Hire Android Developers

Hiring Android developers through CodigoDelSur means adding senior native engineers, employed by us, to the team that owns your Android app. They work in Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, and in the Java still inside older apps, in your repository and your sprints, on an app that has to behave across far more devices and OS versions than its iOS twin. CodigoDelSur has been building software from Montevideo, Uruguay since 2007, for companies in the United States and the rest of the world.

It is the right move when the Android app is native, or has to be, and it keeps falling behind iOS. It is the wrong move when both platforms need the same features and nothing in the app is native, because one React Native codebase is usually cheaper. We tell you which one you are on the first call.

Is hiring an Android developer the right move for you?

It is when the Android app is native or needs to be, and someone on your side owns the release.

Yes, if:

Your app is written in Kotlin, Java or both, and it ships later than the iOS version or with fewer features.
You want to move from XML layouts to Jetpack Compose, or share logic across platforms with Kotlin Multiplatform, without stopping releases.
The app depends on the device: hardware, background work, offline use, payments.
You have a product owner and someone who reviews pull requests.

No, if:

Both platforms need the same features on the same cadence and nothing in the app is native. One React Native codebase is usually the cheaper answer.
The problem is the API the app talks to, not the app. Hire for the backend first.
You want an app taken from idea to Google Play with one company accountable for it. That is full-cycle product development.

How it works, from first call to your next Google Play release

Five steps, and the Android questions come first: the minimum version you support, how much of the app is still Java or XML layouts, and which devices your users actually have. Every step ends with a person in your repository or a clear reason not to continue.

Intro call, 30 to 45 minutes. Kotlin or Java, Compose or XML layouts, the oldest Android version you support, and any hardware or SDK the app depends on. Who approves a release and what the first month should ship. If the work would be cheaper in React Native, this is where we say so.

Written role brief. One page: the parts of the app the engineer will own, seniority, whether Google Play releases are part of the role, overlap and start date. Nothing moves until you sign it off.

Named profiles. Bench first, and we tell you whether the Android engineer you need is on it today or has to be recruited. Each CV names the apps the person worked on and what they built in them, not an anonymized list of skills.

You run the technical interview. Your process and your bar. For Android, a bug that only happens on some devices, taken from your own crash reports, is a better test than a generic exercise. You can turn down anyone we propose without giving a reason.

First day and first build. One standard services agreement, signed once. We handle equipment, accounts, background checks where required and payroll. The engineer joins your standup on day one, gets the app building with your signing configuration in the first days, and aims for a first merged pull request that same week.

How long it takes to add an Android developer

Five business days from signed agreement to first day as standard, and as soon as the next business day when the engineer is already on our bench.

Stage	Typical time
Intro call to written role brief	1 business day
Role brief to first profiles, if the profile is on our bench	1 business day
Role brief to first profiles, if we have to recruit	5 business days
Interviews	Your calendar, usually within a week
Signed agreement to the engineer's first day	5 business days as standard, or as soon as the next business day if the engineer is on our bench and you are ready
First day to first merged pull request	3 to 5 business days

On Android the first week depends on your build setup: access to the Google Play Console, the signing configuration and any private dependencies. All three go in the role brief, so the engineer spends the first days building the app and not waiting for access.

What our Android developers work on

Native Android apps in production, from full rebuilds in Jetpack Compose to apps taken over halfway through.

Work	What it involves	Where it shipped
Full native rebuilds	A consumer subscription app rebuilt in Jetpack Compose instead of extending legacy code, with a beta that passed 100,000 users	MoviePass
Fintech apps	Native Android and iOS apps for travel financing, plus the point-of-sale SDK integration partners embed in their checkouts	Uplift
Kotlin Multiplatform	Business logic moved to a shared Kotlin Multiplatform codebase, across an employee app, a customer app and a kiosk	TenFore Golf
Takeover of partial code	A partially written Android app assessed, completed and released, against a backend shared with iOS	Shred
White-label apps at scale	Branded ordering apps for more than 100 restaurants, with payments, delivery and loyalty	Grubhub

The Android stack is Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, Java, MVVM and Dagger, with Kotlin Multiplatform where logic should be shared. When the app also needs iOS, the same company has Swift engineers, and when it needs a backend, Node.js engineers. Seniority runs from mid level to tech lead, and we do not place junior engineers in these roles.

What it costs to hire an Android developer

What an Android developer costs depends on seniority and on what the role covers, and you get the number in writing with the role brief, before you commit to anything.

The minimum project size is $10,000, roughly one engineer for one month, and the shortest engagement we sign is two weeks, one sprint. There is no recruiting fee, no placement fee and no management fee, and the project manager on our side is included at no additional cost. Billing is per sprint, Net 14, or monthly if your finance team prefers, with volume discounts of 5 percent from five people and 10 percent from seven.

If your Android app is behind iOS and you are not sure by how much, one engineer for one sprint is a real engagement and a cheap way to find out.

The Android projects behind this page

Four clients with a published case study, and in each one the Android app carried real users or real money.

MoviePass is a theatrical subscription service: members get monthly credits, find films and showtimes near them, check in at the theater and buy their ticket in the app. Between 2022 and 2025 we rebuilt its apps natively, in Kotlin and Jetpack Compose on Android and SwiftUI on iOS, instead of extending the legacy code: film discovery, theater search and showtimes, credit-based subscription management, in-theater check-in and ticket purchase, with Firebase, Stripe and Braze underneath. The beta opened with a six figure waiting list, and both the Android and the iOS beta passed 100,000 users.

Uplift is a buy now, pay later platform for travel, used inside airline, cruise line and hotel checkouts, and was acquired by Upgrade in 2023. We built its native Android and iOS apps in Kotlin and Swift, with a team that grew past seventeen engineers: the borrower portal with plans, balances and payment schedules, account and servicing flows, and the point-of-sale SDK integration for partner checkouts.

TenFore Golf runs tee sheets, point of sale, payments and booking for golf operators. Our engineers worked inside its team on the employee app, the customer app and the self-service kiosk, modernising them while courses kept using them, and moved Android work to a shared Kotlin Multiplatform codebase so business logic is written once. The employee app, Birdie, is on Google Play.

Shred is a subscription fitness app featured in Business Insider and Goop. We took over its partially written Android app, kept what was sound, completed the rest and released it within an eight month engagement in 2020, working against a Node.js backend shared with the iOS product.

Android developers through staff augmentation, a dedicated team or full-cycle product development

Three different products get sold under the same word, "outsourcing". They are not interchangeable and picking the wrong one is the most expensive mistake in this category. On Android the second column often wins, because the app has to keep pace with an iOS version that ships on its own schedule.

	Staff augmentation	Dedicated team	Full-cycle product development
Who owns the roadmap	You	You	Shared, we run discovery
Who manages day to day	Your engineering manager	You, with a CodigoDelSur project manager coordinating on our side at no extra cost	Our project manager
What you get	Individual engineers inside your team	A team shaped around your product, staffed and coordinated by us	A product, from discovery to store release
You need to have	Technical leadership with spare capacity	A product owner and a clear roadmap	A budget and a problem worth solving
Android work it fits best	Features, Compose migrations and releases in an Android app you already ship	Android owned end to end, usually with iOS, design and QA on the same cadence	A new app, from discovery to Google Play
Typical size	1 to 4 people	4 to 12 people	Scoped per project
Minimum commitment	Two weeks, one sprint	Two weeks, one sprint	Quoted per project
Best when	The work is defined and you are short on hands	You own a product area and want it staffed and coordinated as one team	You need the thing to exist and you do not have an engineering org

When this page is not your answer

Do not hire an Android developer when what you need is the same features on both platforms at once and nothing in the app is native: one React Native codebase costs less for that job. Do not hire one to catch up with iOS either if the gap comes from product decisions that only ever get made for iOS, because a second engineer does not fix a backlog nobody writes. And if you need both platforms moving together with design and QA, look at a dedicated team before adding individual engineers.

Where "taking over an Android app" and "short-term work" fit

Neither is a fourth model. Shred is what a takeover looks like: we assess the partial code, keep what is sound, replace what is not and ship, either with engineers embedded in your team through staff augmentation or with a dedicated team taking the app over. Java is not a reason to rewrite: it can move to Kotlin, and XML layouts to Compose, screen by screen while the app keeps shipping. If the work is short, one engineer for one sprint, for a stuck release or a target version update, is a complete engagement.

Frequently asked questions

Do your Android developers work in Jetpack Compose or with XML layouts?

Both. Compose is where new screens usually go, and MoviePass was rebuilt in it from the start; most production apps still carry XML layouts and some Java, and we work in whatever mix your app has. Moving to Compose screen by screen is ordinary work, not a project that stops releases.

Do you work with Kotlin Multiplatform?

Yes. At TenFore Golf our engineers moved Android work to a shared Kotlin Multiplatform codebase, so business logic is written once and adding a platform no longer means writing it twice. It pays off when the logic is heavy and shared; for an app that is mostly screens it adds more structure than it saves.

Should we hire an Android developer or a React Native developer?

Native Android when the app depends on the device, on performance or on a native codebase you already have, and a React Native developer when both platforms need the same features and nothing in the app is native. We staff both, so we can give you the answer on the first call without an interest in which one you pick.

What time zone do your engineers work in, and how much overlap will I get?

Our engineers work 10:00 to 19:00 Uruguay time, which is UTC minus 3. That covers the entire US East Coast working day, five to six hours of live overlap with the West Coast, and an afternoon overlap with Europe. The schedule is set that way deliberately: shifting the day an hour later widens the Pacific overlap without asking anyone to work nights, and it is the reason this arrangement is still working in month twelve rather than quietly falling apart in month three.

How fast can you actually start?

Five business days from signed agreement to first day is the standard, and if the engineer is already on our bench and your side is ready to receive them, they can start as soon as the next business day. What varies is finding the right person, not starting them: if the profile is on our bench you get CVs one business day after you sign off the role brief, and if the role has to be recruited, first CVs take about five business days. We tell you which of the two you are in on the first call, before you have signed anything, because that is what actually moves your start date.

What happens if the engineer is not working out?

You tell your account manager and we replace the person at our cost. There is no charge for the search and no penalty for asking. The outgoing and incoming engineers overlap for ten business days so that context, access and work in progress transfer inside the engagement instead of landing back on your team, and those ten days are not billed: during the handover you keep paying exactly what you were paying for one engineer. We would rather absorb that than have you carry a bad fit for a quarter, and a company that will not put a replacement policy in writing is telling you something.

Who owns the code and the intellectual property?

You do, exclusively. Everything created for you as part of the work is assigned to you with full title guarantee: source code, application logic, APIs, integrations, data models, configurations, UI and UX designs, documentation and any derivative works. The assignment covers the deliverables as they are created, it is not conditional on final payment, and it is not a licence back to you, it is ownership. We also warrant that what we deliver does not infringe any third party's intellectual property, and where third party material is involved we secure the consents for both sides first. For our own pre existing components that were not written specifically for you, you get a non exclusive, irrevocable, royalty free licence to use, copy and modify them, so nothing we bring with us can be used to lock you in later. Every CodigoDelSur employee signs a non disclosure agreement and an intellectual property assignment as a condition of employment. In practice we also work inside your repositories and your cloud accounts, so in most engagements the code never lives anywhere else to begin with.

Will the engineer work only for us?

A full time engineer works for one client only. If you take someone full time they are on your product and nothing else: your standups, your sprint planning, your Slack, and for practical purposes they are part of your team, with the difference that their employment, payroll and career are our responsibility. If you only need part of a person we do offer part time engineers, and a part time engineer is assigned to a maximum of two projects, never more. We tell you which of the two you are getting before you sign, because "dedicated" is a word this industry uses loosely.

Tell us about your Android app

Tell us which Android versions you support, what the next release needs and who approves it, and we will tell you on the same call whether the engineer is on our bench or has to be recruited, and what that means for your start date.