Principal iOS Lead-US Remote

Job Title: Principal iOS Lead
Location: US Remote
Tech Stack: SwiftUI, Swift, and Objective-C, Core Data

About Us:
At Puzzle, we are dedicated to building cutting-edge solutions for our clients. We specialize in delivering scalable, cloud-based applications and data solutions that empower businesses to innovate and grow. As a Lead Software Developer, you will play a critical role in architecting, developing, and leading teams to implement solutions that make a difference.

Job Summary: 
As a Principal iOS Lead, you will spearhead mission-critical mobile initiatives that serve millions of passengers worldwide. Working at the intersection of technology and travel, you'll play a critical role in driving the technical vision and architecture of our client’s flagship iOS applications while leading a talented team of nearshore developers.

You'll shape the future of how travelers interact with the airline - from booking to boarding and beyond - by delivering seamless, innovative mobile experiences that set new standards in the aviation industry. In this pivotal role, you'll collaborate with cross-functional teams to transform complex business requirements into elegant technical solutions, ensuring the mobile platform remains at the forefront of performance, security, and user experience. Your expertise will be instrumental in modernizing our client’s mobile architecture, establishing best practices, and accelerating their delivery pipeline while maintaining the reliability our customers depend on for their travel needs. 

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Define and drive the technical vision, architecture, and roadmap for iOS applications.
• Make recommendations for coding standards, design patterns, and best practices where applicable.
• Make critical technical decisions about frameworks, libraries, and infrastructure.
• Lead architectural reviews and provide solutions for complex technical challenges.

Team Leadership & Development

• Mentor and guide the nearshore development team, fostering technical growth.
• Bridge time zone gaps effectively by establishing clear communication protocols and development processes.
• Facilitate knowledge transfer sessions to elevate the team's technical capabilities.
• Lead code reviews and provide constructive feedback to improve code quality.
• Ensure the mobile team has robust testing strategies, considering different time zones.

Project & Delivery Management

• Collaborate with Product and Design teams to translate business requirements into technical specifications.
• Manage technical debt and prioritize platform improvements.
• Ensure critical metrics are available for monitoring app performance, stability, and user experience.
• Drive CI/CD improvements to optimize the development and release pipeline.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Partner with other engineering teams to ensure seamless integration between mobile and backend services.
• Align with Product Management on technical feasibility and implementation approaches.
• Collaborate with Security teams to maintain high-security standards.

Innovation & Best Practices

• Stay current with iOS platform updates, industry trends, and emerging technologies.
• Champion mobile development best practices and patterns across the organization.
• Drive innovation through technical spikes.
• Balance technical innovation with business needs and stability requirements.

Required Technical Skills

• 10+ years of experience as an iOS developer, familiar with older iOS technologies.
• Senior expertise in iOS native and responsive application development.
• Proficiency in SwiftUI, Swift, and Objective-C, along with common frameworks and technologies including RESTful APIs.
• Live fire coding experience.
• Core Data experience, particularly in edge/no connectivity scenarios.
• Expertise in multi-threading and asynchronous programming:
  • Notification Center, GCD, Combine, Async/Await experience.
• NFC knowledge (Core Bluetooth or similar experience).
• Experience uploading apps to the App Store and the ability to share apps for verification (downloads/star rating).
• Experience integrating 3rd party SDKs.
• Experience using analytics and crash reporting tools to monitor application stability.
• Strong background in unit testing (XCTest).
• Experience integrating responsive web pages into an iOS app.
• Basic working understanding of Java, Azure, and Kubernetes.
• Participation in code reviews, pair programming, and design meetings.
• Ability to ensure smooth UX, low memory footprint, and battery efficiency.
• Experience with performance profiling, optimization strategies, and memory management.
• Experience designing and implementing localization functionality across multiple platforms.
• Thorough background in mobile device testing for both iOS and Android devices.
• Hands-on experience with mobile devices to ensure proper functionality.
• Experience creating powerful and concise APIs and broad knowledge of layered software architecture.
• Understanding of backend architectures and how UI interacts with data tables.
• Strong foundation in algorithms, data structures, object-oriented programming, and design best practices.

Required Consulting Skills

• Self-starter, able to onboard and manage work with little oversight.
• Ability to manage ambiguity and complexity in a dynamic environment.
• Strong communication skills while actively building software.
• Effective collaborator across engineering and cross-functional teams in an Agile environment.
• Proactive and strategic mindset, with the ability to simplify hard problems.
• Experience leading, mentoring, and motivating teams of mobile developers.
• Comfortable proposing solutions and serving as the technical voice.
• Ability to manage and oversee the work of others, with prior experience leading onshore and nearshore teams (a plus).
• Enterprise-level experience with the ability to scale applications.

What We Offer:

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Flexible, remote-first working environment.
• Opportunity to work on exciting projects with industry-leading clients.
• Continuous learning and career growth opportunities.

Join Puzzle and be part of a team that thrives on innovation and collaboration. Apply today to make an impact!