Principal Mobile Application Developer (iOS & Android)

Placements24; Soweto; Hybrid; ZAR 1,000,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Remote-first culture

Home office allowance

Health insurance

Professional development budget

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Principal Mobile Application Developer to lead the mobile team in a fully remote role across South Africa. You will architect, develop, and deploy native iOS and Android apps, guiding technical direction and mentoring junior developers to ensure top-tier user experiences.

You will drive best practices, oversee testing strategies, and collaborate with product, design, and backend teams to shape the product roadmap in a fast-paced startup environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional mobile development in iOS and Android.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of native iOS and Android apps.

Skills

Swift

Objective-C

Kotlin

Java

MVVM

VIPER

UI/UX design

RESTful APIs

Unit testing

CI/CD

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Xcode

Android Studio

Jenkins

GitLab CI

CircleCI

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a highly innovative and rapidly expanding tech startup focused on disruptive mobile solutions, is seeking a Principal Mobile Application Developer to lead their mobile development efforts. This role is fully remote, allowing you to work from anywhere within South Africa. You will be responsible for architecting, developing, and deploying high-quality native mobile applications for both iOS and Android platforms. This is a leadership position where you will guide the technical direction of the mobile team, mentor junior developers, and ensure the delivery of exceptional user experiences. The ideal candidate possesses a deep understanding of mobile development best practices, a passion for creating cutting-edge applications, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative, remote-first environment. If you are a seasoned mobile developer looking for a challenging and rewarding opportunity to shape a product from its core, this role is for you.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of native iOS and Android mobile applications.
• Architect scalable, robust, and performant mobile solutions, considering cross-platform compatibility.
• Write clean, efficient, and maintainable code for both iOS (Swift/Objective-C) and Android (Kotlin/Java) platforms.
• Collaborate closely with product managers, designers, and backend engineers to define features and user experience.
• Implement robust testing strategies, including unit, integration, and end-to-end testing for mobile applications.
• Drive the adoption of best practices in mobile development, code quality, and CI/CD for mobile.
• Mentor and guide junior mobile developers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex technical issues across both iOS and Android platforms.
• Stay abreast of the latest advancements in mobile technology, tools, and platforms.
• Contribute to the overall technical strategy and roadmap of the company.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent extensive experience.
• 7+ years of professional experience in mobile application development, with significant experience in both iOS and Android native development.
• Expertise in Swift and/or Objective-C for iOS development, and Kotlin and/or Java for Android development.
• Strong understanding of mobile application architecture patterns (e.g., MVC, MVVM, VIPER).
• Proven experience with mobile UI/UX design principles and best practices.
• Experience with mobile development frameworks, SDKs, and relevant tools.
• Familiarity with RESTful APIs, JSON, and mobile data management.
• Experience with automated testing frameworks for mobile applications (e.g., XCTest, Espresso).
• Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines for mobile development (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, CircleCI).
• Excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a fully remote team environment.

Benefits

• Highly competitive salary and stock options package.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Generous paid time off and flexible working hours.
• Significant budget for professional development, conferences, and training.
• Fully remote work setup with home office allowance.
• Opportunity to lead and shape the direction of a flagship mobile product.
• A dynamic, innovative, and supportive remote team culture.
• Impactful work on cutting-edge mobile technology solutions.