Personal details

Roland L. - Remote iOS developer

Roland L.

Based in: 🇷🇴 Romania
Timezone: Bucharest (UTC+3)

Summary

Since 2011, I've worked as a freelancer, by myself - on my own projects, on remote teams, but also with big companies such as DeinDeal, part of Ringier. I've had the chance to be the one taking decisions, but also to help shape others' decisions for the better. I'm always on the lookout to improve the user's experience, both visually, and from a technical perspective; my ultimate goal is to know the user is happy and has a great experience while using the apps I work on.

I'm always trying to improve and keep up with new technologies, I'm putting the effort in helping/teaching others, and I usually like to understand how and why things work. The latter also includes decisions, and it's a reason why I like being involved, because I can have a better picture of the project I'm working on, and its direction.

My main expertise is iOS development, but I've also been involved in Frontend and Backend development, both on personal projects, and at work.

I've worked with Obj-C, Swift, SwiftUI, Vapor (Server Side Swift), Node.js, Express.js, JS, Ruby, Sinatra, HTML, (S)CSS and React.
I've used OOP, P(rotocol)OP, Multithreading.
I constantly work with and sometimes design RESTful API's.
I created multiple backends and the frontend part for some of them.
I've implemented Push notifications both on the device and server.
I've worked with In-App purchases and Payment SDKs.
I always work with Auto-Layout on iOS and implement Responsive Design for the web.
I've set up several Continuous Integration & Deployment pipelines.
I always use git, especially in teams.
I've implemented Google Analytics and GTM on iOS.
I've worked with AWS S3 & Digital Ocean on the server side.
I've worked with Core Data and also implemented sync.

Work Experience

Founder & Tech Lead
Runtime Sharks | Oct 2017 - Present
A new beginning can surface such a mixture of emotions ... Excited. Scared. Eager. Patient. Hard working. Tired. Restless. Hopeful. We're a small software company, currently working on a couple of internal projects, but if you'd like to work with us, don't hesitate to reach out.
Lead iOS Developer
DeinDeal AG | Oct 2014 - Sep 2017
In close cooperation with our Head of Mobile, the Product and UI/UX teams we tried to make the best decisions, thinking about our users' best. We analysed and reviewed feature/change requests and suggested alternatives when needed. As a lead iOS developer I was responsible for: Defining the iOS architecture and guidelines. The planning and coordination of the iOS project. Suggesting best solutions and practices. UI and unit tests. Preparing and creating minimum viable UI test flows. Ensuring proper ticket specification so that we can increase the team productivity. Promoting, implementing and teaching iOS best practices. Integrating and mentoring junior members of the team, through pair programming sessions. Offering support to the iOS team, but also to other teams when needed. Sometimes helping the Frontend and Backend teams with Ruby related code. Mid 2016 we started planning the merge of two platforms, that would eventually became the main one, and this implied the creation of a new native app. My main responsibilities remained the same, with the addition of being more involved in Product decisions. The app was never finished, but eventually discarded, and mid 2017 we actually started the merge process related to the mobile apps. During this time I was responsible for: Taking a crucial role in specifying new APIs that were to be created on the new platform and used by the mobile apps. This was done in close cooperation with the backend and mobile teams. Supporting the backend and mobile teams in regards to the newly specified APIs. Coordinating the adaptation of the existing iOS app to the new business requirements and infrastructure. Cooperating with the Product and UI/UX teams to take the best decisions related to the required changes by the iOS app. Besides the above mentioned merge, one of the other biggest challenges was sometimes working with a total lack of designs/mocks, specifications, flows or real data.

Personal Projects

ChallengeBeatIconOpenNewWindows
2018
Swift
iOS
An app where you can challenge your friends, or even just yourself, to create — and maintain — the habits you always tried to cultivate. From eating healthier to being more productive, from daring challenges to fun ones, like video games, ChallengeBeat can be your go-to app
Card VirtualIconOpenNewWindows
2018
Swift
iOS
The main goal of the app is for users to save their fidelity cards digitally (or request new ones), combined with the conveniences of displaying merchants & their offers, and having a shopping list at hand. There's also a friends feature, with which users can share their shopping lists — shopping together, faster and smarter has never been easier!