To build an iOS app, you'll need to
hire iOS app developer working with Objective-C or Swift in Xcode or any other IDE. In this guide, we also cover the vital points you need to learn before you hire iOS programmers.
iOS developer roles and responsibilities
Many fail to understand the full scope of responsibilities that lay on shoulders of iOS developers. In fact, the borders of iOS developer responsibilities go beyond writing code. They take part at every stage of app development from planning and design aspects (wireframing screens, building UI) to testing and publishing the ready-made app to the App Store. In other words, an iOS developer turns the specifications of your mobile application into a working and user-friendly product.
Design awareness is what you should pay a due attention to while looking for iOS developer candidate. The point is, the care for design isn't something that only mobile designers responsible for since developers are also in charge of transferring good experience to final users. That's why among iOS developer key skills should be an experience with both UI/UX, understand their principles, and, of course, be good at programming in Swift or other languages.
Junior, middle, and senior iOS developers
Typically, the versatility of developers depends on their working experience. Respectively, the more projects a developer has worked on, the more complex and diverse tech problems he/she can solve.
In the IT industry, the skills of programmers are divided into three levels: junior, middle, and senior.
Junior iOS developer
This is the entry level iOS developer. In companies, junior developers most commonly work alongside their more experienced colleagues to improve their knowledge and enhance skills. It usually takes a few years for junior developers to level up.
Middle iOS developer
After working on a variety of complex projects, developers move from beginners to a more advanced level that's called middle or mid-level iOS developer. Here they have more independence in terms of working on projects.
Senior iOS developer
Senior iOS developer is an experienced developer that has seen tons of code and released dozens of apps. Typically, such developers not just code and design an app, but deal with testing, integration of APIs, and security matters.
Taking into account everything mentioned above, you're willing to choose whether your project requires less or more experienced iOS software engineer. The key factor here is your budget, as salaries for each level may vary dramatically. The project complexity also matters since the junior developer will barely cope well with a large project having a complicated business logic behind.
iOS developer skill set
The iOS developer technical skills largely depend on your project. However, the general skills needed for iOS developer should look something like this:
- Proficient with Swift or Objective-C programming language;
- Knowledge of Xcode IDE;
- Experience with APIs like Cocoa Touch and UIKit;
- Understanding of RESTful APIs;
- Understanding of UI and UX design standards;
- Knowledge of Apple Human Interface Guidelines;
- Experience with Metal or OpenGL;
- Advanced knowledge of code versioning tools like Git;
- Knowledge of Core Data framework.
What hiring options are there?
Now when you understand the roles and responsibilities of iOS developers and know what skills you should look for it's time to talk about where and how exactly to hire iOS developers.
In fact, there are three main options to find iOS developers for hire and we suppose that each of them is well-known to you. They are:
- Hire a freelance iOS developer;
- Form an in-house team of developers;
- Hire a software outsourcing company.
However, which one is the most suitable in your case? Let's sort this out.
When to hire a freelance iOS developer?
Freelancers are a quite wide-spread option when it comes to any kind of services and it's not a problem to find and hire someone who'd make an app for you. However, freelance iOS app developers aren't the best option in case you're looking for a long-term cooperation.
It may be more reasonable to hire freelancers to complete a project with set requirements and time frames. For instance, you can hire freelance iOS developers for bug fixing or perform tasks related to adding some additional features to a ready-made app.
Probably, you wonder where to find freelance iOS developers for hire? While there are literally dozens of websites allowing to find freelancers from all around the world, Upwork is among the most popular and credible ones. What's more, freelancers love this platform and you definitely won't feel a lack of talents there. Also, the resource has flexible search filters and offers an opportunity to carefully explore freelancers' profiles.
We can also recommend you using LinkedIn to find iOS developers and hire them. First, that's the main idea of this professional social network. Second, there are a lot of freelance (and not only) developers looking for a project. As a rule, it's quite simple to find not only iOS developers for hire but any other specialist by simply entering the position you're looking for in a search line.
However, you can use other social networks as well. Facebook and Twitter fit pretty well too. In case you have a technical background, you can use GitHub to find the right talents judging from their projects.
Pros
- The freelance market is full of iOS developers you can pick from and, respectively, you're unlikely to face problems with finding the right developer for your project.
- Hiring a freelancer is often cheaper compared to other options.
- You don't have to pay salary to a freelance worker in case you have no work for him/her.
- No need to worry about taxes, office space, vacations, sick leaves, etc.
Cons
-
Freelancers can't cooperate with other developers participating in a project as closely as, let's say, in-house or outsourced workers can.
Nobody can give you a 100% guarantee that your freelance employee won't abandon the project one day and simply disappear.
- Failed deadlines is a widespread problem among freelancers.
- Language and cultural barriers are also among the problems of working with freelancers.
- You can't be sure your freelance developer is involved only in your project and have no side customers.
- The work of a freelancer implies frequent changes of projects and your freelance developer may simply switch to another project if he/she gets bored or got stuck on a problem.
- To learn whether a developer has the required expertise, you can check the iOS developer portfolio or ask about expertise directly. In case you're considering an outsourcing company, look for a dedicated page or case study on the website.