Hiring a remote developer is not harder than hiring locally, but different things go wrong. Local hires mostly fail on skills. Remote hires more often fail on unclear expectations, weak communication or a contract that did not cover the basics. This checklist follows the order in which those problems appear.
1. Write down the outcome, not just the job title
“Senior React developer” describes a person. It does not describe what you need done. Before you talk to anyone, write three things:
- What this person should have delivered after 30 and 90 days.
- The stack they will work in, including the parts you are not proud of.
- Who they will work with and who reviews their code.
This document does more to improve the quality of candidates than any job board.
2. Choose the engagement model first
Decide whether you are adding to a team you manage (staff augmentation), building a full team (dedicated team) or handing over a defined project. The model changes who you are looking for and what the contract says. Our guide to staff augmentation vs outsourcing vs a dedicated team covers the differences.
3. Ask a provider the questions that matter
If you are hiring through a company rather than directly, ask:
- Are the developers your employees, or freelancers you subcontract?
- How do you assess them, and can I see how?
- How fast will I see profiles, and can I interview them myself?
- What happens if a developer is not working out?
- What notice do I need to give to scale down?
Clear, specific answers are a good sign. “It depends” to all five is not.
4. Test with real work
Algorithm puzzles show whether someone has practised algorithm puzzles. A better test is a small task taken from your own domain: review this pull request, extend this endpoint, explain how you would structure this feature. Keep it short and judge the reasoning as much as the code.
5. Test communication on purpose
In a remote team, most communication is written and asynchronous. So check it directly:
- Ask for a written summary of a past project, including what went wrong.
- Notice whether they ask clarifying questions before starting a task.
- Have one conversation where they explain a technical decision to a non-technical person.
6. Confirm the working hours
Agree the overlap in hours, not in adjectives. “Flexible” is not a schedule. Write down which hours are shared every day and when meetings will be held. If you work with developers in India, our time-zone guide for US, UK, European and Gulf teams shows what the overlap looks like in practice.
7. Start with a paid trial
A one-week or two-week paid trial on real work tells you more than another round of interviews. Give the developer a real task, real access and a real reviewer. At the end, both sides know whether to continue.
8. Get four things into the contract
- Confidentiality. An NDA signed before any code or data is shared.
- Intellectual property. A clear statement that all work produced belongs to you.
- Notice and replacement. How much notice either side gives, and what happens if a developer leaves.
- Billing. When invoices are raised and what they cover.
This is a starting list, not legal advice. Have your own counsel review the agreement, especially for data-protection requirements in your country.
9. Plan the first two weeks
Most remote engagements that fail, fail here. Before day one, prepare access to repositories and tools, a first task small enough to ship in a few days, a named person to answer questions, and a fixed time for a daily check-in. A developer who ships something in the first week is very likely to work out.
10. Review after 30 days
Go back to the outcomes you wrote in step one. If they were met, extend. If not, find out whether the cause was the person, the brief or the process before you change anything.
If you would like this handled for you, see how we provide remote developers and dedicated teams, or browse the roles available.
