Tech talent is in demand all over the world.

This is especially so in Singapore, where the government’s drive to create a Smart Nation has provided companies – regardless of industry – with the impetus to go digital.

Yet even as demand for tech talent shoots through the roof, supply is not able to keep up just yet. The best developers and coders are joining big-name companies in droves – understandably so – leaving startups and SMEs like yourself with serious manpower issues in the tech department.

How can hiring managers and talent acquisition specialists in these companies ever hope to compete?

The answer lies in active recruiting – taking the initiative to pursue and build relationships with developers, ultimately attracting them to join your company instead.

To help you with that endeavour, we’ve put together a list of the 23 best developer communities in Singapore where you might be able to find your next rockstar hire in 2018.

To make this list as useful to you as possible, we’ve weeded out inactive developer communities – those that haven’t organized an event or posted on their social media channels in 2018 – and organized the rest from A to Z.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

Agile Singapore

One of the more active developer communities in Singapore, Agile Singapore has over 4,600 members (and counting) who talk shop and share events, articles, and job postings on their Google group and Facebook group.

Agile Singapore hosts and supports quite a number of developer events in Singapore as well. In 2018, they’ve been involved in 11 events, with another three more coming up soon. You can view these on their Meetup page.

AWS User Group Singapore

If you’re looking for a developer who has experience working with Amazon Web Services, this community is the place to be. AWS User Group Singapore hosts almost-regular monthly meetups – as of October, they’re running their fifth session of 2018 – and has an active Discord channel and Facebook group.

CodingGirls SG

The first female-focused developer community on this list (of many more to come), CodingGirls SG regularly hosts a number of events that cut across coding languages and interests. In 2018, they’ve run nine events so far, according to their Peatix page.

They also cover topics outside of software engineering, such as product management and business analytics, which are promoted on their Facebook group.

DataScience SG

Compared to the wider developer community, the data community in Singapore is still relatively young. Growing interest in this space, however, has helped DataScience SG expand rapidly to some 7,500 members today (based on their Meetup page). Meetups are held monthly, and are very regular – they’ve hosted 10 sessions in 2018 so far.

Additionally, DataScience SG has the distinction of being one of the rare developer communities to have a Facebook group and Slack group where members engage quite frequently.

Drupal Developer Network (Singapore)

With close to 1,400 members in its Meetup group, Drupal Developer Network (Singapore) hosts regular monthly meetups and supports other local developer-focused events in Singapore, such as PHPConf.Asia 2018. Their Facebook group is quite active as well, with several members posting job ads and queries.

FOSSASIA

Unlike the other developer communities on this list, FOSSASIA organizes and runs events all across Asia. They are, however, very active in Singapore – as evidenced by their Meetup page – and ran their flagship FOSSASIA Summit event in Singapore in March 2018.

Front End Developers Singapore

While they used to host meetup events every third Monday of the month, Front End Developers Singapore hasn’t been as active in 2018, playing a more supportive role to other developer-focused events in Singapore.

Girls in Tech Singapore

The local chapter of a global organization, Girls in Tech Singapore was one of the more active female-focused developer communities in 2017, running seven events with a number of big-name partners. They also post frequently on their Facebook page, getting good engagement from some 4,500 followers.

GoSG

Since it was first formed in 2014, the self-named “Gophers” have organized a cool 26 GoSG meetups to date, according to their Meetup page. Their Facebook group has around 460 members, but engagement is fairly low. Doesn’t matter, because their events are well-attended regardless, with the latest session seeing 72 attendees.

Hackerspace.SG

Better known as one of Singapore’s earliest co-working spaces, Hackerspace.SG regularly plays venue host to a number of developer-focused events. They also have a presence on a number of online groups, such as Google and Facebook, where members engage frequently.

Hack and Tell Singapore

As the name suggests, Hack and Tell Singapore is a language-agnostic developer community in Singapore that gives participants airtime to talk about their projects. While their events are not frequent, they are certainly well-attended – the latest session had some 57 attendees.

iOS Dev Scout

Founded in 2011, iOS Dev Scout hosts regular monthly meetups for their community of iOS developers. In fact, they've got an almost perfect record in 2018, organizing an event every month except for September. Engagement is high on their Facebook group as well.

PyData Singapore

With close to 4,500 members in their Meetup group, PyData Singapore is one of the bigger developer communities in Singapore. While their Facebook group isn’t very active, they’ve hosted nine events in 2018 so far.

ReactJS Singapore

A community for React.js and React Native developers, ReactJS Singapore hosts near-monthly meetups for their members, the latest of which happened in September 2018.

Singapore Android Developers

Now known as Android in Asia, this community of 3,000-odd Android developers meet regularly at a variety of events hosted and supported by them. Their Facebook group is not very active, but events are nonetheless well-attended.

Singapore JS Meetup

Having hosted and supported some 18 events in 2018 so far, this community of close to 4,500 Javascript developers is the most active in Singapore. They also have a number of extremely active discussion channels on Glitter.

Singapore PHP User Group

Founded in 2006, Singapore PHP User Group is one of the earliest developer communities in Singapore. As such, they have organized an incredible number of events since, and continue to do so on a monthly basis now. Their Facebook group is regularly updated, so make sure to check it out!

Singapore Python User Group

Another community for Python users, Singapore Python User Group hosts monthly meetups like clockwork, only missing out January in 2018. They also have a Facebook group, which has decent engagement – as well as a Google group.

Singapore Ruby Group

With more than 2,500 members on their Meetup group, Singapore Ruby Group sessions have great attendance, with 66 people joining the August edition in 2018. Also known as the Singapore Ruby Brigade, their Facebook group also has fairly good engagement. Their Google group, though, has been inactive since last year.

Singapore WordPress User Group

Their website might not have been updated for a while, but Singapore WordPress User Group’s Facebook group is updated with the latest community events and sharings. They have also organized five events in Singapore this year.

Talk.CSS

One of the first CSS-focused developer communities in Singapore, Talk.CSS organizes meetups on the last Wednesday of every month. In fact, the September 2018 edition will be their 32nd since their inception in 2015 - no mean feat indeed. They also run a rather active discussion channel on Glitter.

Women Who Code Singapore

Launched in December 2016, the Singapore chapter of Women Who Code has hosted and supported an impressive number of events for female coders so far, with many more in the pipeline. Their Facebook group doesn’t see much engagement, but their events certainly do - the latest saw 41 attendees.

.NET Dev Community Singapore

Last but certainly not least is this thriving community of .NET developers in Singapore. If you’re looking to hire a .NET developer, you definitely shouldn’t miss out on any .NET Dev Community Singapore events. Their latest session, which was held at Microsoft, was attended by 69 people. Although members of their Facebook group share content often, engagement is relatively low.

Over to you

The key to finding a potentially great hire from these developer communities?

Don’t go charging in talking about your company.

Instead, simply be a good member of the community. Engage other members in discussions, and make friends at events.

Contribute first, and you’ll be surprised at how many people will start coming to you instead of the other way around.

Let us help you meet people, who share your vision and values. Connect with us here.