Reference · Published 3 August 2026
10 Boolean Strings for Tech Recruiting
Technical roles are unusually well suited to boolean search, since technologies, frameworks and certifications are named consistently. These ten strings cover common developer, data and infrastructure searches — adapt the location and seniority terms to your own role.
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Front-end developer, React-focused
("front-end developer" OR "frontend engineer") AND React AND TypeScript
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Back-end developer, Python
("back-end developer" OR "backend engineer") AND Python AND (Django OR FastAPI)
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Full-stack developer, early-stage startup experience
"full-stack" AND (startup OR "seed stage" OR "series A") NOT agency
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Data engineer, cloud pipelines
"data engineer" AND (Airflow OR dbt) AND (AWS OR GCP OR Azure)
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DevOps / platform engineer, Kubernetes
("DevOps engineer" OR "platform engineer") AND Kubernetes AND Terraform
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QA / test engineer, automation
("QA engineer" OR "test engineer" OR "SDET") AND (Selenium OR Cypress OR Playwright)
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Engineering manager, scaling a team
("engineering manager" OR "head of engineering") AND ("scaled the team" OR "grew the team")
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Machine learning engineer, NLP
("machine learning engineer" OR "ML engineer") AND (NLP OR "large language model")
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Security engineer, cloud-focused
("security engineer" OR "application security engineer") AND AWS NOT "penetration testing intern"
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Mobile developer, cross-platform
("mobile developer" OR "iOS developer" OR "Android developer") AND (Flutter OR "React Native")
To narrow any of these to your own location and seniority level, add AND location AND ("senior" OR "lead")-style terms, and X-ray them onto specific platforms using the technique in our CV & X-Ray Sourcing Strings guide.
Related reading
New to the syntax used above? Start with Boolean Operators Explained, or see Sourcing Passive Candidates With Boolean Search for strategy beyond the raw strings.