How Gymshark built its engineering capability from scratch

About Gymshark.

Gymshark is a global fitness and ecommerce brand headquartered in Solihull, UK. Since launching in 2012, the business has grown into one of the world's most recognisable fitness brands, serving customers in more than 200 countries.

As the business grew, Gymshark began investing in its in-house engineering capability to support the next stage of its digital growth. This included building a bespoke Shopify site and developing native iOS and Android workout apps.

To support this growth, Gymshark partnered with Digital Waffle to deliver permanent and contract placements across its engineering team.

Building an engineering capability from scratch.

Gymshark was entering a key stage of growth that required significant investment in its engineering team. The business was building its engineering focus from the ground up, with the team supporting major tech projects across ecommerce and mobile.

The hiring requirements were broad. Gymshark needed permanent engineering talent to help shape the long-term team, while also bringing in contractors to support delivery across specific projects.

This meant the recruitment approach had to balance long-term team growth with immediate delivery needs. Each placement needed to bring the right technical skills, but also the right mindset for a fast-growing consumer brand building new digital products.

Gymshark needed a recruitment partner that could support both permanent and contract hiring, understand the pace of the business and deliver specialist engineering talent across multiple stages of growth.

Supporting Gymshark's engineering growth.

We worked closely with Gymshark to understand its development roadmap, the projects being delivered and the specialist talent required to support each stage of growth.

Rather than recruiting for individual roles in isolation, we supported Gymshark as its hiring requirements evolved. As the bespoke Shopify site and native workout apps progressed, we adapted our search to ensure the business had the engineering talent needed at each stage.

Using our network of software engineering and contract engineering talent, we delivered a mix of permanent employees and specialist contractors across the team.

This flexible approach helped Gymshark build its long-term engineering capability while also bringing in the contract support needed to maintain momentum across key tech projects.

20+ permanent and contract placements delivered.

Across the engagement, Digital Waffle delivered 20+ permanent and contract placements for Gymshark.

These hires supported the build-out of Gymshark's engineering capability during an important stage of growth, helping the business support delivery across its bespoke Shopify site and native iOS and Android workout apps.

By combining permanent recruitment with contract hiring, Gymshark was able to build the foundations of its in-house engineering team while also accessing specialist talent for project delivery.

Key outcomes:

The partnership helped Gymshark build its engineering capability while supporting delivery across major ecommerce and mobile projects through a mix of permanent and contract hiring. Here are the key outcomes:

• 20+ permanent and contract placements delivered
• Supported Gymshark as it built its engineering capability from scratch
• Helped resource the development of a bespoke Shopify site
• Supported hiring for native iOS and Android workout app development
• Delivered a mix of long-term permanent talent and specialist contract support
• Supported a fast-growing ecommerce brand during a key stage of digital growth

"Digital Waffle were a real help when we were building out our engineering team. It was a fast-moving period, with a lot happening across our website and apps, and they quickly understood the kind of people we needed. They supported us with both perm and contract hires, kept things moving and made the whole process feel straightforward. Really easy team to work with."

- Talent Acquisition Partner, Gymshark

Gymshark's growth required more than one-off recruitment support. The business needed a partner that could adapt as its engineering requirements evolved, supporting both long-term team growth and immediate project delivery.

By delivering 20+ permanent and contract placements, Digital Waffle helped Gymshark build its engineering capability from scratch while supporting major tech projects across Shopify and mobile app development.

If you're building an engineering team or need specialist support across permanent and contract hiring, our software engineering recruitment specialists are here to help.

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