"Best" depends on what you need built. A developer who is excellent at training machine-learning models may be the wrong hire for an n8n automation, and the reverse. So instead of a ranking, here is a checklist you can use on anyone you're considering.
I'm a freelance AI developer in Kushtia, Bangladesh myself, so at the end I show how my own work measures up against the same checklist. Use it on me too.
First, decide which kind of AI developer you need
- AI automation: workflows in n8n, Zapier or Make.com with AI steps that read, sort, qualify and draft, connected to your CRM, forms and inbox.
- AI apps and SaaS MVPs: a full product with sign-in, a database and AI features built on models such as Claude or Google Gemini.
- Machine-learning models: training models on your own data, computer vision or forecasting. This is a different skill set: look for an ML engineer with published work in that area.
My own work is the first two: AI automation, AI agents and AI-powered apps.
The checklist: seven things to check
- Live demos you can click. Screenshots and mockups prove little. Ask for a link to something running.
- Code you can read. Public repositories, or a screen-share walkthrough of a private one. You'll see how the developer structures and tests their work.
- Results with numbers. "Improved efficiency" means nothing; "cut response time from a day to an hour" or "+15% qualified leads" is something you can ask about.
- Security basics. Anything that handles user data needs hashed passwords, proper sessions, rate limiting and access rules. Ask how they keep your API keys and customer data safe.
- Communication and time zones. Bangladesh is UTC+6: a Dhaka afternoon overlaps with the UK and EU morning. For US teams, ask how the developer handles your working hours, and judge their written English from the first messages.
- A clear process. A good developer agrees the goal and how it will be measured before building, tests on real data and hands over documentation.
- Reviews and references. Platform reviews on Upwork or Fiverr, LinkedIn recommendations, or a past client you can talk to.
Questions to ask on the first call
- What's the closest thing you've built to my project, and can I see it running?
- How will we measure whether this worked?
- Which tools and AI models would you use, and why those?
- What could go wrong, and how would you handle it?
- What will I get at the end: code, documentation, access to every account?
Red flags
- No live work to show, only screenshots or "confidential" projects.
- A vague "AI expert" title with no specific tools, models or results.
- Promises of big outcomes with no plan to measure them.
- No written scope before work starts.
- Unclear answers about where your data and API keys will live.
Where to look
- Upwork and Fiverr: reviews, contracts and payments run through the platform.
- LinkedIn: search by skill (for example "n8n" or "AI automation") and location, then check the work they link to.
- Bangladesh communities: Facebook groups for n8n and AI automation, where developers share what they've built.
- Agency directories such as Clutch and GoodFirms, if you'd rather hire a company than a freelancer.
How my work measures up
- Live demos: SignPro (e-signatures), SociPRO (an AI social media agent) and EurekaEDU (a scholarship platform) are all live.
- Code: SignPro and SociPRO have public source code on GitHub.
- Results with numbers: +25% organic search rankings at ICMG LLC, +15% qualified leads at Digital Gregg and +20% audience engagement at Crushvertise.
- Security: SignPro uses hashed passwords, signed session tokens, API rate limiting and an audit trail; EurekaEDU uses Row Level Security on every database table.
- Communication: English (C1), and remote work across US time zones since 2021.
- Process: discover, design, build and launch, with the success metric agreed in the first call and handover documentation at the end.
- Reviews: see my Upwork profile.
If that fits what you need, see how to hire me or send your project details through the contact page.