Introduction to Android Developers Roles and Responsibilities
Android is one of the most used and popular operating systems for mobile devices. Android is popular as and most used OS as it is quite more economic than iOS. Any company or business owner has to turn various ideas into an app. An Android Developer is not only responsible to develop the app for you, but he has to bear many other responsibilities as well. This article discusses the role and responsibilities of an Android Developer or you can say Android App Developer Role for any organization.
This article discusses every critical aspect related to Android Developer. It opens up to
- Introduction to Android Developer
- Roles and responsibilities of an Android Developer
- Job description of an Android Developer
- Skills required to be an Android Developer
- Career Path to become an Android Developer
Who is an Android Developer
An Android Developer is the one who holds a strong understanding of project’s specifications defined by the organization and then turns it into a tangible application. The app can be published and submitted to the Play Store. Any Android application developer's roles and responsibilities have the following three phases:
- Design Phase
- Development Phase
- Submission Process
Today a number of mobile app developers are handling both designing and app coding phases along with the submission process. Such developers are known as “full-stack” developers who can handle all of the Android app development phases. Apart from full stack developers sometimes the organizations also hire programmers and developers for their app development team. As per the current market trend, UX (User Experience) and UI (User Interface) design are the two most required skills for any Android developer. Mainly job description of Android Developer includes following tasks:
Read: IOS Developer Interview Questions and Answers
- Building and Designing advanced Android applications for Android platform is a significant android developer roles and responsibilities
- Cross-functional team collaboration to design, define and ship new features
- To use and work with outside APIs and data sources
- To perform unit test to ensure usability, robustness, edge cases and general reliability
- To work and make sure improved application performance and bug fixing
- Continuous evaluation, discovery, and implementation of new technologies to maximize the efficiency of development.
As we have looked into the application developer responsibilities, let us look into their roles based on their experience level.
Application Developer Roles & Responsibilities
An Android Developer can be a designer and developer of an Android application. Mainly there are the following three levels of an Android Developer. Initially, developers work at the junior level. When any company determines the right developer for their organization then at that time they must employ the developer as per the complexity of their app.
After working for a certain period as a junior developer they move to the intermediate level. Intermediate-level Android developers work independently on a few complex projects. After working at the intermediate level for several years they become a senior level Android developer. Senior Android developers have more responsibilities along with coding like they may also have to take a decision and may have to design the app as well. The developers are expected to have familiarity with the following concepts:
As per your project requirement, you must choose the developer. The organizations which need to develop the app from scratch will require a senior-level developer. While those who need to do small changes to any existing app may hire a junior or intermediate-level developer. The senior-level developer should review the code before production.
Android Developer Job Description
What will be the job of Android Developer depends on the requirement of the developer. They may require the developer to edit the existing app or to develop any new one. Sometimes organizations also hire developers to fix any bug in any existing app. On the basis of requirement either junior, an intermediate, or senior level developer may be required. A standard Android Project breakdown is as:
- Wireframes
- Android UI design
- Software Architecting
- Front-end coding
- Back-end integration
- API
- Testing
- Publishing and Distribution
Mostly the companies enlist the required skill or android app developer job responsibilities to include following alist of skills by most of the companies:
- Degree in Computer Science, Engineering or any similar subject
- Android development skills and experience in software development
- Android app development experience
- Experience in publishing an Android app on Google Play
- Android SDK experience
- Working experience with JSON and data via REST
- Working experience with APIs and third-party libraries
- Knowledge of emerging technologies, mobile architectures, trends, and landscapes
- Experience of mobile development life cycle
Read More: Android Developer Interview Questions and Answers
We have looked into the job description of Android developer. Let us move to their designation or roles in the different organizations.
Various Job Roles For An Android Developer
Based on the android developer responsibilities, their title or designation may vary. To mention a few are:
- Mobile App Developer
- Android Engineer
- Mobile Architect
- Mobile Embedded Software Engineer
- Mobile Lead Software Engineer
- Android Developer
- Android Engineer
- Mobile Developer
Next, let us take a look into the technical and non-technical skills essential for an Android application developer job description:
Technical and Non-Technical Skills Required for an Android Developer
Technical Proficiency
First things first, let us go with technical skills:
- Knowledge of Programming languages: As programming languages are the foundation for Android application development, the developer must be proficient in Kotlin, Java, and XML.
- Interactivity: The developer should implement the right user gestures that enable application users to have a seamless app experience across all screen configurations.
- Navigation: If the developers know the knack of nailing the correct UI elements, it helps them produce good navigations.
Apart from these technical aspects, the developer should be adapt in:
- Backend computing
- QA and testing
- Mobile app platforms
- iOS Frameworks
- Mobile-responsive web design
- Data structures
- Cyber security
Now, let us have a glimpse into non-technical skills.
Non-Technical Proficiency
1. Work Passion: Do you have that extra passion apart from coding all day long? If yes, you belong to the outstanding Software Developer category that only a handful can manage. Moreover, it helps you step up the career ladder swiftly. Identify your interests in your area and build your skills around them to deliver the best every time for everyone.
2. Writing: Yes, we agree that you excel in writing the codes. But it is not about that. It is the writing skills that benefit you to draft any textual content like emails, technical documentation, and user messages.
3. Teamwork and Communication skills: What is the non-technical quality that many recruiters expect from a technical candidate? Yes, it is good to team interactions and collaborations. When you have team collabs, it becomes essential to convey your technical workflows with non-technical persons, so communication counts here.
4. Business Knowledge of Different Industries: Is it essential to have business knowledge of other industries apart from programming skills? Yes. An Android developer develops applications for education, real estate, health care.
So, a basic understanding of these industries can help you generate an application that benefits the target audience. It, in turn, makes your application effective and high-grossing in the marketplace.
What is the job scope for Android? Read on to know more.
Android a challenging and Steadily Growing Platform
It is expected that the job market for the mobile app developer will grow by 82% by 2020 and as a result of which 3 lakh's more jobs will be created. The bulk opportunities will be for Android and iOS developers. The popularity of this platform is due to its affordability and increased use for developing the applications for the mobile devices.
Mobile technology is one of the ever-changing and highly competitive technology. The challenge for Android developers is to make the app popular and to launch it on a platform which already has a number of competitive apps. Android development field is a dynamic one and has a number of challenges for those who are ready to take them up.
Check out the next section that outlines some of the top companies hiring android developers like you and the salary earned by certified Android Developers.
Salary Offered to Android Developer
Organizations are providing high salary packages to the skilled professionals. Even over the years, the salary of the Android developers has been increased steadily, it has been proved by a number of studies.
The average salary for an Android Developer as per indeed.com is $118,584 per year in the US, it is shown in the following graph:
Today there are approx 2.5 billion active Android devices all over the world and this Google OS (Operating System) has around 82% market share. So for aspiring Android Developers, there are plenty of opportunities in the global market. Some facts and figures as per the studies conducted for the Android platform are listed below:
- As per the InformationWeek website the increase in salary of an Android Developer is 9% in last year
- It is one of the 20 topmost or hottest jobs of the year as per Business Insider
- As U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to grow over the next five year
Read More: Future Scope of Android App Developer
Top Companies Hiring Android Developers
The list is huge. But we curated a few big names in the industry:
Pro tip: Learn some android interview questions and answers before applying for jobs at top companies. Before wrapping up things, let us dive into some pointers that help you become an Andoid developer, the learning path of an Andoid Developer and progress.
Top 12 Tips to Become an Android Developer
Everyone might have their tips, but the following are the few common ones we have curated for your reference.
- Familiarize yourself with Android frameworks
- Start reading and practicing more coding
- Update yourself with additional programming languages
- Go and learn Java design patterns every week
- Be a regular contributor to the open-source community.
- Try understanding the Android IDE you are using at the moment
- Learn good Android App architecture designs like MVP or MVVM
- Learn the fundamentals of coding guidelines
- Familiarize yourself with the Android developers’ best practices
- Try learning UI and UX concepts
- Go through online resources to practice current Android interview questions that recruiters frequently ask
Yes! It is time to wrap up our article on the app developer job description with some final words.
Final Words
The right certification will help you gain skill-sets that the industry is looking for in an Android Developer. This highly in-demand technical skill can offer plenty of job opportunities along with high packages and lucrative job roles.
Training and guidance, will put you on the right career path as Android developer, will expose you to industry best curriculum, and prepare you well to grab that seat in one of the top IT companies that are always in look out for skilled developers.
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