Module 03 · Sourcing
GitHub Candidate Sourcing Cheat Sheet
Finding technical candidates beyond LinkedIn. Best for software engineers, ML engineers, OSS contributors, infrastructure, DevOps, HFT, security and startup engineers.
Core Search Operators
| Operator | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| language: | Search repositories by programming language | language:python |
| location: | Search user profile locations | location:london |
| stars: | Repo popularity | stars:>30 |
| followers: | User influence / visibility | followers:>50 |
| org: | Search within a GitHub organisation | org:google |
| topic: | Search tagged technologies | topic:machine-learning |
| forks: | Repository adoption | forks:>20 |
| pushed: | Recent activity | pushed:>2026-01-01 |
| created: | Recently created projects | created:>2026-01-01 |
| user: | Specific profile search | user:torvalds |
Search Patterns
Python Startup Engineer
language:python location:london pushed:>2026-01-01 followers:>5- London Python engineers
- Active recently
- Some OSS footprint
ML Engineer
topic:machine-learning language:python stars:>10Alternative: "machine learning" language:python
- ML-focused repos
- Python-based tooling
- Some community traction
HFT / Low Latency Engineer
latency language:C++Alternative: trading language:C++ stars:>10
- Low-latency code
- C++ systems work
Distributed Systems Engineer
"distributed systems" language:goAlternative: topic:distributed-systems language:go
- Go-based distributed systems
- Infrastructure work
DevOps / Platform
topic:kubernetes language:goAlternative: kubernetes docker terraform
- Kubernetes tooling
- Go platform work
Security Engineer
topic:cybersecurity language:pythonAlternative: ctf language:python
- Security tooling
- Python-based projects
Combining Searches
Use spaces between operators. Add keywords to refine intent.
language:rust location:london stars:>10react language:javascriptapi language:pythoncompiler language:rustSearch by Activity
Activity cut-off dates update automatically based on today's date.
Avoid inactive accounts. Recent pushes and new projects are strong signals of current interest and skill.
Recently updated
pushed:>2026-01-01Recently created
created:>2026-01-01More Examples by Role
Backend Engineer (Python)
General
language:pythonLondon
language:python location:londonActive OSS
language:python followers:>10 pushed:>2026-01-01Startup infra
api language:python stars:>5ML Engineer
General
topic:machine-learning language:pythonDeep Learning
"deep learning" language:pythonLLM
llm language:pythonRAG
rag language:pythonMLOps
mlops kubernetes language:pythonData Engineer
Spark
spark language:pythonAirflow
airflow language:pythonStreaming
kafka language:pythonDevOps / Platform
Kubernetes
topic:kubernetes language:goTerraform
terraformCloud infra
aws kubernetes terraformPlatform
platform engineering language:goDistributed Systems
General
"distributed systems"Go
"distributed systems" language:goEvent systems
kafka language:javaMessaging
rabbitmq language:goHFT / Trading
Low latency
latency language:C++Trading
trading language:C++Market data
"market data" language:C++FIX
"fix protocol" language:C++Order books
orderbook language:C++FPGA
fpgaFrontend
React
react language:javascriptTypescript
language:typescript reactNextJS
nextjs language:typescriptMobile
iOS
swift iosAndroid
kotlin androidReact Native
react-nativeFlutter
flutterSecurity
CTF
ctf language:pythonExploit dev
exploit language:CMalware
"malware analysis"Reverse engineering
"reverse engineering"AI / Research
Transformers
transformers language:pythonRL
"reinforcement learning"Computer vision
"computer vision" language:pythonNLP
nlp language:pythonStartup Engineers
Founders
startup language:pythonSide projects
saas language:typescriptIndie hackers
"indie hacker"Quality Filters
Layer these onto any search to surface stronger candidates and cut noise.
Strong OSS
Repos with traction and authors with visibility.
stars:>10 forks:>5 followers:>10Very active
Code updated in the last few months.
pushed:>2026-01-01Influential
Established profiles with a wider audience.
followers:>100The Rule to Remember
Start broad with one signal, then layer on qualifiers. GitHub rewards iteration: run a search, inspect repos, then add language:, location:, stars: or pushed: until the results match the profile you actually want to hire.