How to Hire Remote Software Developers for a Successful Product?

Are you interested in knowing how to hire remote software developers?

Remote team members have been developing successful software products for several decades now. However, thanks in part to Covid-19, this trend is accelerating exponentially. 

Do you want to take advantage of the many benefits that remote work offers? 

If you are a startup founder or product development manager that plans to do just that then this guide on how to hire remote software engineers for a successful product is just what you need. 

Do the following to hire remote developers:

1. Ask yourself: “Can a remote software developer do justice to my project?”

Remote work is popular. A Forbes report projects that 70% of the workforce will work remotely for at least 5 days a month by 2025. Does remote work suit your project?

To decide, ask yourself the following questions:

• Are the senior organizational leaders monitoring your project daily? In that case, the project will have stringent requirements for turnaround time. A remote team might not be your best bet.
• Are you planning to develop a first-of-a-kind (FOAK) software product? Such projects need more time to finalize requirements. Business stakeholders need to see plenty of rapid prototyping before finalizing the requirements. Remote software engineers might not be able to deliver prototypes so quickly.
• Will the requirements in your project change often? Developers need very close coordination with business stakeholders then, which helps them to keep pace with fluid requirements. Remote teams will find it hard to achieve such close coordination.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of questions, however, you get the point. Software development projects requiring rapid turnaround, quick prototypes, and close coordination with business require co-located teams.  

2. Examine your options to hire software developers for remote work

You have the following options to hire dedicated remote developers:

A. Hire remote software developers from freelance platforms

You can hire programmers from freelancer platforms. You can use generic freelance platforms, alternatively, there are software development-specific freelance platforms like Toptal.

Freelance platforms can help you to hire developers at a low hourly rate. Platforms like Toptal claim to offer high-quality senior software developers. 

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However, freelance platforms don’t offer any help with the hiring process and project management support. You could find it hard to manage remote workers and the remote development process.

Time zone differences can impact your project too. Imagine yourself in San Francisco or another city in North America, while managing the work of freelancers in Belarus!

Freelancers could leave your project mid-way, and you need to find replacements. We don’t recommend you hire freelancers for crucial projects.

B. Hire remote software developers from trustworthy software development companies 

We recommend you hire remote software developers from reputed and trustworthy software development companies.

Many of these companies offer end-to-end software development services in the outsourcing model. You don’t need that since you have decided to hire remote programmers.

Reputed software development companies offer full-time developers. Their programmers get comprehensive work experience by working on varied projects.

These companies routinely encourage their coders to upskill, therefore, you get motivated developers on your remote development team.

You can get project management support from these companies. They secure sensitive corporate and customer data. You can also get replacements in the case of turnovers.

3. Create and submit your requirements for remote jobs

You need candidates for a technical interview, therefore, provide remote job requirements to software development companies. Include the following in your job postings:

Company profile

Introduce your company, and explain the growth opportunities available. Elaborate on the work culture and organizational environment. Describe the compensation and benefits you offer.

Job description of remote developers

Describe your project. Talk about the software product you plan to build and explain its importance to your company. Elaborate on how remote software engineers will contribute to the success of your company.

You can use our job description templates for this. E.g., use our Ruby on Rails JD template if you plan to use Ruby on Rails.

Skillset requirements for remote software engineers

Look for programmers with bachelor’s degrees in computer science, information technology, or related fields. The technical skills requirements depend on your project, however, use the following as guidelines:

A. Native mobile developer skills

Remote developers need the following skills for native Android development:

• Programming languages like Java or Kotlin;
• Material design guidelines;
• Android Studio, the popular Android development IDE (Integrated Development Environment);
• Various Android SDKs and APIs;
• Tools like Espresso for testing;
• Google Play app launch checklist.

Native iOS development requires developers with the following skills:

Programming languages like Swift or Objective-C;

• Human Interface Guidelines;
• Xcode, the IDE preferred by Apple;
• Different iOS SDKs, APIs, and core frameworks;
• XCTest and other testing tools;
• Apple App Store review guidelines.

B. Cross-platform mobile developer skills

Do you plan to launch a cross-platform mobile app? You need developers with the following skills:

• Cross-platform mobile frameworks like React Native or Flutter;
• The ability to bridge the user experience gaps since cross-platform apps can’t fully match the native user experience;
• Years of experience in mitigating security risks;
• The ability to code high-performance apps.

C. Web developer or full-stack developer skills

For web development projects, you need front-end and back-end developers. Alternatively, you can hire full-stack developers.

Depending on your project requirements, front-end developers might need the following skills:

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• JavaScript;
• HTML;
• CSS;
• Libraries jQuery;
• Web frameworks like Angular or React.js.

Back-end developers might need any of the following skills:

• Java;
• Python;
• PHP;
• Golang;
• Node.js, an open-source runtime environment for JavaScript;
• Prominent open-source Node.js development tools and frameworks like Express.js.

If you hire full-stack software engineers, they can work on both the front-end and back-end.

Programmers with knowledge of the MEAN (MongoDB-Express.js-Angular-Node.js) or MERN (MongoDB-Express.js-React.js-Node.js) stack can fit the bill. 

D. Familiarity with cloud computing platforms

Start-ups often use a cloud computing platform. If you plan to do so, then look for remote software developers familiar with such platforms.

AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform are some of the leading MCSPs (managed cloud service providers).

You might need a PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) platform like AWS Elastic Beanstalk for web app development.

Furthermore, you might need an MBaaS (Mobile-Backend-as-a-Service) platform like AWS Amplify for mobile app development. Indicate your preference on job postings.

E. API development skills

Your project will likely involve API development, therefore, look for remote software engineers with the following skills:

• Knowledge of developing RESTful APIs;
• In-depth of modern open-source relational database management systems (RDBMSs) like MySQL and PostgreSQL;
• Experience in working with popular open-source NoSQL databases like MongoDB and Apache SQL;
• Familiarity with API documentation and design tools like Swagger.

F. Knowledge of application security

You might target highly regulated industries like healthcare or banking for launching your software product. Look for developers with in-depth knowledge of application security.  

G. Other cutting-edge skill requirements for software engineers

Depending on your project, you might need developers with niche skills like blockchain, AI (artificial intelligence), etc.

You need Ethereum blockchain developers for developing public blockchain applications. Alternatively, you need Hyperledger Fabric programmers for creating an enterprise blockchain system.

For AI development, you could use popular AI platforms like Google Cloud AI, Amazon AI Services, Microsoft Azure AI, H2O.ai, and IBM Watson Studio.

You can also hire Python developers for development from scratch.

H. Other skills needed in software developer jobs

Look for the following other skills while hiring remote software developers:

• Familiarity with development methodologies like Agile;
• Knowledge of software development lifecycle (SDLC);
• Sound knowledge of tools like GitHub;
• Understanding of software architecture patterns like MVC, microservices architecture, etc.;
• Knowledge of testing and DevOps tools;
• Code review skills.

I. Competencies that a remote developer needs

Look for the following competencies in developers for remote work:

• Communication skills;
• The ability to collaborate;
• Problem-solving skills;
• Passion for excellence;
• Commitment;
• The ability to understand the perspective of the end-user.

4. Interview programmers for remote jobs

You now need to interview shortlisted candidates to fill remote positions. Do you need lists of interview questions? You can check out the interview questions provided by DevTeam.Space.

The following are a few examples:

• Java interview questions;
• Angular interview questions;
• JavaScript interview questions;
• ReactJS interview questions.

Go beyond just theoretical questions. Assess project experience. The following are a few sample questions for different areas:

Application security

Check if candidates know how to mitigate key application security risks, e.g.:

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• Broken access control;
• Injection;
• Insecure design;
• Security misconfiguration;
• Vulnerable and outdated components.

API development

You can ask the following questions to judge the API development experience:

• How did the candidates develop effective rules for API requests and responses?
• Have they designed API endpoints?
• What did they do for securing APIs?
• Which SQL databases did they choose and why?
• Which NoSQL database did they use, and what were the reasons behind their choice?

Web development

Ask the following questions to assess the web development experience of candidates while hiring software developers:

• What steps did they take to build scalable web applications?
• Which best practices did they use for building a microservice architecture?
• How did the developers collaborate with testers and DevOps engineers to build an effective CI (Continuous Integration)/CD (Continuous Delivery) environment?
• How did the programmers work with testers and DevOps engineers to use the “Compliance-as-Code” concept? 

Blockchain development

Ask the following questions to evaluate the blockchain development experience of software engineers:

• What did they do to develop a scalable Ethereum DApp (decentralized app)?
• What steps did the programmers take for processing sensitive data on Hyperledger Fabric?
• Did the senior software engineers audit smart contracts? Which smart contract vulnerabilities did they find?
• Do remote software developers have experience with different blockchain network hosts?

5. Onboard remote software engineers in your team

Now that you have selected suitable remote software developers, you need to onboard them. Provide them with the required project documents. Explain the functional and non-functional requirements.

You need to provide them access to the project’s technical environment. Ensure that the programmers have access to the code repository.

Introduce the remote software engineers to your larger team. Explain their roles and responsibilities. Describe your project plan, and explain the project schedule.

Talk about your quality management system. Describe the review and approval process for project deliverables. Set up a communication channel, and establish accountability.

6. Manage remote developers

We recommend you use the Scrum framework. It helps to manage Agile projects. Build a Scrum team, which should include remote software developers.

The PM should perform the role of “Scrum Master”. A “Product Owner” should provide the business requirements.

The scrum team should analyze and estimate these requirements. They should schedule them in “Sprints”, i.e., iterations in the Scrum parlance. This process is called the “sprint planning meeting”.

The team should conduct “daily stand-up meetings” to discuss and resolve project issues. It should conduct a “sprint review meeting” to demonstrate the app to business stakeholders.

Business stakeholders approve a sprint in this meeting provided the app works as desired.

A scrum team conducts a lessons-learned exercise after a sprint. It’s called the “sprint retrospective meeting”. Involve remote team members fully in these meetings.

Ready to Hire Remote Software Developers?

While we explained how to hire a remote software developer, you might need more help to create a market-competitive software product.

Reach out to DevTeam.Space, and a dedicated account manager will explain how we can help with a successful software development process via our talented developers.

FAQs on Hiring Remote Developers