Similar to hiring an iOS developer, hiring Android developers is a long and complex process. With very few available experts on the local market, limited project budget, and the need to scale here and now, it seems like a “mission impossible” kind of endeavor. And if you’ve already started the development and need to add a person to the team in the middle of the project, things can get even more confusing. 

If you really need to hire a skilled and experienced dedicated Android app developer to join your team but don’t know where to start, this small guide is for you. 

In this article, we’re going to take you all the way through the hiring process, from what qualifications you should look for to where you can find so much needed Android developers. Let’s begin!

Please note that the salaries and hourly rates mentioned in this article don’t equal the cost of hiring offshore software developers through outsourcing companies. Read more about how offshore software development costs are formed here.

Skills Required for Android App Developer

You may be looking for someone to fine-tune little things or govern the entire development process. Based on your needs, you can hire Android developers with various skill levels ‒ junior, middle, or senior. 

Junior Android developer

• less than 3 years of experience;
• engaged in the development of not complex apps;
• can work as an assistant to middle and senior developers.

Middle Android developer

• 3+ years of experience;
• engaged in complex Android-based projects;
• can work independently.

Senior Android developer

• 5+ years of experience;
• leads, supervises, and consults large projects;
• occupies team leaders’ position.

Be it an aspiring junior or seasoned senior, an Android developer needs to possess solid technical expertise, be a problem solver and a team player, and that’s a bare minimum. 

Android developer hard skills

Let’s start with the technical side of things. 

• Java. Since Java is the most popular programming language for Android app development, expert knowledge of Java is non-negotiable.
• Android SDK (software development kit). It’s the set of tools used to build apps on Android. A good developer is supposed to have a clear understanding of views, layouts, user input, activities and their lifecycle and so on. They also should be able to troubleshoot bugs in the code.
• Working with APIs. Android developers are expected to know their way around APIs. To find out if the candidate is competent in this area, test their understanding of XML/SOAP and JSON/REST APIs.
• Understanding of back-end. They don’t necessarily need to possess the back-end skills, but a basic understanding of that side of the development process is a must.

Android app developer soft skills

As for the interpersonal qualities, here’s what you should expect from the candidate for this job. 

• Team player. Every development project is a team effort, so being able to work in a team environment is key for Android developer regardless of their level of skills.
• Good communicator. The main requirement for every successful project is effective communication. Android developer should be able to get across to both technical and non-technical people. This also presumes a high level of English.
• Culturally fit. Some things you simply can’t change, so it’s very important to hire those developers who share the same values as the rest of your company. A good cultural fit can make a difference between thriving collaboration and painful development.

Job description example for Android developer

Crafting a decent job description and posting it in places where potential candidates would actually see it is the first step in hiring Android developers. Here’s a basic example of what it should look like.

Introduction

Here at [your company name], we are looking for [junior/ middle/ senior] level Android developers to make a valuable addition to our team. You will join our engineers in designing and building the top-class mobile applications and work closely with other app development and technical teams.

Who You Are:

• You have very strong communication skills in English, both written and spoken.
• You have [at least 2/ 3+/ 5+] years of Android development experience.
• You have expert knowledge of Java.
• You have experience with [Android SDK/ remote data via REST and JSON/ third-party libraries and APIs].
• You are [interested in/ the expert in] general mobile landscape, architectures, trends, and emerging technologies.
• You have a good understanding of the full mobile development life cycle.
• A great team player and problem-solver.
• A highly motivated person with a passion for building scalable and efficient apps.

What You’ll Do:

• Design and build applications for the Android platform.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Work with outside data sources and APIs.
• Unit-test the code and work on bug fixing and improving application performance.
• Continuously work with new technologies to maximize development efficiency.

Interview questions to ask Android developer

Soon enough, you’ll start receiving applications. The next step would be sorting out the most qualified candidates and taking them through a few rounds of interviews ‒ the hard skills interview to test their technical expertise and soft skills interview to find out how good they are at problem resolution, communication and other important aspects of working in a team.

Interview questions to test hard skills

• What are the advantages of the Android Operating System?
• Could you please explain in brief the Android Architecture / Android Framework?
• What are the necessary components of a New Android project?
• Could you please explain in brief what is “Activities”/ “Services”?
• Please explain the Activity Lifecycle.
• What are the implicit and explicit intents?
• Which tools are used for debugging on the Android platform?
• How do you troubleshoot the Android application that is crashing frequently?
• How do you find memory leaks in the mobile app on the Android platform?
• Can you recall any mobile automation tools that are available in the market?

Interview questions to test soft skills

• Why are you a good fit for the position of an Android developer in our company?
• What are your professional strengths/ weaknesses?
• Please describe the most interesting Android app development projects you have participated in.
• Can you recall any Android app development project decision you made that turned out to be a mistake? What did you learn from this experience?
• Do you like to participate in the analysis, design, and deployment or do you prefer to concentrate solely on the execution of a specific task?

Android developers salaries in different countries

Android developer salaries depend on the person’s individual skill level (junior, middle, or senior), their professional experience, country of residence, the company, and so on. 

To illustrate, let’s compare Android developer salaries in three different regions ‒ Ukraine, Western Europe (the Netherlands), and the United States.

Disclaimer: The numbers mentioned below are just an estimation and may vary based on the aforementioned factors.  

Region	Junior (annual  earnings)	Middle (annual  earnings)	Senior (annual earnings)
Ukraine	$ 14 400	$30 000	$48 000
Europe (e.g. the Netherlands)	$32 600	$54 400	$74 000
United States	$ 73 000	$ 109 000	$ 126 000

Hiring remote Android developer: Two common ways to go

You can go about hiring remote Android developers in two ways ‒ use freelance websites or partner up with outstaffing companies. It’s possible to book an individual contractor for a few hours or outsource Android development team for the entire project. Let’s take a closer look at both.

Hiring freelancers

Hiring freelance contractors is the way to go for many companies. Some of the most popular platforms for that are Upwork, YouTeam, Freelancer.com, Toptal. In a nutshell, they are all the same. Here’s how they work. You go to the website, set up your “client” account, create a job post, wait for the candidates to send you their job applications, and discuss with your preferred developers how you are going to work together.  

Pros of working with freelancers:

• Lower rates;
• Large talent pool;
• Previous clients’ reviews available;
• Very good for short-term projects or making minor changes to the existing ones.

Cons of working with freelancers:

• No quality guarantees;
• Your only protection is the platform’s policy;
• Different time zones;
• Possible language barrier;
• You have to manage everything yourself.

Hiring Android developers through Ukrainian IT companies

A universally beneficial option for projects of any size and budget is hiring Android developers via Ukrainian IT companies. Outstaffing from Eastern Europe is less expensive than adding more in-house employees, but it is just as reliable.

Pros of outstaffing through IT companies

• Cost-effectiveness;
• Dedicated manager for each project;
• Guaranteed expertise and reliability;
• Great team experience and quality work.

Cons of outstaffing

• Possible language barrier;
• Different time zones.

You can outsource one developer or the entire team through IT companies. The key is to find software developers and a partner you can trust. Ukraine is a well-known IT hub, so you can be sure that your project is going to be in good hands. All you need is to give out as many details of your project as possible and be willing to collaborate along the process. See why to outsource to Ukraine.

Indeed, finding a reliable outsourcing company is not an easy task. Visit Clutch, it’s a platform designed to help you get to know your potential partners better and make an informed hiring decision.  

Here at Relevant, we also provide development team extension services. To make sure that the collaboration goes smoothly, we’ve developed a proven team set up process. Here’s how we go about our clients’ team extension.

Step 1 ‒ we gather project requirements

The goal of this initial stage is to get familiar with your needs. The more time we spend learning about your requirements, the more effective our further work will be. The things we want to know include project details, job descriptions, the desired size of the team, and preferred workflow. 

Step 2 ‒ we assemble the team

Depending on the scope of your project and the availability of Ukrainian developers in our team, we may be able to start working immediately. In other cases, we start looking for more talents. This process usually takes around one month. However, if your project is on fire and you need more people asap, we can make it happen by accessing a talent pool of our partners. This may take us around one week. 

Step 3 ‒ we select the best candidates

One of the benefits of working with us is that we take care of all the routine work for you. Our HR team goes through the backgrounds of many candidates to evaluate their hard and soft skills, English level, and so on to choose the best-suited candidates for a final interview with you. 

Step 4 ‒ we take care of an onboarding

Once you approve the candidates, we help them integrate into your project smoothly. The choice regarding the management approach and tools is yours. If it’s possible, we arrange an in-person meeting, and if not, we use video conferencing and other communication tools. 

In the end, your team benefits from having more experts who are under your complete control. It’s like having more in-house employees who are working remotely. Also, we handle all the administration and you get to spend less than you would, had you hired them on your own. 

How we help companies to get dedicated Android developers on board

Android is one of the most popular operating systems to date designed mostly for touch screen mobile devices. It supports a wide variety of smartphone/tablet applications, which are super comfortable for users in many ways. 

One of the biggest advantages of Android is that it’s an open-source operating system, meaning that anyone with the right skillset can use it. 

Overall, Android is made for business. You can develop world-class apps, finance apps, custom loyalty apps, or any application you need with this OS provided that you have the right talent. 

Check out some projects we provided dedicated Android development teams to: 

• Svenn ‒ a time tracking and project management app for construction companies.
• Momice ‒ an event management company that provides software to simplify the organization of meetings, conferences, and exhibitions.
• Letlift ‒ a mobile app that allows drivers to offer lifts to passengers and donate their profits to charity.

Summary

This is how we find the best Android developers for our clients. You can use our process as a guideline to complementing your team with missing parts or you can give us a call and entrust everything to our professionals. Relevant Software helps tech companies to hire dedicated Android app developers and other tech talents, contact us to see CVs.