NOTE: European residency required as you will be working with our Germany-based dev team. English fluency required. German fluency is ideal but not required.
HOURS: Full time preferred, part time will also be considered.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
We are looking for an experienced Android developer to create a mobile version of our popular, cross-platform client which is primarily used for voice chat (VoIP). You will have the opportunity to look at sample code for an already existing version of this mobile app (former developer code) which utilizes a client lib for most of its operational, non-GUI features. Our intent, however, is for you to recreate this app with a more polished GUI look and feel, in addition to adding numerous missing features which will bring the app up to par with its iOS counterpart.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Review and understand our existing Windows/Mac/Linux client-server voice chat product, how it operates, and what sorts of features and functionality our existing users will expect for its Android version.
- Work with our development team to determine initial set of requirements, and contribute ideas for improving the Android app's usability and overall user experience.
- Write clean, modular code to implement the desired requirements with little supervision, and submit periodically to dev team for review via subversion.
- Engage in primary, core testing of the app although our development team will also conduct some testing and report bugs/issues back to you as well.
- Work with our support team to document and fix bugs with reasonable turnaround. You will need to setup, manage, and maintain your own bug-tracking software (eg - Mantis or similar). Our support team will require access to this system and assist in reporting bugs and issues for you to work on.
REQUIREMENTS:
- You must reside in Europe since you will be working with our Germany-based dev team.
- At least 4 years in mobile development experience, with 2 years in-depth experience in Android development.
- Demonstrated track record for developing and releasing Android applications. You will be asked for sample work and code.
- Strong understanding of Android OS, developing in ADS, interactive application development paradigms, memory management, network programming, audio playback and microphone hardware integration, concurrency and multi-threading.
DESIRED QUALITIES:
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
- Ability to work within a small collaborative team and have a great passion in producing quality products.
- Demonstrated experience in working with others to solve challenging technical problems related to performance and usability.
- Self-starter with the ability to assess and resolve complex technical problems.
COMPENSATION:
You will be compensated as follows:
- A fixed, one-time fee to be paid in 3 parts.
Part 1 to be paid once the developer agreement is signed.
Part 2 to be paid once the initial, documented and agreed upon set of requirements has been completed.
Part 3 to be paid upon release of the Android app to the public.
- Ongoing percentage-based rev share based on actual (net) income received from app sales.
- Details to be negotiated and determined prior to hire.
Applicants should apply by submitting their resume or inquiry to the Business Development department via TeamSpeak’s ticket system at
http://support.teamspeakusa.com
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Related
first, some facts:
1 - people (devs) are working on these projects in their free time - they are not paid
2 - they do not have to share their work with anyone
3 - all code on this site is optional - you do not have to download or use it
4 - to really get the code working the devs need testers and feedback
5 - testing and feedback requires time and effort
There is a distinction between a tester and a user. A tester will generally start from a known baseline, add whatever specific changes a dev wants and then run that code. If the code breaks, they will try to repeat that problem. While repeating it they will activate logging software and meticulously record the steps leading to the break. If it breaks again during the repeat they then file a bug report (with log outputs) to the dev's thread. The dev can then look and see what went wrong and try to improve the code. There is a specific process associated with doing all this and it does require a certain type of knowledge.
A user generally just wants usable and well working code. They either don't have the training or desire to test or develop. The 'stable' code is included in the major releases. This is not perfect code, only code that has fairly well defined issues. At release these issues are generally identified. Users have jobs too. Their job is to provide motivational support to keep the developers interested. They are the fanbase.
Think of the developers as a music group or a director or a writer. The testers are their focus groups, editors, and producers that provide direct, detailed, and actionable feedback. The Users are the fans, enjoying the art, movie, book, code whatever. If a user didn't like a band, movie, or book - or the people who generated these things, they should not read, watch or listen to said item. In other words, the developer is putting something out there for enjoyment to the Users - not for feedback from the users unless they specifically ask for it. If this was a concert, book signing, movie theater - all the people making trouble would be escorted out by security.
In the commercial world the devs and testers are paid with money by the users. In the volunteer / free world the only currency is your appreciation. In other words, if a user chooses to download and use code, they should express their undying gratitude, or delete said code and move on with their lives. Users repeatedly having a certain issue or outright attacking a volunteer dev or tester is unwelcome and unwarranted. These type of actions create negative feelings and decrease the likelihood of any additional work being done on this project. There's a saying that goes along with this. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.
Skype is willing to sponsor relocation for this position
About Skype
Skype is software that enables the world’s conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users. Everyday, people everywhere also use Skype to make low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles.
The Brief
Skype for Windows Phone will be the 'next big mobile' app to be used by millions of users around the world. It is a strategic platform for Skype and an important revenue generator.
Skype is committed to actively introducing new functionality and product features on the Windows Phone platform and devices to lead groundbreaking developments on the platform.
The Windows Phone development team produces elegant, robust software that delight and excite our customers. Working as part of a highly skilled team delivering several major releases on the platform yearly, the developer will innovate new features, optimize existing ones and drive improvements in the overall performance of the application.
Responsibilities
• Developing new features in cooperation with designers, product management and quality engineers, iterating daily and contributing to maintaining a healthy build
• Demonstrating creativity in finding optimal ways to implement features
• Demonstrating critical thinking and paying attention to corner cases
• Maintaining daily estimates of remaining effort on active work as conventional in a Scrum team
• Making sure that software components are consistent and work well with each other
• Actively communicating with fellow developers in order to synchronize work and making sure that developers understand each other's work
• Taking responsibility and ownership in the team's work
• Investigating incoming bug reports
• Comprehensively testing one's own code for bugs, demonstrating meticulous attention to detail
• Developing robust fixes to bugs and implementing improvements
• Pro-actively searching for potential optimization possibilities
• Learning new technologies
• Continuously keeping an eye on the latest cutting edge technologies and leveraging these in one's own work as necessary
CANDIDATE PROFILE
Experience:
• Experience in developing applications for embedded/mobile devices
• Experience in multihtreaded programming, asynchronous and event driven application design
• Experience of Agile and iterative development processes, e.g. Scrum
Technical Skills & Knowledge:
• Windows Phone 7 development using C# and/or Silverlight
• Development experience using the .NET framework
• Development experience using C and/or C++
• Experience with other platforms and programming languages (iOS / Objective-C, Symbian / C++, Android / Java)
• Excellent working English skills, both written and spoken
Problem Solving Skills / Analytics:
• Providing meaningful input in discussions and analysis on new features: analytical skills, technical judgement and the ability to use data get a coherent point across
Leadership:
• A genuine, contagious can do attitude with capability to chase issues and dependencies between different teams at Skype until complete resolution.
• A strong will to follow through on each task until it's finalized, a strive for true excellence
Interpersonal Skills:
• Track record working within / contributing to high performing teams.
• An ability to understand technical requirements and articulate them in plain English, as well as ability to understand commercial requests and translate them into technical requirements.
• Cultural sensitivity and a proven ability to work with teams and partners across multiple geographies.
Motivation & Passion:
• A passion for software development and Skype products as well as passionate advocate of great customer experience.
• Professional and personal mature, a self-starter able to work well without direct supervision and a demonstrable commitment to achieving strategic, operational and project goals.
Qualifications:
• Bachelors Degree in Computer Science or related subject
Interested individuals should send their resume to james.cooper-richardson(at)skype.net
I am working on a web service and thought it might be of interest to Windows 8 app developers out there, who might find the service useful and could even help testing it and offer advice on how to improve.
The product (codename Myelin, currently in alpha) brings powerful user feedback tools directly into your mobile apps. With just a couple of lines of code, you can integrate functionality that not only allows users to send comments directly to the dev, but also to track any replies and provide additional follow-up after the first submission. No private information (such as email address or account name) is ever shared, and no registration is required. It just works directly from the app.
Coming in the future are even more exciting features that make meaningful communication between the dev and the end user simpler and faster.
On the backend we have a feedback management portal that allows to monitor incoming feedback efficiently and manage any required follow-up in a bugtracking-like approach (think support tickets).
We have recently rolled out a client (== app plugin) for Windows 8 HTML apps, and would welcome devs willing to take it for a spin and give us feedback. BTW, XAML support is coming in the future; if you'd be interested, let me know and this work may move further up the priority list. XAML version for C#\VB Win8 apps is also available.
The service is currently free while it's in active development. While there are plans to eventually take it commercial, we will in any event be very accomodating to our early adopters.
You can read more at https://www.tfp0.com/s/windows8. If you're interested in learning more, reply here, PM, or just go ahead and sign up over at the website (we have plenty of spots available) to see what we have going there.
Below is a collage of various screens that the plugin introduces in the form of settings flyouts.
<= clickable
Since I've seen some offline interest in a XAML-based version, I wanted to note here that we did in fact roll out a version of the plugin for XAML.
In addition, both versions (HTML and XAML) are now available through NuGet as Timefork.DyneinXaml and Timefork.DyneinHtml .
Summary
The Android Developer / Programmer works as a member of the Internet Development team to develop and implement Android applications for our line of products.
Responsibilities
Work with colleagues and Project Managers to build and refine functionality for Android applications.
Develop innovative, Android-based tools for our line of air purifier products.
Work closely with Project Managers and other members of the Development Team to both develop detailed specification documents with clear project deliverables and timelines, and to ensure timely completion of deliverables.
Produce project estimates during R&D process, including expertise required, total number of people required, total number of development hours required, etc.
Work with raw images and layouts from a graphic designer and incorporate them into an app that will run on multiple Android operating system versions and multiple screen sizes
Determine appropriate architecture, and other technical solutions, and make relevant recommendations to R&D.
Communicate to the Project Manager with efficiency and accuracy any progress and/or delays. Engage in outside-the-box thinking to provide high value-of-service to clients.
Alert colleagues to emerging technologies or applications and the opportunities to integrate them into operations and activities.
Attend meetings during the R&D process and during development.
Qualifications
3-5 years minimum Android development experience
Strong object-oriented design and programming skills in Java (J2EE/J2ME)
Demonstrated ability to take an app design from inception to implementation, including publication in the Google App Store
Experience developing Android apps for the Enterprise (in-house) environment
3 years minimum experience working with relational database systems such as SQLite, MySQL, or similar database management system
Development experience utilizing Android SDK
Experience with web service integration (SOAP, REST, JSON, XML)
Experience using social media APIs (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
Excellent debugging and optimization skills
Experience with version control (e.g. GIT)
BS in computer science or a related field preferred, or significant equivalent experience
Excellent English communication skills, both written and verbal
Small Details
Work in a small, flexible international team
Extensive on the job training
Company with strong value system
A 50 year history of excellence
A competitive salary and benefits package that includes:
Medical, dental & Vision
401K Plan with company match
On-site gym
A Slide!
Weekly catered lunches
And much, much more!
With the rise of mobile devices, companies have even greater incentive to streamline and scale their agile processes through the use of enterprise test management software.
Agile methodologies have put countless software makers in position to move quickly on demanding projects, through a combination of rigorous testing regimens and close collaboration between developers and operations teams. With the rise of mobile devices, companies have even greater incentive to streamline and scale their agile processes through the use of QA management tools, which support manual and automated testing and coordination of development across multiple project groups.
Mobile app development and the need for automated testing
Last quarter, more Internet traffic originated from mobile phones than desktop PCs. Plus, most of that activity – 80 percent – came from native apps rather than Web browsers, underscoring key changes in what end-users expect from software, namely speed, reliability and usability. According to Appurify CEO Jay Srinivasan, a 2013 uSamp study found that more than 70 percent of respondents will delete a mobile app after it crashes, even if it’s the first such incident.
Certainly, the challenges of creating high-quality, stable mobile apps can become a money sink for some shops. There are many platforms to address, each with its own nuances, and development costs can easily run past six figures. How can developers and QA analysts keep up with the growing demands and pressures of the current mobile app environment?
For starters, it’s worth reexamining what kinds of tools are currently being used and if and how they ensure that quality standards are being met. Some teams may limit themselves to crash analytics and manual tests, but such an approach is increasingly unsuited for development schedules that require software to be pushed out rapidly to substantial - and growing - user bases. The maturity of the mobile hardware ecosystem also means that numerous devices have to be accounted for in each testing cycle.
“Another issue we see is that developers have an over reliance on manual testing methods,” observed Srinivasan for BetaNews. “With device fragmentation resulting in more than 30 device and OS combinations for iOS, and an order of magnitude more for Android, manual testing is not a scalable approach for mobile developers. To ensure performance and functionality of your app prelaunch, across all selected device and OS combinations, developers should add test automation to their mobile testing tool kit.”
Mobile devices are also subject to myriad volatile conditions such as mobile data connection strength and limited memory allotments. Performing diligent testing requires the definition, reuse and analysis of complex test scenarios. Fortunately, organizations can use test management systems to overhaul and scale their testing process for current market realities.
Does agile development enable the right level of testing?
Automated testing is a key enabler of agile and test-driven development, methodologies that have allowed enterprises to “produce higher-quality software within swifter release cycles that is more in tune with user needs,” in the words of Skytap executive Sumit Mehrotra. With more devices to manage and applications becoming fundamental to consumer and business workflows (it’s perhaps telling that Bank of America now does more development than Microsoft), it seems that organizations could never perform too much manual and automated testing, considering the stakes.
“The standard explanation for why we create automated tests is that by having them, we can know that our system continues to work properly even while adding new functionality or refactoring existing code,” wrote Mark Balbes for Application Development Trends on agile testing practices. “Test-driven and behavior-driven development takes this a step further by using automated tests to drive software design.”
However, there has been some recent debate about the place of test-driven development and automation and whether they have caused teams to actually implement excessive levels of testing. Balbes himself takes up this point in his article, pointing out that such practice could increase the difficulty of refactoring down the line.
The key may be developing a knack for knowing when to perform unit and integration tests on given types of objects, which may take time - and is ultimately more of an art than a science. But for organizations committed to agile development, tools such as agile test management platforms provide the foundation for setting up testing processes that are tailored to their respective needs. Both manual and automated tests are supported, and progress can be easily tracked so that measures can be refined over time.