Introduction

Kotlin is a powerful, modern programming language that has recently overtaken the tech world. It is an open-source language designed to run smoothly on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

Hiring Kotlin developers is difficult due to the rising demand for highly skilled developers.

At its core, Kotlin is a statically typed language that blends object-oriented and functional programming concepts. Its growing popularity, especially in the Android space, has made it an essential tool for developers looking to stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving world of software development.

This blog provides step-by-step procedures on how to hire Kotlin developers.

What is the Role of a Kotlin Developer?

The primary role of a Kotlin developer is to create applications using Google’s modern, open-source programming language. However, a developer’s responsibility is more than just writing code.

A Kotlin developer is responsible for developing software solutions, maintaining software, making it bug-free for users, and addressing security vulnerabilities. The ability to work with the language’s complicated features, like lambda and coroutine expressions and extension functions, is essential to increasing proficiency in the language. 

Steps To Hire Kotlin Developers

According to Statista, Kotlin was the second fastest-growing IT on the DevSkiller platform, with a popularity growth rate of 205% in 2022.

The value of a highly skilled Kotlin developer transcends the confines of Android development. Their versatility and adaptability enable them to seamlessly transition between domains, such as server-side development, data analysis or cross-platform solutions, as needed.

Hiring Kotlin developers with such high skills is difficult, as they are always in demand.

But do not worry; below are the steps to recruit the best developers.

1. Understand Brand’s Requirements

When it comes to recruiting skilled Kotlin developers, one of the most crucial steps is to have a clear understanding of your brand’s requirements. This goes beyond just listing out the technical skills you need. It’s about understanding the project’s scope, objectives and the type of developer who would thrive in that environment.

Start by learning the project’s goals, timelines, and any unique challenges or constraints that might arise. Ask questions to yourself for clarity, like, are you building a mobile app from scratch or migrating an existing codebase to Kotlin? Is this a solo developer role, or will they be part of a larger team? What are the must-have skills beyond Kotlin proficiency, like experience with specific libraries, frameworks, or architectural patterns?

Don’t just stop at the technical checklist, though. The highly skilled Kotlin developers also need to align with your company’s culture and values. Are you a fast-paced startup valuing autonomy and quick iteration or a more established enterprise prioritizing process, documentation, and mentorship? Knowing about the type of environment and workstyle will help you attract developers who are a natural fit.

2. Assess Developer Skills and Expertise

Understanding expertise from resumes and interviews is not enough. Skill assessment is required to hire the top developers.

The best Kotlin skills assessment should be a multi-layered process that exposes technical skills and real-world problem-solving abilities. Design thoughtful assessments that evaluate their grasp of Kotlin concepts like coroutines, extension functions, null safety, and functional programming principles. You can incorporate your actual libraries, frameworks, and architectural patterns they’d be interfacing with.

But don’t stop at coding challenges. Professional Kotlin developers should also demonstrate expertise across the entire mobile app development life cycle. Ask them questions about topics like dependency management, continuous integration, app security, and performance tuning.

Communication, collaboration and creativity in problem-solving are essential elements of the Kotlin role.

In today’s mobile app landscape, any project will involve integration with databases and APIs in some capacity. Kotlin developers should be able to wrangle data from multiple sources, optimize queries and be bilingual in SQL.

Linux is another crucial skill for Kotlin professionals to possess. With Android’s heavy Linux kernel influences, having senior developers who can work on the operating system is a plus. That means from managing compilers and building tools to handling permissions and processes.

Don’t just take candidates at their word on SQL and Linux competency. Incorporate hands-on practical tests evaluating real database interaction, query writing, system administrat.

 

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3. Developer Experience with SQL and Linux

In today’s mobile app landscape, any project will involve integration with databases and APIs in some capacity. Kotlin developers should be able to wrangle data from multiple sources, optimize queries and be bilingual in SQL.

Linux is another crucial skill for Kotlin professionals to possess. With Android’s heavy Linux kernel influences, having senior developers who can work on the operating system is a plus. That means from managing compilers and building tools to handling permissions and processes.

Don’t just take candidates at their word on SQL and Linux competency. Incorporate hands-on practical tests evaluating real database interaction, query writing, system administration tasks, and more into your interview process. Identify strengths and weaknesses to ensure comprehensive skills.

4. Check Developer Portfolios

A good portfolio of previous apps and projects is like a record of a developer’s skills and experience. It gives you an understanding of their code architecture, design patterns, documentation practices, and more.

Understand their work by asking them: What tools, technologies and frameworks did they leverage? How did they tackle specific challenges like performance bottlenecks or new OS requirements? What hard-learned lessons did they extract that leveled up their game?

Please pay close attention to how they describe each project’s role, responsibilities and decision-making rationale. You want to recruit curious problem-solvers.

5. Discuss Project Details

Know the entire technical architecture, primary use cases, target users and business goals of the project developed by the professional. Give them an ‘if situation’ while assessing the project and complexity so they can self-assess whether their expertise aligns with the company goals.

You can ask them about any unique challenges or constraints they face. Learn how they manage problems and overcome them. Honesty is crucial here. There’s no sense of sugar-coating or downplaying aspects just to make the project enticing. An experienced developer will see straight through that.

It would help if you had Kotlin developers who could work on your project and have problem-solving abilities. The only way to facilitate that is by letting them know all the goals, challenges and expectations they’d be accountable for delivering.

 

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6. Remote or In-House Developers

There is considerable debate in today’s developer hiring process about whether remote or in-house Kotlin developers are better. It’s an important consideration that will shape your team’s dynamics and workflows. 

Nowadays, it’s standard for Kotlin teams to be assembled worldwide without a centralized office. Ensuring seamless communication, avoiding bottlenecks, and cultivating team cooperation requires extra effort when people work remotely across different time zones.

Hiring Kotlin developers remotely or in-house depends on your company’s culture, the scope and nature of your projects, budgets, and even individual personalities and workstyles. Plenty of teams have successfully implemented both models or hybrids.

Rather than sticking to one approach, keep an open mind and thoughtfully weigh the pros and cons for your business. Remote or in-house, it doesn’t matter; your goal should be assembling a talented, engaged, collaborative Kotlin professional.

7. Look for Problem-Solving Abilities

When you hire Kotlin developers, look for problem-solving skills. If you hire developers who are code-obsessed professionals and lack creative troubleshooting instincts, then your project will lack a creative approach.

During the interview process, tests beyond coding tests and knowledge quizzes. Design thoughtful hypothetical scenarios that inspire open-ended problem-solving skills.

Understand how developers solve challenges. Pay extra attention to how candidates describe their approach to solving real-world problems.

Beyond technical faculties, you’ll also want developers with acute product sensibilities. These developers continually view challenges through the lens of end-user needs and core business goals. The best Kotlin coders don’t simply iterate solutions—they craft them through determination, creativity and thinking.

Conclusion

Recruiting the best Kotlin professionals is challenging. It demands diligence, judgment, and knowledge about Kotlin. A Kotlin programmer should have problem-solving ability. They should also have expertise in the implementation areas of mobile app development, server services, building tools, and library frameworks.

When you hire Kotlin developers, look beyond the technical competencies. Look for a fusion of creativity, problem-solving skills, and commitment to learning. The best Kotlin developers combine technical knowledge with problem-solving skills to unlock the language’s full potential and deliver innovative, high-quality software solutions.

Hiring skilled Kotlin professionals demands a multipronged, exhaustive recruitment process. But when everything from coding to creativity to problem-solving skills is met, you get rewarded for your brand and project.