Android app development has become Kotlin-first now. With Google itself becoming Kotlin-oriented, most companies have decided to look for the modern-day Java-compatible language to develop mobile applications faster. It enables very compact, readable, and maintainable code that a developer can run on the JVM.

Since its announcement by Google in 2019 as an official programming language to develop Android applications, the number of Kotlin users has been rapidly growing at a break-neck speed. The Android developers’ community has accepted the new object-oriented, pragmatic, and cross-platform language – Kotlin.

Developed by JetBrains and supported by Google, Kotlin ranks fourth amongst the most popular programming languages in the world, and it is used by more than 60% of mobile app developers to build every kind of application like desktop, mobile, games, server-side, or even embedded.

With Kotlin’s rising popularity and plenty of good mobile app developers in the market, companies often struggle to find and hire the right Kotlin Android developers.

Today’s post will show how you, as a business owner, can have the best Kotlin Developers for your next mobile app development project.

Before we dive right in, first, let us have a look at what a Kotlin developer’s roles look like.

What does a Kotlin Developer do?

Needless to say, a Kotlin developer has similar responsibilities to that of an Android developer. The only difference is that a Kotlin developer spends most of the time creating business-critical Android applications with solid back-end integration using Kotlin. This is an essential responsibility. Other than this, there is more to a Kotlin developer’s job than writing code only. Major responsibilities include the following:

• Write expressive and more concise code to develop a powerful mobile app using Kotlin from scratch
• Understand requirements and translate them into wireframes and then write code
• Ensure app design comply with Material Design guidelines and other specification provided
• Work with APIs and data resources
• Identify and resolve issues to improve app performance
• Collaborate with team members throughout the app development lifecycle
• Unit-testing of code to make an error-free app and enable the best user experience
• Continuously analyze and improve app performance
• Complete implementation of security measures

Experienced Kotlin developers spend most of their time enhancing user experience, improving app performance, and maintaining as well as evaluating the code quality.

Ideally, they invest their time in discovering and implementing new technologies to create powerful applications that satisfy end-user needs.

Now that you are clear about the roles and responsibilities of a Kotlin developer, it’s time to prepare a checklist of important technical skills that a Kotlin developer must possess.

What Should You Include in a “Technical Skill Checklist” to Hire a Kotlin Developer?

Ideally, you should hire Kotlin developers who perfectly fit your project and company culture. To develop Kotlin mobile apps, you need to consider a set of must-have technical skills. Here’s a checklist of must-have technical skills.

A Kotlin developer must have,

• Excellent knowledge of both Kotlin and Java programming languages
• Practical experience in working with Android Studio and Android SDK
• Proficiency in an XML markup language to create the layout of the app and website
• Sound knowledge of using build tools to build Kotlin programs like Maven, Gradle, Ant, and Bazel
• Familiarity with Material Design guidelines and design fundamentals
• Proficiency with SQL and Linux technologies like AWS, Apache Kafka, or REST to work on website backend
• Knowledge of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and its unique features
• Understanding of Null safety and how to use it in Kotlin
• Ability to write unit tests and integration tests, debugging Kotlin programs
• Knowledge of object-oriented programming (OOP) and inheritance
• Other skills include procedural programming, Lambda functions, objects, classes, and abstract classes
• Proficient in version control tools like Git
• Understanding of Kotlin related resources like standard libraries, Java Class Libraries, frameworks, and tools.

If you intend to solve a complex problem by creating a unique mobile application, you need to hire a Kotlin developer who has technical proficiency, experience, and the above-mentioned tech skills. They help you bring real value to your production environment, especially your team, and increase productivity.

Technical skills are essential for any project, but the question is how to find the perfect fit who can help you develop a feature-rich app?

For the answer, read on and learn how to find the best developers for your next digital project.

How to Find Best Kotlin Developers?

You need to have a sound technical hiring plan in mind. You can not jump directly into hiring without proper planning.

ou must be clear about your project requirements, hence, have a well-defined purpose for hiring a particular position for your project. You may require someone who can fill a specific role – either entry-level, mid-level, or experienced – whosoever is missing in your team to accomplish your digital project on time. This helps you to set clear expectations for developers from start to finish.

Based on your technical hiring needs, you can take advantage of multiple hiring options for developers available in the market, such as,

• Opt for online job portals like Indeed
• Use your network, internal source, or ask for referrals
• Attend tech events, developer conferences, or meet-ups
• Use online platforms like LinkedIn
• Leverage expertise of a top Kotlin app development company

Consider Hiring Offshore Kotlin Developers

Contemplating today’s competitive era and hybrid work culture, many companies prefer hiring candidates through external recruitment, i.e., with the help of outsourcing mobile app development companies that enable you to have access to a global workforce equipped with the right technology and tools.

You can hire remote developers who can work on your project in conjunction with your in-house development team while maintaining the continuity of your app development lifecycle.

You can go for this approach of hiring remote developers if you are looking forward to filling the skill gap without committing to a permanent hire and accomplishing your project on time. Key benefits of hiring offshore developers include the following:

• Cost-effective way to Hire Kotlin developers on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual basis
• Bring in experts you need for your project
• Less overhead costs related to hiring a team member
• Focus on primary development tasks and faster turnaround time
• Instant access to the global talent pool in your development team

Now, let us move ahead to understanding the process of assessing the potential candidates to hire the eligible Kotlin professionals for your project.

How to Test Skillful Kotlin Developers?

When you look forward to hiring high-quality Kotlin developers, it becomes essential to evaluate their domain knowledge, skill sets, and work experience. This evaluation requires a multifaceted approach as mentioned below:

1 Review Work Portfolio

You can ask developers directly or ask outsourcing companies to share the work portfolio of shortlisted candidates. Checking their portfolio gives you an indication of what they can do or achieve in a stipulated time. Also, it helps you to analyze the knowledge and experience of working with programming languages, libraries, tools used in previous projects. This enables you to scrutinize their capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses.

2 Assess Testimonials, Social Accounts, and Other References

Do not forget to check developers’ reviews, testimonials, and their presence on most-used platforms by developers like Stack Overflow, GitHub, Reddit, and LinkedIn. It provides a much-needed perspective about potential candidates and interprets what value they can deliver.

3 Verify Non-technical skills

No doubt, technical expertise is of utmost importance for any mobile app developer; however, non-technical skills also play an essential role in developing more advanced Android applications. You need to verify developers’ non-technical skills such as communication, problem-solving, research, teamwork, etc., to fulfill the requirements of your project. These qualities are essential to work effectively in a team.

4 Ensure Whether They can Write Clean Code

You can evaluate potential candidates’ technical skills via coding challenges or practical tests. It helps you assess their capabilities to write clean, more expressive, and safer code. Ensure they understand and have adequate experience writing more concise code using Kotlin while maintaining full compatibility with Java.

To Summarize,

Having Kotlin developers in a team can be beneficial for your project as well as your organization, i.e., Kotlin developers are more versatile when it comes to developing innovative, feature-rich, and secure mobile applications. Taking advantage of the Kotlin features like speed, scalability, and stability, they can help you solve complex business problems and develop robust applications.

Kotlin developers act as the backbone of your team; they can speed up your day-to-day development tasks such as extension functions, object declarations, and many more while writing fewer lines of code and keeping the code maintainable for the future. Furthermore, they simplify transitioning from Java to Kotlin for any production environment.

That’s why it is paramount to make the right decisions when hiring dedicated developers to develop Kotlin mobile applications. Partnering with a top mobile app development company can help you solve your challenges related to technical hiring and empower your team to build powerful Kotlin apps. You can take advantage of their technical expertise like Kotlin app development, Kotlin app support and maintenance, Kotlin integration, App migration to Kotlin, Dedicated Kotlin developers for hire, to name a few.

You can also connect with highly technical and experienced developers tailored to your hiring needs. Schedule a call with our team to build your dream team for your next Kotlin mobile application project.

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