh USD.
Examples: Murex, Sword, CME, etc.

GeorgeN

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

Your best option is to stick to bigger companies that work for abroad. Those typically are the ones that are able to pay decent amounts in fresh USD.
Examples: Murex, Sword, CME, etc.

The companies specility mentioned are probably the best you'd be able to get in lebanon. Foo is also an option. I can give you feedback for CME and Foo as i've worked for both. CME likes to be elitist, their tech interviews are heavy and the guy will ask you things completely unrelated to what you'll be working on. The annoying things I found with them is all meetups and writing you have to do on how you spent your working hours (detailed timesheet specifics). The positive is that they are mostly remote (work from home). Their salaries are competitive for Lebanon, but nothing special otherwise.

Foo likes to overwork their employees, in a lot of cases you'll find yourself working till 8-10 pm. Salary is competitive for Lebanon if you have a lot of working experience. If you are someone who values your personal time / life on a day to day basis, I wouldn't work for them.

My advice is not to bother with any Lebanese companies at all, they are overapplied to, like to be elitist, and some of them still have that "wasta" mentality in their ranks. If you are good, just directly apply to a company hiring remote outside of Lebanon. No need to go through the third party that is the Lebanese company.

specility

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

The companies specility mentioned are probably the best you'd be able to get in lebanon. Foo is also an option. I can give you feedback for CME and Foo as i've worked for both. CME likes to be elitist, their tech interviews are heavy and the guy will ask you things completely unrelated to what you'll be working on. The annoying things I found with them is all meetups and writing you have to do on how you spent your working hours (detailed timesheet specifics). The positive is that they are mostly remote (work from home). Their salaries are competitive for Lebanon, but nothing special otherwise.

Foo likes to overwork their employees, in a lot of cases you'll find yourself working till 8-10 pm. Salary is competitive for Lebanon if you have a lot of working experience. If you are someone who values your personal time / life on a day to day basis, I wouldn't work for them.

Damn that's brutal! I work for one of these companies (not CME and not FOO, not going to say which to avoid doxxing myself). Salary is pretty good (think around 750-1000$ fresh for fresh grads). Almost 0 overtime (unless there is a prod issue or something equally important). Healthy and supportive work environment, no BS meetings, no timesheet shenanigans, no corporate sucking up.

My advice is not to bother with any Lebanese companies at all, they are overapplied to, like to be elitist, and some of them still have that "wasta" mentality in their ranks.

I would say try anyways but keep eyes open for red flags. Mine doesn't really have wasta mentality as far as I have noticed, but some companies definitely do.

If you are good, just directly apply to a company hiring remote outside of Lebanon. No need to go through the third party that is the Lebanese company.

True. If you're able to get direct hire from abroad, you can easily make 4x what you make through a Lebanese company working for abroad. However, do keep in mind that rules may be different depending on the company in question (as in client outreach if freelance, meetings, getting called at ungodly times to fix issues, etc).

jaqen h'ghar

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

I started with CME few months ago, how much did you initially get paid and how much does the salary % increase over the years?

Did you ever negotiate the salary?

Your best option is to stick to bigger companies that work for abroad. Those typically are the ones that are able to pay decent amounts in fresh USD.
Examples: Murex, Sword, CME, etc.

The companies specility mentioned are probably the best you'd be able to get in lebanon. Foo is also an option. I can give you feedback for CME and Foo as i've worked for both. CME likes to be elitist, their tech interviews are heavy and the guy will ask you things completely unrelated to what you'll be working on. The annoying things I found with them is all meetups and writing you have to do on how you spent your working hours (detailed timesheet specifics). The positive is that they are mostly remote (work from home). Their salaries are competitive for Lebanon, but nothing special otherwise.

Foo likes to overwork their employees, in a lot of cases you'll find yourself working till 8-10 pm. Salary is competitive for Lebanon if you have a lot of working experience. If you are someone who values your personal time / life on a day to day basis, I wouldn't work for them.

My advice is not to bother with any Lebanese companies at all, they are overapplied to, like to be elitist, and some of them still have that "wasta" mentality in their ranks. If you are good, just directly apply to a company hiring remote outside of Lebanon. No need to go through the third party that is the Lebanese company.

tricky

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

thank you all for your inputs!

concerning the remote job, i have been having hard time finding remote jobs. Most of them are remote but local to their countries, from what i have been reading its mostly for Tax purposes etc... Anybody can share their experience with remote work, links for job etc.. I found some World Wide remote jobs but looks like they are few and thousands of people apply to those positions...

Guitaret

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

Hello, am looking to settle back in Lebanon and looking for a good/stable company that are hiring software developers / Technical Manager /Lead Developer with around 11 years of experience as a software developer.

I am very interested in hearing your reasons behind coming back to Lebanon, I left as well and to tell you the truth, grass do look greener on the other side, and sometimes I have second thoughts about coming back home.

Your best option is to stick to bigger companies that work for abroad. Those typically are the ones that are able to pay decent amounts in fresh USD.
Examples: Murex, Sword, CME, etc.

The companies specility mentioned are probably the best you'd be able to get in lebanon. Foo is also an option. I can give you feedback for CME and Foo as i've worked for both. CME likes to be elitist, their tech interviews are heavy and the guy will ask you things completely unrelated to what you'll be working on. The annoying things I found with them is all meetups and writing you have to do on how you spent your working hours (detailed timesheet specifics). The positive is that they are mostly remote (work from home). Their salaries are competitive for Lebanon, but nothing special otherwise.

Foo likes to overwork their employees, in a lot of cases you'll find yourself working till 8-10 pm. Salary is competitive for Lebanon if you have a lot of working experience. If you are someone who values your personal time / life on a day to day basis, I wouldn't work for them.

My advice is not to bother with any Lebanese companies at all, they are overapplied to, like to be elitist, and some of them still have that "wasta" mentality in their ranks. If you are good, just directly apply to a company hiring remote outside of Lebanon. No need to go through the third party that is the Lebanese company.

What a valuable thorough feedback you made, thank you for sharing.
I have a question about the technical interview at CME, how does that go? Coding challenges or just high-level system design questions?

Flakk

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

It also depends on the Role of the job. CME, FOO, Murex etc... have tremendous amount of experience for software engineers and developers. The hardest part is for the Project managers and coordinators, thats where the load is the heaviest and the responsibilites are big.

tricky

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

I recently accepted an offer from one of the companies stated here, thank you all.

@Guitaret, i left for many reasons, corruption etc... bas realized there is corruption everywhere, even tho here its worst... weather and terrain in Toronto is horrible so those are 2 big ones for me.  Away from family and friends, people in Toronto are a little on the distant colder side and its too much business... high taxes, even if u own property you pay a lot of taxes, people/kids are a little too entitled, i didnt want that for my future kids, if any... I feel like if your making good money in Lebanon, its better than outside, you just have to save for your own health, school etc.... in the west you probably will be paying mortgage/rent and taxes, in Lebanon you have to pay school/healthcare them directly....

Guitaret

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

@Guitaret, i left for many reasons, corruption etc... bas realized there is corruption everywhere, even tho here its worst... weather and terrain in Toronto is horrible so those are 2 big ones for me.  Away from family and friends, people in Toronto are a little on the distant colder side and its too much business... high taxes, even if u own property you pay a lot of taxes, people/kids are a little too entitled, i didnt want that for my future kids, if any... I feel like if your making good money in Lebanon, its better than outside, you just have to save for your own health, school etc.... in the west you probably will be paying mortgage/rent and taxes, in Lebanon you have to pay school/healthcare them directly....

I am happy to know people are reversing the immigration wave going on, I have heard other people did that as well but never got to talk to them to understand their version of the truth. I do confirm many of the stuff you said are also my sentiment in Europe. High taxes, high cost of living, and rent is 40% of your net income and this is just for a small place (smaller than my salon in Lebanon ). Friendly but very cold western Europeans indeed, it will take you at least 10 years to befriend a non-expat here. All that sacrifice is for the promise of a safe future. Sometimes I don't think it is worth it, but I guess you have a second nationality right? You could always leave or escape when things go really bad in Lebanon. So I guess you have an option that many Lebanese don't.

I do wonder what are your thoughts on the below (this is addressed to all people here):
- Do you think there is a good private insurance company operating in Lebanon that can provide services in the long term? Not just when you are young, but a company worth investing in for the next 20-30 years (Sickness, disability, retirement). If so, I think this can replace the "safety" promises of the west.
- Aren't you worried the chaos in the Lebanese people's lifestyle and ethics will get on your nerves and take away your peace of mind?
Ex: I heard yesterday that a stray puppy that we take care of in my house in Lebanon was poisoned by the neighbors. People in Lebanon are shitty no matter how much you sugarcoat it (I mean the 95% ). They need at least 2-3 generations to have civil citizens. This act will never happen in the west.
- Aren't you worried the misery in your entourage will affect your chance to be happy in Lebanon? I mean how can you enjoy life if you have an unemployed sibling or a relative sick but cannot afford to get treatment? If you are staying in Lebanon, you will be too close to be able not to get directly affected.
- Aren't you worried they will start soon taking high-income tax in Lebanon without providing any service? Are you OK with that?
- How will you deal with the very greedy/evil Lebanese banks?

Thank you

Last edited by Guitaret (December 21 2022)

specility

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

I do wonder what are your thoughts on the below (this is addressed to all people here):
- Do you think there is a good private insurance company operating in Lebanon that can provide services in the long term? Not just when you are young, but a company worth investing in for the next 20-30 years (Sickness, disability, retirement). If so, I think this can replace the "safety" promises of the west.
- Aren't you worried the chaos in the Lebanese people's lifestyle and ethics will get on your nerves and take away your peace of mind?
Ex: I heard yesterday that a stray puppy that we take care of in my house in Lebanon was poisoned by the neighbors. People in Lebanon are shitty no matter how much you sugarcoat it (I mean the 95% ). They need at least 2-3 generations to have civil citizens. This act will never happen in the west.
- Aren't you worried the misery in your entourage will affect your chance to be happy in Lebanon? I mean how can you enjoy life if you have an unemployed sibling or a relative sick but cannot afford to get treatment? If you are staying in Lebanon, you will be too close to be able not to get directly affected.
- Aren't you worried they will start soon taking high-income tax in Lebanon without providing any service? Are you OK with that?
- How will you deal with the very greedy/evil Lebanese banks?

Thank you

1) for me OEA (nekabet l mohandeseen) + savings handles my retirement. Though I'm 99.9% leaving to another country (thinking mainly Japan or Germany, but not yet sure) in 2-3 years regardless for multiple other reasons that I won't get into here (you can probably guess a few).

2) I don't really interact with many people aside from family and friends, not much of an issue tbh. Believe me or not, this act will still happen outside. Look into PETA as a prime example of animal cruelty (stealing pets from owners, killing them in their shelters, etc). People are shitty everywhere, maybe varying degrees, but still shitty.
I'm more concerned about political breakouts like X vs Y skirmishes and stuff like that. Lebanon is horrible on the safety front unless you live in the middle of nowhere in small towns (in which you sacrifice going out, transportation, fun, etc).

3) unless that treatment costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, most people (around me) can afford treatment by selling car/land/whatever. If someone isn't really close or they are dumb with money, not my problem. (Yes, I know people who earn like 4 million LBP and nag about the economic situation every chance they get yet spend every weekend eating at relatively expensive restaurants or going to parties).
If someone dropped 10,000$ on a new car then nag a week later about not being able to afford a 500$ non-emergency treatment, not my problem.
The only exceptions would be life-threatening treatments for relatives and close friends.

4) my company handles all my taxes. My salary in the contract is higher than what I actually earn. We negotiated based on the Net salary. Whatever happens in taxes or fees isn't my problem, I expect X$ in my account every month.

5) Lebanese banks are trash but that's what we get. To me, I don't do much bank operations aside from withdrawing salary or buying online (under the limit). So, I don't really have much trouble there aside from the inconvenience.

specility

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

thank you all for your inputs!

concerning the remote job, i have been having hard time finding remote jobs. Most of them are remote but local to their countries, from what i have been reading its mostly for Tax purposes etc... Anybody can share their experience with remote work, links for job etc.. I found some World Wide remote jobs but looks like they are few and thousands of people apply to those positions...

They do this usually for tax purposes, time zone purposes, and trust purposes (if a US person leaks data, they can sue. If you leak data, they usually can't do anything).
I know someone who works remotely for UK clients through a friend (they split the $ and responsibilities, idk how the UK guy handles it tax-wise but there is an actual LLC and all that going on). Unless you have connections abroad or are a specialist with a "name in the industry", you will have trouble finding remote jobs.

Never had any luck through platforms like Upwork. Can't really recommend them but your mileage may vary.

rolf

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

Try CME offshore or Siren Analytics. They are related and seem to have general decent technical level although management is maybe not that great.

jsaade

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

I recently accepted an offer from one of the companies stated here, thank you all.

@Guitaret, i left for many reasons, corruption etc... bas realized there is corruption everywhere, even tho here its worst... weather and terrain in Toronto is horrible so those are 2 big ones for me.  Away from family and friends, people in Toronto are a little on the distant colder side and its too much business... high taxes, even if u own property you pay a lot of taxes, people/kids are a little too entitled, i didnt want that for my future kids, if any... I feel like if your making good money in Lebanon, its better than outside, you just have to save for your own health, school etc.... in the west you probably will be paying mortgage/rent and taxes, in Lebanon you have to pay school/healthcare them directly....

what about the non existent retirement in Lebanon? Even with financial planning, a lot of people who assumed they had a retirement plan or wage, are now broke and dependent on their children.
So in addition to saving for health, etc, you need to save a lot for your retirement. And as for health/school, this is assuming the quality in Lebanon is not compromised.

tricky

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

I recently accepted an offer from one of the companies stated here, thank you all.

@Guitaret, i left for many reasons, corruption etc... bas realized there is corruption everywhere, even tho here its worst... weather and terrain in Toronto is horrible so those are 2 big ones for me.  Away from family and friends, people in Toronto are a little on the distant colder side and its too much business... high taxes, even if u own property you pay a lot of taxes, people/kids are a little too entitled, i didnt want that for my future kids, if any... I feel like if your making good money in Lebanon, its better than outside, you just have to save for your own health, school etc.... in the west you probably will be paying mortgage/rent and taxes, in Lebanon you have to pay school/healthcare them directly....

what about the non existent retirement in Lebanon? Even with financial planning, a lot of people who assumed they had a retirement plan or wage, are now broke and dependent on their children.
So in addition to saving for health, etc, you need to save a lot for your retirement. And as for health/school, this is assuming the quality in Lebanon is not compromised.

As stated earlier, you just have to assume you are on your own and have to plan your own retirement. What happened in the banking sector is not everyday thing nor unique to Lebanon, by not looking far Cyprus might have had a similar situation (i think). Nobody is saying Lebanon is perfect, its pros and cons just like everything else. My general advise is to get a good passport and come back to Lebanon or if you are happy with your new place, stay :)

Guitaret

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

I believe this is the most optimal plan a Lebanese can work on.
Try to get a good passport then return to Lebanon, unless you are happy where you are.
And it wouldn't hurt if you try to make the most money during your days abroad, as consumerism in the west is super easy

ramy58

Member

Re: What are good software companies in Lebanon?

gtlogic is pretty great!

Last edited by ramy58 (February 8)