Start with the role, not the headcount
Most hiring requests we receive start with a number: two developers, three developers. The better starting point is the gap in your current team. A product with a mature iOS app and a lagging Android version needs a different person than a startup that wants one shared codebase. A team shipping weekly but breaking builds needs mobile DevOps help before it needs another feature developer.
Before we search, we ask three questions: what is already in production, who reviews code today, and what will this person own in their first 60 days. The answers usually make the right role obvious, and sometimes they show that a single senior engineer will do more than two mid-level ones.
Mobile roles you can hire offshore
The table below summarizes the roles we staff and when each one tends to be the right call. Each platform has its own page with a detailed skills matrix and assessment areas.
| Role | Core skills | Hire this role when |
|---|---|---|
| iOS developer | Swift, SwiftUI, UIKit, Xcode, App Store Connect | You have or plan a native iPhone/iPad app, or need Apple-specific features such as widgets, HealthKit or Apple Pay |
| Android developer | Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, Gradle, Play Console | You need native Android quality across a wide device range or deep OS integration |
| Flutter developer | Dart, Flutter widgets, state management, platform channels | You want one codebase with a custom, consistent UI on both platforms |
| React Native developer | TypeScript, React, RN architecture, native modules | Your web team already works in React and you want shared skills and some shared logic |
| Mobile QA engineer | Test planning, device matrices, Appium/Espresso/XCUITest, release checks | Releases slip because of regressions, or nobody owns device coverage |
| Mobile DevOps engineer | CI/CD, Fastlane, code signing, build caching, store automation | Builds are slow, signing is fragile, or releases depend on one person's laptop |
For platform specifics, see how we assess Swift and SwiftUI engineers, Kotlin and Compose engineers, our Flutter developers and React Native specialists.
How hiring offshore mobile developers with us works
- 1
Role brief
A 30 to 45 minute call with your engineering lead to define the role, seniority, must-have skills, working-hours overlap and what success looks like in the first two months.
- 2
Shortlist
We match the brief against available engineers and new candidates, then run our technical screening. You only see people who passed it.
- 3
Your interviews
You interview the shortlist in whatever format you use internally: a technical conversation, a code review exercise or a short paid trial task.
- 4
Contracts and access
We sign the services agreement, NDA and IP assignment terms, then agree on which accounts, repositories and environments the engineer needs.
- 5
Onboarding
The engineer joins your Slack or Teams, your tracker and your ceremonies. We run a check-in at the end of the first and fourth weeks.
- 6
Ongoing support
A delivery manager on our side handles performance conversations, leave cover, equipment and replacement if the fit is not right.
If you are running your own process alongside ours, our step-by-step vetting guide covers the questions and red flags we look for.
What our vetting covers
Our screening is designed to save your interview time, not replace your judgment. Every candidate goes through four checks before they reach you.
Platform depth
A structured technical interview on the candidate's main platform: lifecycle, concurrency, memory, persistence and UI architecture.
Code review
The candidate reviews a pull request with planted problems. This shows how they communicate with teammates as much as what they know.
Release experience
We ask for specifics on apps they shipped: store rejections handled, crash rates investigated, rollouts staged.
Communication
A spoken English conversation about trade-offs, plus a written async update to check clarity for distributed work.
What you manage and what we manage
Clear ownership avoids most of the friction in offshore staffing. You direct the work; we handle the employment side and keep the engagement healthy.
| Area | You manage | We manage |
|---|---|---|
| Daily work | Backlog priorities, sprint goals, code review standards | Making sure the engineer has what they need to meet them |
| People | Feedback on performance and fit | Payroll, benefits, leave planning, career development |
| Continuity | Telling us early when something is off | Backup cover during planned leave and a replacement process if needed |
| Security | Granting and revoking access to your systems | Device policy, secure workstation setup, offboarding checklist |
If you would rather hand over delivery management entirely, a dedicated squad with its own lead shifts more of the day-to-day coordination to us.
Working hours, contracts and scaling
Time-zone overlap
We agree on a fixed overlap window during the role brief, typically two to four hours of your working day depending on the region the engineer is in. Standups, reviews and planning go inside that window; focused build work happens outside it.
Contracts and IP
Code, designs and documentation produced for you are assigned to you under the services agreement. Engineers sign confidentiality and IP terms with us that flow down to that assignment. Have your counsel review the agreement before signing.
Scaling up or down
Adding an engineer follows the same brief, shortlist and interview steps. Reducing the team requires a notice period set in the agreement so handover and knowledge transfer are planned rather than rushed. If your needs change seasonally, say so up front and we will plan the agreement around it.
Signs you are ready to hire offshore mobile talent
- You have someone in-house who can set priorities and review pull requests, at least for the first month.
- Your repositories, environments and release process are documented well enough that a new engineer can build the app in a day or two.
- You can commit to a recurring overlap window for standups and questions.
- You know which outcomes the new engineer should own, not just which tickets they should close.
If several of these are missing, that is fine, but tell us. We can bring a more senior engineer who is comfortable setting up structure, or recommend starting with a short discovery period before scaling.