How to Hire a Full-Stack Developer for a React.js/Node.js Project in 2024: a Full Guide
Andrew BurakCEO and Founder at Relevant Software
Known for bringing prime video content directly into people’s homes, Netflix has another thing to be proud of — a great web app with an intuitive UI and the capability to deliver 10 billion hours of content to 190 million users daily. Fascinating, isn’t it?
Perhaps the most amazing thing is that you, like the biggest players, can achieve high performance and scalability by combining React.js and Node.js. But first, you’ll need to hire a Node js/React full stack developer with in-depth knowledge of JavaScript concepts who knows the art and science of building user-friendly apps.
In this article, we’ll explain why you should consider using both Node.js and React.js on a single project, why hiring React.js/Node js full stack developers may be better than having two separate experts, and we’ll share some tips to help you find the best candidate.
What does full stack developer mean?
Every web or mobile application consists of the front end (client-side) and the back end (server-side). The former is what a user sees and interacts with. The latter is a combination of behind-the-scenes elements that power the user-facing side of the app. The back end consists of a server, an application, and a database. Together, these three enable the visible part of an app to exist.
Front-end and back-end developers each have the skills to build only one of the two sides. A full-stack developer handles both. That means they are proficient in the entire tech stack — the complete development tools needed to build an application.
Full-stack developers are expected to translate user requirements into the overall architecture and work on both sides of an application. So, companies benefit from hiring candidates who understand the full stack. It is more cost-effective and allows one person to manage and understand every part of the project, thus avoiding misunderstandings and alleviating knowledge sharing.
Why combine React.js and Node.js?
Let’s start by defining these frameworks. React.js is a JavaScript library created by Facebook to develop the front end of highly scalable applications with changing states, like dynamic inputs, buttons, and more.
With React.js, you can build an application with dynamic content without reloading the page. Take, for example, a news feed feature on Facebook. It uses React.js with a relay architecture, allowing users to access the news feeds even with a low-intensity network connection. Other advantages of React.js are:
- easy maintenance through reusable components
- virtual DOM for high performance
- TypeScript support
- SEO-Friendliness
While React.js handles the front end, Node.js is an open-source JavaScript server-side framework. Key features of Node.js include:
- excellent performance
- built-in APIs
- unit testing tools that allow testing of ready code on the go
- impressive scalability
- JavaScript or TypeScript support
Combining both technologies offer all these advantages, but the key benefit is that you can develop both the front-end and back-end using JavaScript. Full-stack web development with React and Node allows scaling your project to a much greater extent.
Skills required for a full-stack (React.js/Node.js) developer
Coding clean and efficient code, coordinating with other developers, and troubleshooting issues are just a few examples of what a full-stack React.js/Node.js developer should do. What skills does it require? Below is the list of the core competencies.
- Front-end technologies. Building a functional, responsive, and dynamic web product is impossible without the classic skill trio: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Of course, proficiency in React libraries is also a must for a React.js/Node.js developer.
- Back-end technologies. Certainly, you’ve heard about various backend technologies and frameworks. But when hiring Node.js/React.js developers, you first want to see proven expertise in Node.js development.
- Databases. All applications need a database for data storage, so a proficient full-stack developer should be adept in various SQL and NoSQL databases.
- Version control system (VCS). Every developer should use a VCS like Git — an open-source VCS that allows tracing changes in the source code during software development.
- Communication protocols. HTTP is a transport protocol for communication between an application and a client (e.g., a web browser). REST is a set of rules for building API — a bridge between the front-end and back-end. A full-stack developer must master both. Some projects also might require knowledge of WebSockets, GraphQL, the communication between FE and BE, and beyond.
- Web architecture. Because the primary responsibility of a React js full stack developer is to build applications from scratch, they must know how to structure code, store data, categorize files, and more.
- Soft skills. An ideal full-stack developer for hire needs more than just rock-solid tech mastery; they should also possess a perfect balance of hard and soft skills. An engineering mindset, curiosity, good time management, and attention to detail are critical.
But how do these requirements translate into a full-stack job description to attract the most suitable candidates? Here’s how.
An example of a full-stack developer job description
Below is a sample full-stack React developer job description that you can customize according to your needs.
- About us
First, write about your company. Be brief yet informative. Indicate who you are looking for. Be specific. For example:
We are a software development company looking for a senior full-stack Node js/ React.js developer to join our team and work on [insert a brief project description here]. - Our project
Share the core idea of your project. - Required skills and expertise
List the skills and expertise required for this project. You can incorporate the οnes from the previous subsection. - Your tasks and responsibilities
These will vary based on the project. For example:- Develop new products and services
- Optimize and support current projects
- Build reusable code and libraries for future use
- Collaborate with other team members and stakeholders
- English proficiency.
B1-B2 will be enough. - Work conditions.
These include working hours, remote options, salaries, sick days, possible bonuses, etc.
You may find an interesting guide on finding remote software programmers.
A full-stack React.js/Node.js developer interview questions
Since a full-stack developer role requires expertise in several different aspects of software development, the interview cannot be conducted by just anyone. If you do not have the necessary scope of tech knowledge, having a tech-savvy person to help you prepare before and during your “day X” is not just a great idea; it’s a necessity.
When choosing tech interview questions for your prospects, keep in mind that there are no “equal” full-stack developers. In most cases, a full-stacker is either a former front-end developer or a back-end developer, meaning they are more proficient in one set of technologies than the other.
Additionally, remember that it’s critical to ask a mix of questions of varying complexity. When interviewing an aspiring full-stack React.js/Node.js developer, you can ask the following:
- What’s the difference between functional and object-oriented programming?
- What does “favor object composition over class inheritance” mean?
- What’s event-driven programming?
- What is asynchronous programming?
- How does Node.js work?
- What is an event loop in Node.js, and how does it work?
- How does middleware in Node.js work?
- What’s EventEmitter in terms of Node.js?
- How can you explain a callback in terms of Node.js?
- What’s the difference between a class component and a functional component?
- What is Redux? How does it work with asynchronous code?
- How is VirtualDOM more efficient than dirty checking?
- What’s the difference between SQL and NoSQL?
- What is a message broker?
- What are the types of NoSQL databases?
- How do unit testing and E2E testing differ? Explain it with an example.
- What are the types of web services?
- What’s REST and how is it different from SOAP?
- What is localStorage in HTML 5, and how is it different from cookies and session storage?
- What are two-way data binding and one-way data flow, and how are they different?
- What are the pros and cons of monolithic vs. microservice architectures?
- What is data structure?
- What is a queue?
- What is a stack?
- What is a design pattern, and what are the three standard categories?
- What is REST API?
- What is GraphQL?
- Did you work with SSR in React? How does it work?
- How can we pass data from one component to another in React?
- How to avoid props drilling?
- Why does React prefer the Composition Pattern?
Along with technical proficiency, you’ll also need to assess the candidate’s personality and work ethic. Luckily, you can find multiple suggestions on Indeed. You can also supplement this list with questions geared toward situations faced by your team frequently.
Full-stack developer salaries in different countries
Able to work on various domains and fulfill multiple roles, a competent full-stack developer can manage and understand every single aspect of a project. But that’s not the only reason to hire a full-stack JavaScript developer. The fact is that having one on your team is much more cost-effective than hiring separate people for every part of the project.
Even with that built-in efficiency, hiring a local talent can cost you a fortune. Luckily, salaries vary from country to country. Below, we compare average full-stack developer hourly salaries in the US, United Kingdom, and Ukraine based on the data provided by Glassdoor and DOU:
| From | Median | Up to | |
| US | $48 | $58 | $77 |
| UK | $22 | $28 | $61 |
| Ukraine | $12* | $21* | $36* |
Clearly, outsourcing React.js/Node.js development to a full-stacker from Ukraine will result in significant cost savings without compromising quality. The country is ranked 1st in the outsourcing market in Eastern Europe by Outsourcing Journal. The tech giant companies using Ukrainian developers’ services include Boeing, Honda, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Samsung, Huawei, Deutsche Bank, eBay, Skype, and many others.
Hiring React.js/Node.js developers at Relevant
There are 285K developers and 4K+ tech companies in Ukraine, so hiring IT professionals is becoming increasingly difficult. But we are here to save you from the ongoing search process or picking any random company with no experience or qualification.
Relevant is a development company that gathers the best software engineers. Since 2013, we’ve been boosting the skillset and enhancing the productivity of companies around the globe with superior software development expertise. We deliver high-quality services on time and within budget and genuinely care about your product.
Whether you want to hire React.js/Node.js developers or need consulting services, our best talents are ready for deployment. Our onboarding process is seamless and hassle-free and looks like this:
- We respect requirements. First, we listen to you. What’s your idea? How many experts do you need? What’s your budget and time frame? You name it; we make it happen.
- We are assembling a team. Once the necessary experts are selected, they can start working immediately. If we don’t have suitable talent, we’ll engage in additional hiring, which can take a few days to a month based on urgency. When it comes to talent selection, you can leave it to us or choose experts on your own.
- We care about integration. This step is known to be painful and frustrating, but not at Relevant — we’ll smoothly integrate the selected talent into your ongoing team.
- We handle management. While we take all non-business tasks, your newly-assembled team is entirely under your control. So you and your in-house team can focus exclusively on your business tasks without distractions.
Over nine years of dedicated work, we’ve successfully completed 200+ projects in various niches. Below are a few examples of our cases:
Airthings
Airthings is a Norway-based provider of indoor radon monitoring products. Due to the hard work of our JavaScript developers, they now have a solution that displays air quality data around the globe.
FirstHomeCoach
FirstHomeCoach guides UK users through a complex property-buying process and connects them with trusted advisors to handle all the legalese. To make this project a reality, we selected a tech stack (React, Node.js, Redux, TypeScript, Postgres, and WordPress) and provided developers accordingly. That’s why FirstHomeCoach is now a robust app with a security-driven architecture.
Sensor Innovation
Sensor innovation informs users about issues (e.g., water leaks) at both industrial and residential sites based on the influence of weather on sensor data. Though the client already had a tool for doing so, it required an update and a “facelift.” With the help of our team (including Node.js and React developers), Sensor Innovation improved the UI and extended the functionality of their product.
Do you want to see more of our projects? You can find all of them here.
Summary
Whereas Node.js is widely recognized as an excellent tool for creating sophisticated and scalable server-side web applications, React.js allows developers to build high-performance solutions with changing states. Hiring a full-stack React.js/Node.js developer enables you to capitalize on both technologies’ benefits fully.
Finding the right candidate can be much less daunting if you use our recommendations for the full-stack developer job description and interview questions. But you can save yourself the hassle by hiring a trusted tech partner like Relevant. If you have an idea that requires React.js/Node.js expertise, just drop us a line! We’re here for you.
