Hire Top Level Android Developers

How to Hire Android App Developer for Your Project in 2022?

Android is one of the most popular mobile operating systems. According to research on Statista, about 69.74% of all devices worldwide run on Android. And what can this mean for the business? Simply saying, developing Android applications will help to draw more users’ attention. 

The mobile apps market is a fast-growing and profitable sphere. In 2020, the global revenue increased to over $318 billion and is expected to reach $613 billion by 2025. These numbers are tempting, but not every app is guaranteed for success and high earnings.

When it comes to building an app, it’s worth investing in people. Hiring Android developers will ensure your application is user-friendly, accessible, and runs without issues. Well-developed software is aimed for the best results in terms of revenue. 

The hiring process is never easy so here’s our guide to help you out when looking for an Android app developer. 

What skills are needed for an Android App Developer?

Creating mobile applications requires several skills, experience, and knowledge. Developers need to understand the business goals and build an app that generates profit. 

So, what are the skills you should look for when hiring an Android app developer?

Junior Android developer

A Junior Android developer is an entry-level specialist with at least 1 year of working experience. Don’t expect juniors to have an extensive portfolio. Most of their projects were probably created during the learning path. But even though junior developers are inexperienced, they have lots of motivation, energy, and can produce the most innovative ideas. 

When it comes to skillset, the junior developer should know how to work with popular APIs, understand the basic design techniques, databases and of course, have a knowledge of at least one programming language (Java or Kotlin). 

Juniors usually get the least complex tasks, work under close supervision, and have a mentor to help grow their skills. 

Middle Android developer

A Middle Android Developer, in comparison with Junior, has more than 2-3 years of experience and a strong portfolio of completed projects. 

Considering the technical skills, mid-level specialists should be able to know all the basics and confidently explain every decision. Using different APIs, IDE shortcuts, JS frameworks, and managing databases, all of that is like shooting fish in a barrel for a middle developer. 

There are also additional skills often required:

• Knowledge of SASS/ SCSS/ PostCSS;
• Experience in MySQL/PostgreSQL;
• Understanding of RESTful interfaces;
• Work with JS (ES6, ES7).

When it comes to teamwork and collaboration, middles can work with less supervision and actively communicate with team members of different departments (designers, analysts, architects, etc.). 

Senior Android developer

A Senior developer is a professional with more than 5 years of experience under his belt. It’s a person with a proven track record of success across multiple projects. Senior devs have strong leadership skills to mentor their fellow junior and mid-level developers. 

Regarding tech skills, senior developers have a deep knowledge of MVVM patterns, an understanding of OOP and clean architecture, able to build custom frameworks, create debuggers or other tools needed to enhance the platform. 

The senior specialist knows how to anticipate a failure and is always ready with a backup plan. He has a long-term vision for the product, and works towards bringing maximum benefit to the business. 

Pay attention to the enhanced soft skills, so as not to make a mistake when choosing such a level specialist.

Android developer’s hard skills

Here are the basic hard skills required for every specialist regardless of their level: 

1. Programming languages

The developer should have a strong expertise in Java and Kotlin as the two official Android programming languages. 

2. Android SDK (Software Development Kit) concepts

The SDK brings together a group of tools that makes the process of building mobile applications faster. The kit also allows to get the operating system’s current state and identify errors. 

3. Android Studio 

It is the official Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Android app development. Android Studio offers various features to speed up coding and running workflow. 

4. APIs 

API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of functions that allows apps to exchange data. For instance, a developer can use existing solutions (payment processing, image recognition, or Google APIs to locate users) to create new software products without developing everything from scratch. 

5. Databases

An Android developer should have an idea of how databases work and where to store information gathered from the app’s users.

6. Google Material Design Guidelines 

Using a design system helps to provide the best user experience and make sure your product corresponds to standards.

Android developer soft skills

When hiring a developer, ensure that they have both hard and soft skills. Some people can be experts in tech details but are unable to collaborate with teammates. 

1. Communication and teamwork

Products are created by joint efforts of all team members. And that means the ability to communicate with different-field specialists is a key for every developer. Also, a good developer should know how to explain tech details to non-tech colleagues and accept their feedback.  

2. Motivation

Having a personal motivation to keep moving is what distinguishes a hard-working specialist. When a person knows why and what he wants to achieve, then no difficulties matter. A self-motivated software engineer is charged for success and will bring more benefits to the business. 

3. Writing 

Developers are often faced with writing technical documentation, articles, work reports, texts for users, and communication via email or chat. Therefore, they should know how to make complex things simple for those who have no tech background. 

Hiring remote Android developer

Many companies across the globe are actively hiring remote workers as they can bring many benefits. But before chasing the trend, make sure to look at the pros and cons. Knowing about possible pitfalls will help you decide what is best for your business. 

Advantages to hiring a remote employee:

• Competitive prices (it might be cheaper to have a developer from another country)
• Professionals from every part of the world (more chances to discover talent)
• Improved team diversity 
• Well-fit for short-time projects (you can hire a specialist only when needed)

Disadvantages:

• A significant investment in technology (Slack, Trello, Zoom, tracking software)
• Less convenient schedules (if hiring people from different time zones)
• Harder to control 
• No face-to-face interaction (that means you’ll have to find a way to bring everyone together) 

Example of Android developer job description

Here is a basic template to help you create and publish a job description on recruiting platforms. 

Company’s introduction

Here’s better to write a short and eye-catching paragraph describing what your company does, its values, and its benefits. 

Full job description 

We are looking for a (Junior, Middle, Senior) Android developer to help with the development and maintenance of the (your product name) Android app. In this role, you’d have the opportunity to work with a team of talented engineers, on one of the most advanced trading platforms in the world, built up on a codebase that we are constantly working on keeping up to date with the latest and greatest industry standards.

In this role, you will: 

• Work with a cross-functional team to define, build, test, and deploy mobile applications;
• Coordinate with back-end developers to define and test necessary APIs;
• Build efficient, testable, and reusable mobile app components and features;
• Solve complex performance problems and architectural challenges;
• (Add other relevant responsibilities here).

We expect you to have:

• (1+/2+/5+) years of development experience; 
• Advanced English level is a must;
• Extensive Javascript experience including ES6/ES7;
• Knowledge of Android SDK; 
• Experience integrating apps with APIs and other web services via REST;
• Familiarity with Material Design Guidelines; 
• Experience with the publishing process for the Google Play store;
• (Other relevant requirements).

What questions should be asked at the Android developer interview?

After publishing a job opportunity on the employment website, the next step is a selection of the right candidates and conduct interviews. Interviews are often split into several stages and include questions to check both hard and soft skills. Covering essential skills during a talk with candidates will help you to understand if they’re the right fit for your company. 

Questions for hard skills:

• Can you explain what is the Android Architecture?
• What is an activity?
• Can you define the Android framework?
• How to build an app? 
• Describe the process of publishing an app to the Google Play store
• What databases have you used? 
• What are the pros and cons of Android?
• An app keeps crashing. How do you fix it? 

For soft skills:

• What’s your greatest achievement?
• Why are you the right fit for us?
• Have you experienced not being able to meet a deadline? Explain the situation.
• Can you tell us about your biggest failure? Why do you think it happened? What have you learned from that experience? 
• Imagine a situation. One of your colleagues didn’t understand your last email with lots of tech information. What do you do? 
• How do you prioritize your tasks when you have multiple deadlines to meet?

How to find and hire Android developers?

There are several places where you can find and hire Android app developers:

• Freelance platform

It’s a great option to find people from all over the world at an optimal price. On such platforms, you can also check reviews and ratings for each candidate.

• IT Outstaffing agencies 

Outstaff agencies can help you choose the best candidate according to your company’s needs. Plus, the IT outstaffing firm acts as a legal employer of each worker. That means you don’t have to worry about filling up dozens of documents and paying high taxes. 

• Job websites

Platforms like Indeed and Monster are popular among those who are looking for a job. Publishing your job opportunity on such sites will help you reach thousands of people.

• Social networks

Check out professional social media platforms like LinkedIn to find the best candidates.

How can we help?

Our company equips different types of businesses with professionals in the IT-sphere. We hire top software engineers to run your project from start to finish. Here is how we work to provide the best service for our clients: 

Step 1. We gather project requirements 

In this initial stage, we collect your preferences, project details, specialists’ requirements, the size of the team you’re looking for, and the business needs.

Step 2. We search for a team

Depending on the scale of your project and the availability of developers in our team, we can start work immediately. In other cases, we start looking for new talents.

Step 3. We select the best candidates and conduct the first interviews

We will take care of all routine tasks and details. Our HR team looks through hundreds of resumes, evaluating candidates’ skills to make sure they meet your requirements. 

Step 4. We help with onboarding

After you approve the candidates, we will help them integrate smoothly into your project.

As a result, you get a strong team of specialists without wasting time and resources on endless resume scrolling.