A guide to hiring a React Native developer
React Native is an open source framework from Meta for building mobile apps with React. You write most of the app once, in JavaScript or TypeScript, and it runs on both iPhone and Android with real native controls. That makes it a popular pick for startups, and for companies that already have a React web team. A React Native developer turns that promise into a working app, and knows what to do when a shared screen behaves differently on the two phones.
What a React Native developer actually owns
The role covers much more than screens. A React Native developer plans how the app is split into parts, sets up navigation and decides where data lives. They connect the app to your server, handle sign in and keep working when the network is poor. They also look after builds, store listings and updates. When a feature needs something the framework does not provide, they reach for native code. A person who can do all of that saves you from hiring a second specialist for each phone.
One codebase for iOS and Android
Sharing code is the main reason teams choose React Native. A single set of screens and business rules is easier to test and cheaper to change than two separate apps. The catch is that the phones are not identical. Buttons, permissions, keyboards, fonts and back gestures all differ. A skilled developer shares what is truly common, adds small platform checks where the phones differ and does not force one design onto both when it feels wrong.
Expo or bare workflow
Expo is a framework and set of services built around React Native. It gives you a ready project, a build service, a way to send small updates and a router for screens. Many new apps now start there, and it has become the way React Native itself suggests starting a project. The bare workflow means you manage the native iOS and Android projects yourself. That is worth it when you need custom native code, an unusual library or full control of the build. Ask a candidate which they would pick for your app, and why.
Native modules
Sometimes a device feature has no good library. It could be a payment sheet, a Bluetooth device, a background task or a special camera mode. A native module is the bridge between your JavaScript code and the phone’s own code, written in Swift or Objective-C for iPhone and Kotlin or Java for Android. A React Native developer who has written one is far more useful than one who has only installed packages. Newer versions of React Native have a new internal design for this, so ask whether the person has worked with current versions.
Navigation and state
Navigation decides how people move through the app. A few well chosen stacks and tabs, with clear deep links, keep the app easy to use and easy to test. State is the data the app holds at any moment, such as the signed in user, a cart or a list loaded from your server. Good developers keep local state local, use a small shared store for what really is shared and treat server data as its own thing with caching and retries. Messy state is behind many of the odd bugs people see in apps.
Performance
An app that feels slow loses users fast. The usual causes are long lists that render too much, screens that update more often than needed, large images and heavy work on the main thread. React Native ships with a JavaScript engine tuned for phones and has tools for measuring, but someone has to use them. Look for a developer who measures first, fixes the real cause and tests on an older phone, since your users will not all carry the newest model.
Store releases and updates
Getting an app live takes more than a finished build. Builds must be signed, test versions sent out through tools such as TestFlight and Google Play testing tracks, store pages filled in and review feedback answered. After launch, small fixes to the JavaScript part can often be sent as updates without a full store release, within the rules of Apple and Google. A developer who has done this several times knows which changes need a review and can plan around it.
Testing on real devices
A simulator is a good start, but it hides problems. Real phones show slow starts, odd keyboard behaviour, permission prompts and battery use. A careful developer writes tests for logic and screens, adds a few end to end checks for the main journeys and tries each release build on real handsets, old and new, before it goes out. Ask how the candidate finds a crash that appears only on one model.
When React Native is a good fit
- You want one app on both phones without two separate teams.
- Your team already knows React, TypeScript or both.
- The app is mostly lists, forms, maps, chat or content.
- You need to launch a first version and learn from users soon.
- You have an older React Native app that needs an upgrade and a clean up.
If your app depends on heavy 3D graphics or on a feature that exists on only one platform, a fully native build may be a better choice. A good developer will tell you that at the start.
Reading a React Native developer’s background
Ask for an app you can download and use. Open it on an older phone, scroll the long lists and turn off the network. Then ask what the developer built, what went wrong and what they would change now. A list of libraries tells you little, because anyone can install a package. The better test is whether the person can explain a hard bug, such as a build that failed only in release mode, and how they found it.
Interview questions to try
- How would you decide between Expo and the bare workflow for this app?
- Tell me about a time you wrote or fixed native code for a device feature.
- How do you find out why a list is slow, and what would you change?
- How do you handle a change that must reach users quickly after a bug is found?
- What do you check before sending a build to the app stores?
The best answers give reasons and a real example from past work. Be wary of a candidate who has an answer for everything and never mentions a trade-off.
Run a small paid exercise
Give each finalist the same small task from your real list of work. It could be a list with a detail screen and a failed request, a sign in flow or the fix for one known bug. Pay for the time. Then compare the code, the questions asked and how clearly each person explains the result.
Agree how the work is kept healthy
Agree how code is reviewed, how builds are made and who can send a release to the stores. Keep the repository, the signing keys and the Apple and Google accounts in your own name, with a separate login for each person. Ask for a short note on how to run the app from scratch. Then nothing is lost if the people change.
Settling in
Give your developer the repository, a test version of your server, the design files and one small first job. A weekly call and one shared task board keep progress easy to see. Share the odd cases early, such as a screen that behaves differently on one phone, because that is where a specialist earns the cost.
Mistakes to avoid
- Choosing React Native for an app that needs deep platform features, without checking first.
- Testing only on a simulator or on the newest phone.
- Letting libraries and the React Native version fall far behind.
- Keeping store accounts and signing keys in a contractor’s name.
For related skills, see our iOS developers for native Apple apps, or our React developers for web apps built in the same language.