A React developer is not automatically a mobile developer
React Native reuses React's component model, but the environment around it is very different from a browser. There is no DOM, layout runs on Yoga, lists need virtualization from the start, and every permission, deep link and push notification passes through iOS and Android configuration files. Strong RN engineers are comfortable opening Xcode and Android Studio when JavaScript alone cannot solve a problem.
That is the gap our screening is built to find. If you would rather hand us a full product build instead of adding engineers to your team, see our React Native delivery service.
TypeScript and React Native skills we look for
| Area | Mid-level | Senior | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| TypeScript | Strict mode, typed props and navigation params | Generics, discriminated unions, typed API clients shared with web | Sets lint and type rules across mobile and web packages |
| React and state | Hooks, context, React Query or Redux Toolkit | Avoids unnecessary renders, designs offline-first data flows | Chooses state and data-fetching architecture for the app |
| Navigation and UI | React Navigation or Expo Router, platform-aware styling | Gesture handling, Reanimated animations, accessibility on both platforms | Owns the shared component library and design tokens |
| Native layer | Configures native dependencies and permissions | Writes Turbo Modules or Expo Modules in Swift and Kotlin | Plans upgrades across the New Architecture and React Native versions |
| Release | EAS Build or Fastlane builds for testers | OTA update strategy, crash triage, store submissions | Release governance, versioning and rollback plans |
Native-module capability: what to expect
Most apps eventually need something the JavaScript ecosystem does not offer cleanly: a payment SDK with only native bindings, a Bluetooth device, a custom video player, or background tasks that must survive the app being closed. How a team handles that moment decides whether React Native stays a good choice.
Wrapping native SDKs
Senior RN engineers can write a typed bridge around a vendor's iOS and Android SDKs and expose a clean TypeScript API to the rest of the app.
New Architecture readiness
We check familiarity with Fabric, Turbo Modules and JSI, and with auditing third-party libraries for compatibility before an upgrade.
Expo versus bare
Candidates should explain when Expo config plugins are enough and when a project needs direct native changes.
Knowing the limit
For heavy native work, a good RN engineer will say so. We can then add a Kotlin specialist or Swift engineer for that piece.
Assessment areas before your interviews
- List performance: diagnose a FlatList that drops frames with large images, and explain when to reach for FlashList, memoization or image caching.
- Threading model: explain what runs on the JS thread versus the UI thread, and why an animation stutters when the JS thread is busy.
- Native bridge review: read a small Swift and Kotlin module and spot missing error handling, threading issues and unclear TypeScript types.
- Upgrade judgment: describe how they would move an app across several React Native versions, including dependency audits and testing.
- OTA updates: explain what can and cannot be shipped over the air, and how that interacts with store review rules.
- Written communication: summarize a technical trade-off for a product manager in a short async note.
Candidates who pass reach your shortlist with notes on each area, and you then interview them in your own format.
Pairing React Native engineers with your web React team
The strongest argument for React Native is often organizational. When mobile and web engineers share a language, they can review each other's code and share business logic. Getting there takes a few deliberate choices.
- 1
Agree on what is shared
Typically API clients, validation schemas, types, analytics events and feature-flag logic. UI components usually stay platform-specific.
- 2
Set up the monorepo or packages
A shared workspace with clear package boundaries so a web change cannot silently break the mobile build.
- 3
Cross-review
Web engineers review shared packages; mobile engineers review anything touching native code or navigation.
- 4
Shared rituals
The RN engineer joins your web team's planning and demos, so mobile is not an afterthought on the roadmap.
Onboarding, working hours and contracts
Onboarding follows your process: access to repositories, tracker, chat, Expo or EAS accounts, and individual tester access to both stores. In the first week the engineer runs the app on both platforms, ships a small fix and confirms CI and OTA channels behave as documented. We agree on a fixed overlap window so the engineer can join your standups and web team syncs.
The services agreement assigns IP in everything produced for you, including shared packages. If a fit is not working, our replacement process restarts the search from the original brief with a planned handover. Scaling up or down follows the agreement's notice terms; our explainer on engagement models compares staffing with fixed-scope work.
Is React Native the right hire for you?
Choose React Native when you have React expertise in-house, a product that is mostly forms, lists and content, and value in sharing logic with the web. If your priority is a highly custom, animation-heavy UI with no web counterpart, compare it with hiring Flutter engineers. For a wider view of every mobile role, see our overview of mobile roles we staff. Existing RN apps that mainly need version upgrades and fixes may be better served by a maintenance arrangement.