Senior iOS App Developer

Location: Calgary, Canada (Remote-Friendly)

Robots & Pencils is seeking a Senior iOS App Developer to lead the development of robust, scalable, and high-performance iOS applications across our portfolio of client projects. This role combines deep iOS expertise with hands-on leadership in architecture, user experience, and delivery excellence.

As a senior contributor, you'll take ownership of iOS development from design to release. You'll collaborate with cross-functional teams to define architecture, shape product experiences, and build apps that reflect modern best practices and user-first design.

Key Responsibilities

Mobile Architecture & Feature Development

• Design and build native iOS applications using modern tools and patterns: Swift, SwiftUI (and/or UIKit), MVVM, async/await (and/or Combine).

• Translate product requirements and UX designs into functional, testable, and performant app features.

• Architect clean, scalable, modular codebases that support long-term growth, reuse, and maintainability.

• Continuously optimize performance, offline support, responsiveness, accessibility, and startup time using tools like Xcode Instruments and system logs.

Engineering Leadership & Delivery

• Lead iOS-focused engineering streams across active projects, from discovery to delivery.

• Collaborate with designers, backend developers, and product managers to align implementation plans and integration strategies.

• Review pull requests and mentor team members on iOS best practices, code quality, and platform conventions.

• Ensure code is testable and aligned with CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions, Bitrise, CircleCI, Fastlane).

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Contribute to API design and backend integration strategy, advocating for mobile-friendly contracts.

• Help define and maintain coding standards, tooling, and documentation for mobile engineering.

• Participate in release planning, quality reviews, and issue resolution with project stakeholders.

• Work within agile processes to meet delivery timelines while maintaining quality and stability.

Offshore/Distributed Team Collaboration

• Coordinate with teammates across time zones to ensure consistent delivery and high code quality.

• Share architecture guidance and technical artifacts across distributed teams and projects.

Platform & Process Excellence

• Evaluate and integrate emerging iOS libraries, UI frameworks, and automation tools.

• Ensure apps meet Apple App Store submission standards and accessibility compliance (e.g., WCAG, VoiceOver, Dynamic Type).

• Support crash analytics, user feedback loops, and observability in production (e.g., Crashlytics, Sentry, analytics SDKs).

• Drive continuous improvement in mobile development practices and team performance.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Engineering, or equivalent experience.

• 5+ years of professional iOS development experience, including 2+ years in senior/lead roles.

• Expertise in Swift, SwiftUI (and/or UIKit), MVVM, and Swift Concurrency (async/await; familiarity with Combine a plus).

• Strong knowledge of networking and data layers: URLSession/Alamofire, REST/JSON (GraphQL a plus), Core Data (or Realm/SQLite).

• Experience with modular multi-module architectures and scalable code organization.

• Proven testing practices: XCTest, XCUITest, snapshot testing, dependency injection for testability.

• Familiarity with package/build and release tooling: Swift Package Manager, CocoaPods, Fastlane, code signing, TestFlight, App Store Connect.

• Published apps on the App Store.

• Experience with Git-based workflows and CI/CD integration (GitHub Actions, Bitrise, CircleCI).

• Understanding of the full mobile development lifecycle, from design through deployment and post-release iteration.

• Upper-Intermediate English (written and spoken) for effective cross-functional communication.

Nice to Have

• Experience with StoreKit (IAP/subscriptions), APNs and push notifications, deep links, background modes, Keychain/CryptoKit, and app security.

• Familiarity with SwiftData and modern persistence patterns.

• Experience with widgets, Live Activities, App Clips, and on-device ML (Core ML/Vision).

• Exposure to cross-platform or shared-code strategies (e.g., Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile, React Native, Flutter) and/or basic Android fluency.

• Contributions to open source or an active technical blog/GitHub profile.

• Background in travel, hospitality, or IoT-enabled mobile apps.

Personal Competencies

• Accountability – owns the delivery of iOS features with quality, reliability, and precision.

• Adaptability – operates effectively in fast-paced client environments and shifting priorities.

• Collaboration – builds strong working relationships across teams and time zones.

• Execution-focused – pragmatic about shipping maintainable solutions, not over-engineering.

• Innovation-minded – explores and integrates modern tools and libraries into the tech stack.

• Craftsmanship – holds high standards for UI/UX polish, accessibility, and code structure.

Why Join Robots & Pencils?

We don't just ship apps; we create human-centered, digital-first products that matter. As a Senior iOS App Developer, you'll join a team that values deep craft, cross-functional collaboration, and a relentless focus on quality. You'll work on impactful projects that push the boundaries of mobile technology while influencing development culture and best practices across the organization.