Programmers *do* work for free (collaborate). I do it right now on a Metatrader4 project, for starters. The guy I work with doesn't pay me but has flown from Amsterdam to my city for a month to setup the project therefore I see significant involvement from his side too. Also he's my link to a VHNWI, might have casually mentioned something about this somewhere Paraphrasing a known phrase, all collaborations are equal but some collaborations are more equal than others.
Finding a qualified programmer is a problem. There are developers who understand you perfectly and know your next action. There are developers with whom you can discuss the project for weeks and not achieve the result. I tried to order on freelance, I can say that this is not a very good experience. Therefore, I order my expert advisors only from professional developers. Now there are very few companies that professionally provide services for the development of EAs, and really can realize what you want. They have a different level of service, support, cost and quality. You can send free inquiries and consult with them, already during the conversation decide who suits you best.
I'm currently developing a strategy in Metatrader 4 for a trader from Amsterdam. Myself being a Romanian developer with 20 years in the field, 10 as years quant developer doing options market making. I program for free but get to use the strategy too if profitable. Looks like it is so I may not need more for now. There's also others in the pipeline so it's not work that I lack. But I also look for connections and so far I haven't crossed the ocean.
I have positive experience using Upwork for stuff like this. Just make sure you qualify who you end up using.