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With the rise of the mobile market in recent years, the market share for iOS mobile devices by May 2021 has been only 26.46% compared to over 72% of Android devices. Still, in some regions, including the USA, Apple devices prevail over Android-based gadgets. Get the best iOS developers in 2021 to touch the heights in business.
To target Apple users, it’s crucial to build high-quality iOS apps, and hiring a highly skilled iOS developer to create them is not an easy task. In our guide, we’ll explain how to deal with iOS recruitment successfully.
iOS App Developer Levels
Before hiring an iOS developer, you should know what level and experience will be enough for your project needs. Based on their years of experience and skills, iOS developers are traditionally divided into:
- junior iOS Developers with less than one-two years of experience;
- middle iOS Developers with two-five years of experience;
- senior iOS Developers with over five years of experience.
Skills Every iOS Developer Needs to Have
Hard Skills
No matter if you hire a junior, middle, or senior iOS developer, they must have a particular tech toolbox in their expertise covering the essential technologies required to create iOS software. They need to have a strong knowledge of the tech stack below:
- Swift and/or Objective-C
- Apple’s Xcode IDE
- UI and UI guidelines
- Apple Human Interface Guidelines
- JavaScript Object Notation
- Core Data framework
- Grand Central Dispatch
- Metal and OpenGL
Soft Skills
Nowadays iOS developers are expected not only to demonstrate their excellent software development and technical skills. As they need to interact within a team and communicate with clients, they must be flexible enough to become an integral part of a large team. That’s why soft skills become as important as hard skills for iOS developers.
With the COVID-19 pandemic that forced people to adapt to the WGH regime, developers need to stay focused on productivity while working remotely. Thus, time management and self-concentration are getting even more crucial during WFH.
iOS Developer Roles and Responsibilities: What They Do
One of the first steps in iOS developer recruitment is creating a job description to hire an appropriate iOS engineer. Further, the job description must contain the position’s key roles and responsibilities.
As far as iOS developers’ duties are concerned, they comprise building applications for iOS-based devices such as iPhone, iPad, Apple watch or iPod. While working on the iOS mobile app development project, they can also perform other tasks related to fixing bugs before the product release, collaborating with the design team, maintaining the code, and identifying potential issues, publishing applications on the App Store, etc.
The project roles also depend on the iOS developers’ levels. For instance, you can delegate simple tasks to junior iOS developers under seniors’ mentorship. Middle iOS developers usually work on more complicated technical tasks, sometimes turning to senior developers for assistance. Finally, senior iOS developers can combine complex technical tasks like app optimization and managerial roles.
You must take into account the complexity of the project when defining the developers’ roles, responsibilities, and skill levels.
What Hiring Options Are There?
Hiring an in-house software development team is quite expensive for most companies that need to build iOS-based and other software. Besides, the team recruitment and onboarding may be time-consuming that may delay the product delivery and release to the market. Here are three alternatives to consider if you need to hire iOS developers for your project.
Freelancers
Freelance developers are among the options that may come first in your mind. You can easily find a freelance programmer on Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer.com, etc. Their cost is much cheaper compared to other hiring options, which seems to be a major advantage. Still, pricing shouldn’t prevail over quality.
Hiring freelancers is often associated with specific risks related to failed deadlines, inability to control their work, and unexpected project abandonment as freelancers often work on several projects simultaneously.
When Should You Hire Freelancers?
If you are on a tight budget and look for the cheapest option to find iOS app developers for hire, freelancers will be the best option. Still, you need to realize all the risks and undertake the recruitment and management process on your own. You must also have a technical background or someone to help you with finding an experienced iOS developer with a good reputation in the freelancing market.
Outstaffing
Outstaffing providers often have skilled iOS developers available right away, allowing also to cut expenses on recruitment, vacations, salaries, taxation, insurance, etc. Still, outstaffing suppliers aren’t responsible for the management processes since it remains on the customer side.
Opting for outstaffing, you’ll pay a fixed amount of money per person per month, you will have total control over the project but manage the remote team yourself and take all the risks connected with project requirements and deadlines.
When Should You Choose Outstaffing?
Outstaffing is cheaper than hiring an in-house team, which looks very attractive for those who look for a cost-effective option for finding an iPhone app developer and others. Nevertheless, this solution is suitable for those striving for saving costs on administrative things but ready to manage the iOS app development team.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing iOS app development to a software development company is one of the easiest and cost-effective options. By hiring a development team, you avoid recruitment, renting an office, and incur additional expenses.
Most reliable IT outsourcing companies have a rich talent pool of tech specialists to build an application. What’s more, they take responsibility for team management and product delivery.
When Should You Hire an Outsourcing Development Company?
Outsourcing is the most suitable option if you look for iOS development services that imply tech initiatives. By outsourcing your iOS development project, you get a professional team at a reasonable price. Besides, outsourcing providers have a clear understanding of how to build apps and provide a transparent pipeline to prevent missed deadlines.
Conclusion
Building a successful iOS application depends on multiple factors, and hiring experienced skilled iOS developers is among them. Depending on your budget and available resources, you can choose from the following options: hiring freelancers, turning to outstaffing or outsourcing services. When choosing any of the options, be sure you weigh up the pros and cons before you make your final decision.