Hire top Mobile App developers to grow your startup

A guide to hiring mobile developers for your startup in 2023

Explore the hiring guide to help you find talented mobile developers, what skills to look for, and how to interview potential candidates for your startup.

Are you hiring a mobile developer for your startup?

With the increasing rise of mobile phone usage, it’s no surprise mobile developers are one of the most in-demand roles on Wellfound. Mobile developers are essential to designing, building, and implementing mobile applications for your business. Mobile developers can bring a great eye for user interface design, customer experience, and programming knowledge to your startup.

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Levels and skillsets of mobile developers

What skills to look for when hiring a mobile developers

Cross Platform App Development

‍The most in-demand programming skills for a mobile app developer are Swift and Objective-C for iOS and Java and Kotlin for Android. React Native is another important platform for mobile developers to have proficiency in as it allows developers to build cross-platform.

UX/UI Expertise

‍Mobile app developers should have a strong eye for design including UX/UI and an emphasis on customer app experience. Concepts including how to reduce load time, color scheme, navigation, usability, and overall CX of a product is important. A mobile app developer with React JS and JavaScript knowledge may also be beneficial for overall UI of an app.

Other Programming Languages

‍Beyond the programming languages specifically for iOS and Android development, it’s helpful to have familiarity with XML, HTML, and JavaScript. These programs will help a mobile app developer integrate front-end and back-end development for mobile apps.

Version Control Systems

‍It’s important to look for a mobile developer with experience with version control systems. This may include programs like AWS Commit, GitHub, and GitLab. Version Control System tools will help the mobile developers manage source code changes and app releases over time.

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The most popular mobile development frameworks

When looking to hire a mobile engineer, the most common codebases in 2023 are Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android. It’s beneficial to find a mobile app developer with proficiency in related programming languages including Java, Objective-C, JavaScript, Python, and React JS.

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Recruiting mobile developers on Wellfound

Reach and recruit mobile developers

Companies can always post a mobile developer role and review applicants on Wellfound for free. When posting a job for mobile developers, learn how to write a job posting that will attract the right engineering talent.

• Add related fields: title, location, skills, and more. Relevant fields help your job post show up in the candidate’s job searches. Include “mobile” in the job description for the languages you are hiring for.
• Fill out a job posting to describe your company, role, and ideal candidate. All Wellfound Talent job postings have a free-form section to explain more about the company and specific roles. A few suggestions to include are:

1. Company name
2. Title
3. Main responsibilities as a mobile developer
4. Programming languages (i.e. Swift vs. Kotlin)
5. Qualifications for mobile developers
6. Preferred skills for mobile developers

• Set up your company profile. Most candidates first click on their company profile to learn more when evaluating a company’s job post. Make sure your company profile is up to date with all sections filled out. Many candidates rely on this to inform their job search.

Sourcing mobile developers on Wellfound

On Wellfound, you can also find candidates by sourcing for them. Instead of posting a job and waiting for candidates to apply, you can find potential mobile developer candidates and pitch your opportunity directly to them.Many candidates on Wellfound are specifically interested in joining a startup. With Source, we’ll tell you information including which candidates are actively looking for a job, what skills they have, their ideal salary, and more.When sourcing for mobile developers on Wellfound, we suggest starting your search with the following:

• Role: Start your search by filtering for those with a current or previous “mobile developer” title. This will filter for candidates with matching titles, to begin with. You can also expand your search to include “iOS developer” or “Android developer” to find additional matches.
• Skills: Add specific languages and technologies you’re looking for experience in. For example, Swift for iOS or Kotlin for Android. Your search will depend on what technologies your codebase is in.
• Location: Filter for candidates in a specific location or based on remote preferences (whether they’re only open to remote, only open to in-office, or both). If you’re looking for remote mobile developers, you can also search for remote candidates in specific time zones.
• Experience: This is where you can clarify the level of experience you’re looking for. If you’re open to multiple levels, you can always leave this filter open to allow a wider range of candidates to show up.
  

From there, you’ll see different lists appear based on whether they are passive candidates (open to interviews, but not actively looking), active candidates (actively looking and ready to interview), or curated candidates (ready to interview and have been vetted and recommended by our team).

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Mobile developer communities, networks, and meetups

Here’s a list of a few mobile communities you can get in touch with to connect with mobile developer talent:Mobile Developer Communities

• DEV Community - Mobile
• GitHub - Mobile Development
• Reddit - Mobile Dev

Developer Discord Channels

• Programmer’s Hangout
• Hack2skill

Mobile Developer Events & Hackathons

• Dev.Events

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How to set up a hiring process for mobile developers:

Mobile developer hiring funnel

• Initial Phone Screen: Look out for a candidate's problem-solving skills, excitement for the role, and culture fit in the product and company. Evaluate if the candidate has a Github profile or other online portfolio to showcase app experience and/or past projects.
• Hiring Manager Call: Hiring managers should press further into past mobile development experiences, engineering interests and motivations, and type of work style. Focus on the culture fit. Does the candidate have the soft skills needed for the role?
• Technical Interview: There are multiple ways to test a candidate's coding abilities for technical interviews — most commonly, companies will include either a coding test or a project-based exercise.

1. For coding tests, startups have used platforms including TopCoder and CoderPad. Note: coding assessments becoming increasingly outdated, as they can often be limited to only certain styles of work.
2. For mobile developers, the technical interview includes questions about the candidate's understanding of mobile app development and their experience. What is your experience with UI design? How would you describe the difference between responsive and native application design? A hiring manager may also evaluate how the candidate solves problems and ask questions about previous mobile projects.

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Mobile developer interview questions

• What are some of the mobile apps you have developed?
• How would you describe the difference between responsive and native application design?
• What platforms would you recommend for mobile development?
• How do you prioritize your work with competing priorities?
• What do you do if there is a bug in a app you’ve already released?
• What is your experience with UI design?
• What is your experience programming for iOS vs. Android?
  

Mobile developer salaries

Determine a competitive salary you can offer mobile developer candidates by comparing market data for other postings. Explore levels.fyi, to understand the ranges of market salaries. Leverage Wellfound's salary tool to review your offer for mobile developers stacks up against other jobs on our platform.

If you can’t meet a competitive salary and still want to hire top engineering talent, double down on the benefits. Are there unique company benefits? Is there equity, stock options, or other compensation you can provide? Discuss with candidates the additional benefits beyond salary during the negotiation and interview process.

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Find mobile developers from around the world

We’ve reviewed how to determine the type of mobile developer to hire, how to find mobile developers for your team, and how to set up your hiring process. Now, you’re ready to start looking 👀 Post your job on Wellfound and start sourcing top mobile developers from around the world today.