Quick Summary:  The global demand for React Native developers has risen substantially in recent years. Even though there are a lot of developers for this technology, the high demand for the right skillset makes hiring difficult. This is why it is crucial to have a checklist that provides you with everything you need in an ideal engineer and explains how to interview them correctly.

What Is React Native?

React Native is an open-source framework developed by Facebook that allows developers to build mobile applications using JavaScript and React, a popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It enables developers to create native-like mobile apps for both iOS and Android platforms using a single codebase.

React Native uses a combination of JavaScript and native components to render UI elements, resulting in a highly performant and responsive user interface. It provides a bridge between JavaScript and native APIs, allowing developers to access device functionalities like camera, GPS, and notifications.

One of the key advantages of React Native is its ability to achieve code reusability. Developers can write code once and deploy it on multiple platforms, saving time and effort. Additionally, React Native offers a rich ecosystem of pre-built UI components and libraries, enabling developers to accelerate the development process.

Why does your company need React Native engineers?

1. React Native engineers can build mobile applications that work seamlessly across both iOS and Android platforms, saving development time and effort.
2. React Native allows for code reusability, meaning developers can write one codebase and deploy it on multiple platforms, reducing development costs.
3. React Native offers a rich ecosystem of pre-built components and libraries, accelerating the development process and enhancing productivity.
4. React Native enables faster iterations and updates, as changes can be made in real-time without requiring users to download updates from app stores.
5. React Native is backed by a large and active community, ensuring ongoing support, frequent updates, and access to a wide range of resources.
6. Hire React Native developers enables your company to leverage the power of React, a highly popular and widely adopted JavaScript library, for mobile app development.
7. With the increasing demand for mobile applications, having React Native engineers can help your company stay competitive in the mobile app market.

Responsibilities of React Native developers

Seamless UI – It’s highly important for developers to know how to create a seamless UI. The UI should be easily accessible, responsive, and compatible with all different types of mobile devices. Developers need to work on both iOS and Android apps. They must create components from multiple wireframes and prototypes. In order to develop the best possible app, it is necessary for developers to understand the target audience, and conduct research and analysis.

Code conversion – As React Native is being used for developing mobile apps, it is necessary that code should be clean, configurable, and reusable. As the code size grows, the need for reusability increases.

Quality check – Performance testing is a crucial step in the development of any app. It lets you know whether there are problems that you need to fix and gives you a benchmark for measuring the improvement of your app.

Native Modules and APIs – The major responsibility of a Mobile App Developer is to develop mobile apps which are compatible with Android, IOS, and other platforms. They require to integrate native modules and APIs for iOS and Android when required. They must also work with third-party dependencies like Entypo, FontAwesome, Andesign, etc. They make the UI which is presentable and captivating. They are responsible for setting up the workflow and bug-free development of mobile applications.

Cross-functional coordination – When building a React Native app, the development team generally involves designers, marketing team members, UX developers, cross-functional teams who build the backend, and developers who are in charge of building the products.

What skills should you evaluate React Native developers on?

To hire a React Native developer for your project, it is important to make sure you as an employer are investing in a person whose technical and soft skills are up to the mark. Investing in employees and other members of the business is always necessary because it creates a positive space to work in. This is immensely vital for businesses working with clients.

Soft skills you must look for in a React Native developer

Time Management: There’s one more criterion that you must consider when hiring a React Native developer. That is the time management skills of the candidate. If you are a startup or a medium-sized company, then you can manage your resources and their work very well. You cannot afford mismanagement of time under any circumstances. If you haven’t tried a project with React Native yet, it’s likely that you’ll have to hire a dedicated team to get it done on time. This is why it’s important to look for good time management talents while interviewing candidates for React Native projects.

Communication skills: Communication skills are very essential for React Native developers. This is because they will be working with the development team on a regular basis and interacting with clients too. If they don’t handle things professionally, it will affect the whole process. For instance, if the company wants to clear some queries from them, but they aren’t able to do that in the right manner; it will delay the whole process. Also, their teammates might not be able to understand what has been told to them so they can handle things smoothly.

Teamwork: Teamwork is an essential trait that every successful developer needs to possess. Working in a team environment requires that team members be open to collaboration with peers, take responsibility for their tasks, and always listen to feedback. Good teamwork can only enrich the overall experience of an individual and help improve his/her productivity.

Technical skills you must look for in a React Native developer

React Native Framework: A strong understanding of the React Native framework, including components, navigation, state management (e.g., Redux, MobX), and hooks (e.g., useState, useEffect).

JavaScript and ES6+: Proficiency in JavaScript and knowledge of ES6+ features and syntax, including arrow functions, classes, modules, and destructuring.

Mobile Development Fundamentals: Familiarity with mobile-specific concepts and best practices such as responsive design, performance optimization, memory management, and offline capabilities.

Platform-Specific Knowledge: Understanding of iOS and Android platforms, their guidelines, and differences. Ability to leverage platform-specific APIs and components when necessary.

UI/UX Design and Styling: Ability to create visually appealing and responsive user interfaces using React Native’s styling capabilities, including Flexbox, style sheets, and third-party UI libraries (e.g., Material-UI, NativeBase).

API Integration: Experience integrating RESTful APIs, working with JSON data, handling authentication (e.g., OAuth, JWT), and implementing features such as push notifications and geolocation.

Debugging and Testing: Proficiency in debugging React Native apps using tools like React Native Debugger, Reactotron, and the ability to write and execute unit tests using frameworks like Jest.

State Management: Knowledge of state management solutions like Redux, MobX, or Context API to handle complex application state and data flow efficiently.

Version Control and Collaboration: Experience using Git or other version control systems for code collaboration, branching, and merging code changes.

Performance Optimization: Understanding of performance bottlenecks in React Native apps and techniques to improve app speed and efficiency, such as optimizing rendering, reducing network requests, and implementing code splitting.

Development Tools and Environment: Familiarity with development tools like npm or Yarn, bundlers like Metro or Webpack, and IDEs such as Visual Studio Code or WebStorm.

Cross-Platform Development: Knowledge of strategies and techniques for writing reusable code and implementing platform-specific features using conditional rendering or platform detection.

How much should you pay to React Native developers?

The salaries of React Native developers can vary a lot. This is true, not only when comparing salaries by location and experience level, but also across the world’s most popular and sought-after cities. These locations include New York City and San Francisco. The United States of America is known for being a highly competitive market for technology, so this is to be expected. Agencies that are looking to hire React Native specialists with high pay will take into account factors such as education, experience, location, and even the type of work that the developer will be tasked with performing.

Conclusion  

When you are looking to hire the best React Native developers, it is essential that you look at the matching skills of such developers with your need. Ensure that their matching skills are robust and trustworthy such that they meet your project requirement. If you think that you can find the right React Native developer for your project requirements, go for it! After all, this is indeed one of the most rewarding projects to be on!

Brain Inventory provides a completely remote hiring solution for mobile developers. Featuring an integrated messaging platform, AI-powered peer review, and live-chat technical support, companies can hire developers in under 60 seconds. If you are a recruiter with an open position to fill, or a developer ready to start your next job, Brain Inventory is the ideal way to go about finding the best engineer for your team. Our team of mobile app developers has been working hard since its foundation to achieve a wide range of open-source and enterprise-level projects.