Hiring to Build a Mobile App: The Complete Guide

The Platform Decision: Native vs Cross-Platform

This is the most consequential decision you'll make—it determines your hiring strategy, development speed, budget, and user experience quality. Make this choice before you start hiring.

Technology Options Compared

When to Choose Native

Native iOS + Native Android (Separate Teams)

Choose native when:

1. Performance is critical — Games, AR/VR, video editing, real-time features, complex animations
2. Platform features are central — Deep integration with HealthKit, ARKit, Android widgets, Wear OS
3. UX excellence matters more than speed — Consumer apps where polish differentiates you
4. You have budget for separate teams — Can sustain 2+ engineers per platform
5. Apps are diverging in functionality — iOS and Android users need different features

Real-world examples: Banking apps, AAA mobile games, camera/photo apps, health and fitness trackers, apps where brand experience is paramount.

Trade-offs:

• 2x development cost (separate codebases)
• Feature parity challenges (one platform often lags)
• Larger team coordination overhead
• Platform-specific bugs to manage

When to Choose Cross-Platform

React Native or Flutter (Single Codebase)

Choose cross-platform when:

1. Speed-to-market is critical — Need both platforms quickly with limited resources
2. App is "standard" — Business apps, content apps, e-commerce without heavy native features
3. Budget is constrained — Can't afford separate iOS and Android teams
4. Web team exists — React Native leverages existing React/JavaScript knowledge
5. Feature parity is essential — Same experience on both platforms is non-negotiable

Real-world examples: E-commerce apps, social/content apps, business productivity tools, internal enterprise apps, MVP products testing market fit.

Trade-offs:

• Some performance overhead (usually acceptable)
• Occasional platform-specific bugs requiring native knowledge
• Dependency on framework updates for new OS features
• Native module development when framework lacks features

React Native vs Flutter: How to Choose

Both are excellent choices. The decision often comes down to team composition:

Choose React Native when:

• Your team already knows React and JavaScript
• You have web developers who can transition
• You want to share code between web and mobile
• You value the massive npm ecosystem
• You're hiring from a web-heavy talent pool

Choose Flutter when:

• Starting fresh with no existing JavaScript investment
• Performance is a priority (Flutter is typically faster)
• You want excellent developer tooling (hot reload, widget inspector)
• UI customization and animations are important
• You're okay with Dart (less common but easy to learn)

Market reality: React Native has a larger talent pool today, but Flutter is growing faster. Both have strong corporate backing (Meta and Google respectively) and active communities. Neither is going away.

Roles You'll Need

The roles you hire depend entirely on your technology choice. Don't hire a React Native expert if you're building native, or vice versa.

For Native iOS Development

iOS Developer (Swift)

Core responsibilities:

• Build and maintain iOS applications using Swift and SwiftUI
• Implement UI designs following Apple Human Interface Guidelines
• Integrate with iOS-specific features (HealthKit, CoreML, ARKit, etc.)
• Handle App Store deployment and review process
• Optimize performance for Apple devices

Required skills:

• Swift proficiency (5+ years for senior)
• iOS SDK and UIKit/SwiftUI expertise
• Xcode mastery including debugging and profiling
• Understanding of iOS app lifecycle and memory management
• App Store Connect and TestFlight experience

What to assess:

• Published apps in the App Store
• Experience with specific iOS features you need
• Understanding of Apple's review guidelines
• Performance optimization knowledge

For Native Android Development

Android Developer (Kotlin)

Core responsibilities:

• Build and maintain Android applications using Kotlin
• Implement UI designs following Material Design guidelines
• Integrate with Android-specific features (widgets, Wear OS, etc.)
• Handle Play Store deployment and rollout strategies
• Optimize for Android's diverse device ecosystem

Required skills:

• Kotlin proficiency (Kotlin-first, not Java-transitioning)
• Android SDK and Jetpack Compose expertise
• Android Studio mastery including profiling tools
• Understanding of Android lifecycle and fragment management
• Play Console and internal testing track experience

What to assess:

• Published apps in the Play Store
• Experience handling device fragmentation
• Knowledge of different Android versions and API levels
• Background processing and notification handling

For React Native Development

React Native Developer

Core responsibilities:

• Build and maintain cross-platform applications
• Write shared business logic and UI components
• Handle platform-specific code when needed
• Bridge to native modules when framework lacks features
• Manage JavaScript bundle size and startup performance

Required skills:

• Strong React and JavaScript/TypeScript background
• React Native-specific patterns (navigation, state management)
• Understanding of native bridge concepts
• Basic knowledge of iOS and Android development
• Experience with React Native build and deployment

What to assess:

• Shipped React Native apps on both platforms
• Experience with native module integration
• Understanding of performance optimization
• Familiarity with common React Native libraries

For Flutter Development

Flutter Developer

Core responsibilities:

• Build and maintain cross-platform applications using Flutter
• Create custom widgets and implement complex UI designs
• Implement platform channels for native functionality
• Optimize rendering performance and app size
• Handle state management with appropriate patterns

Required skills:

• Dart language proficiency
• Flutter framework expertise (widgets, state, navigation)
• Understanding of Flutter rendering engine
• Experience with platform channels and method channels
• Flutter DevTools for debugging and performance

What to assess:

• Shipped Flutter apps on both platforms
• Complex UI and animation implementations
• State management approach (Provider, Riverpod, Bloc)
• Platform channel usage for native features

Team Structure Options

Your team structure depends on your approach, app complexity, and stage.

Option 1: Native Teams (Separate iOS and Android)

When to use: Performance-critical apps, platform-specific features, larger budgets

Pros:

• Best possible UX on each platform
• Full access to platform capabilities
• No framework limitations
• Independent release cycles

Cons:

• Higher total cost
• Feature parity challenges
• More coordination overhead
• Duplicate bug fixes

Team dynamics: Consider having iOS and Android leads who coordinate regularly. Feature development should be planned to minimize platform drift. Some companies have one platform "lead" by a sprint, then the other catches up.

Option 2: Cross-Platform Team (React Native or Flutter)

When to use: Speed-to-market priority, budget constraints, standard app requirements

Pros:

• Single codebase, single team
• Faster feature development
• Easier feature parity
• Lower total cost

Cons:

• Some UX compromise
• Dependency on framework capabilities
• May need native knowledge for edge cases
• Occasional platform-specific bugs

Team dynamics: Even cross-platform teams benefit from someone with native experience. When React Native or Flutter can't do something, you need someone who can write native modules or debug platform-specific issues.

Option 3: Hybrid Team (Cross-Platform Core + Native Specialists)

When to use: Cross-platform primary, but with performance-critical or platform-specific modules

Pros:

• Best of both worlds
• Cross-platform for speed, native for polish
• Can optimize critical paths
• Flexibility for platform-specific features

Cons:

• More complex coordination
• Requires clear ownership boundaries
• Higher hiring complexity
• Risk of becoming "two teams"

Hiring Sequence

The order you hire matters. Get it wrong and you'll have coordination problems and skill gaps.

For Native Development (Both Platforms)

Phase 1: Platform Leads (Weeks 1-10)

Hire your iOS and Android leads first. These engineers:

• Make architectural decisions for their platform
• Establish coding standards and patterns
• Interview subsequent candidates
• Coordinate with each other on shared decisions

Why first: They define the foundation. Bad architecture decisions are expensive to fix.

Phase 2: Senior Engineers (Weeks 6-14)

Add senior engineers to each platform:

• Provide second strong voice on each team
• Enable feature parallelization
• Reduce bus factor risk

Aim for: 2 seniors per platform before adding mid-level engineers.

Phase 3: Mid-Level Engineers (Weeks 10-20)

Add mid-level capacity:

• Focus on feature development
• Learn from seniors
• Handle well-defined tasks

Ratio: Don't exceed 1 senior per 2 mid-level engineers for adequate mentorship.

Phase 4: Specialists (As Needed)

Add specialists based on bottlenecks:

• QA/Mobile Testing specialist if quality is suffering
• DevOps/Mobile CI if deployment is painful
• UI/UX specialist for complex design implementation

For Cross-Platform Development

Phase 1: Technical Lead (Weeks 1-8)

Hire your cross-platform technical lead first:

• 5+ years mobile experience, 2+ years with your framework
• Has shipped production apps with React Native or Flutter
• Can make architecture and library decisions
• Ideally has some native development background

Critical: This person's framework expertise determines your velocity for months.

Phase 2: Senior Engineer (Weeks 4-12)

Add a second strong cross-platform engineer:

• Complements the lead's skills
• Enables parallel feature development
• Provides second opinion on technical decisions

Phase 3: Mid-Level Engineers (Weeks 8-18)

Build out the team with mid-level engineers:

• Strong JavaScript/Dart fundamentals
• Can learn framework specifics quickly
• Handle feature implementation with guidance

Phase 4: Native Specialist (When Needed)

Add native capability when:

• Framework can't do something you need
• Performance optimization requires native code
• Platform-specific features need deep integration

Option: This can be a part-time contractor or consultant rather than full-time hire.

Common Pitfalls

1. Choosing Technology After Hiring

The mistake: Hiring "mobile developers" without deciding on native vs cross-platform first. Then discovering your React Native hire can't do the native iOS work you actually need.

What happens: Skill mismatch, expensive retraining or rehiring, lost months of productivity.

Better approach: Make technology decisions before writing job descriptions. Be specific in postings: "React Native Developer" not "Mobile Developer." Evaluate candidates on the exact skills you need.

2. Assuming Cross-Platform Is Always Cheaper

The mistake: Choosing React Native or Flutter because "one codebase = half the cost" without considering the full picture.

What happens: You save on initial development but hit unexpected costs: native module development, performance optimization, platform-specific bug fixes, hiring premium for cross-platform experts.

Better approach: Evaluate total cost of ownership:

• Development cost (cross-platform wins initially)
• Maintenance cost (depends on app complexity)
• Platform-specific features (native wins)
• Hiring cost (cross-platform talent often commands premium)

Cross-platform is often cheaper, but not always half the cost.

3. Underestimating Mobile-Specific Skills

The mistake: Assuming web developers can easily transition to mobile. "React Native uses React, so our React developers can do it."

What happens: Web developers struggle with mobile concepts: app lifecycle, push notifications, offline storage, platform guidelines, app store deployment. Quality and velocity suffer.

Better approach: Mobile development is its own discipline. Key differences from web:

• App lifecycle (backgrounding, termination, state restoration)
• Platform guidelines (HIG, Material Design)
• Performance constraints (battery, memory, CPU)
• Deployment complexity (app store reviews, versioning)
• Device fragmentation (especially Android)

Hire developers with actual mobile experience, not just framework familiarity.

4. Ignoring Platform Guidelines

The mistake: Building iOS and Android apps that look identical, ignoring platform conventions.

What happens: Apps feel "off" to users. iOS users expect swipe-to-go-back; Android users expect the system back button. Navigation patterns, gestures, and UI components differ between platforms.

Better approach: Even with cross-platform, respect platform conventions:

• Use platform-appropriate navigation patterns
• Follow Material Design on Android, HIG on iOS
• Test with actual users on both platforms
• Consider platform-specific UI components where it matters

5. Neglecting the App Store Process

The mistake: Planning development timeline without accounting for app store review processes.

What happens: Apple rejects your app for guideline violations. Play Store removes your app for policy changes. Release delays and scrambling to fix issues.

Better approach: Factor app stores into your timeline:

• Apple review: 1-7 days (usually 1-2), can reject for many reasons
• Play Store review: 1-3 days, increasingly strict on policies
• Build in buffer for rejections and resubmissions
• Hire developers who understand platform guidelines
• Use TestFlight/Internal Testing tracks for beta testing

6. Building for All Devices Too Early

The mistake: Supporting tablets, TV, wearables, and every device variant from day one.

What happens: Scope explosion, stretched resources, poor quality everywhere instead of great quality somewhere.

Better approach: Start narrow, expand based on data:

• Phone-only initially (iOS and/or Android)
• Tablets when phone app proves market fit
• Wearables only if core to your value proposition
• Track user requests and device analytics

Most apps don't need tablet optimization at launch. Most definitely don't need watch apps.

7. Hiring Separate iOS and Android Teams That Don't Coordinate

The mistake: Treating iOS and Android as independent products with separate backlogs, designers, and priorities.

What happens: Features drift apart. iOS gets feature X while Android gets feature Y. Users on one platform feel second-class. Bug fixes happen on one platform but not the other.

Better approach: One product, two implementations:

• Unified product roadmap and backlog
• Features planned for both platforms together
• Shared design system with platform adaptations
• Regular cross-platform sync meetings
• Feature flags to control rollout parity

Budget Planning

Team Cost Estimates (US Market, 2026)

Native Development (Both Platforms)

5-person native team (one lead + one senior + one mid per platform): $800K-1.1M/year total comp

Cross-Platform Development

4-person cross-platform team: $600K-850K/year total comp

*Total comp includes equity, benefits, and employer costs (~20-30% overhead)

Additional Costs

Cost Optimization Strategies

Remote hiring can reduce costs 15-25% while accessing broader talent pools. Mobile development is well-suited to remote work.

Contractor supplement for peak periods or specialized needs rather than full-time hires for variable workload.

Shared backend team if your mobile apps are clients for existing backend services—don't duplicate API work.

Phased platform rollout — launch iOS first (or Android) if your target market skews one direction, then add the other platform.