Before you hire React Native developers in India, confirm that React Native is the right tool, then test three things most interviews skip: comfort with the New Architecture, the ability to write or debug a native module, and ownership of the release pipeline to both app stores. Plenty of candidates can build screens. Far fewer can ship and maintain an app.
Is React Native the right call for this app?
The framework question comes before the hiring question, because it changes who you need.
When React Native wins
- Your web product is already React and TypeScript, so validation logic, API clients and some state code can be shared.
- You want one team shipping iOS and Android together, with a UI that follows each platform's conventions.
- You value over-the-air updates for JavaScript and asset fixes between store releases.
When Flutter or native is the better fit
Flutter suits apps with a highly custom, brand-heavy interface that must look identical on every device; our guide to hiring Flutter developers in India covers that path. Fully native Swift and Kotlin remains the safer choice for apps dominated by camera pipelines, AR, heavy background processing or deep platform features on release day. If you are still weighing options, the trade-offs are laid out in our piece on cross-platform app development.
Not sure which way your product leans? Tell us what the app must do and we will give you a straight recommendation before you start recruiting.
New Architecture skills to probe
Since React Native 0.76 the New Architecture is enabled by default: Fabric renders the UI, TurboModules load native modules lazily, and JSI lets JavaScript call native code directly instead of serializing messages across the old bridge. Many production apps are still mid-migration, which makes this a sharp hiring filter.
Questions that reveal real experience
- Which of your dependencies broke when you enabled the New Architecture, and how did you resolve it?
- How does Codegen use typed specs to generate native interfaces, and why does that matter for safety?
- What changes for animations and gestures with Reanimated and Gesture Handler on Fabric?
- How do you profile a slow list: FlatList tuning, FlashList, or moving work off the JavaScript thread?
Strong candidates also understand Hermes, the default JavaScript engine, including how to read a Hermes profile when start-up time creeps up.
Native modules: the skill that separates seniors
Sooner or later your app needs something no library does well: a payment SDK, a Bluetooth device, a background location rule. That is when you discover whether your developer can open Xcode and Android Studio without panic.
A practical native-module exercise
Ask for a small module that exposes one native API, such as reading battery state, to JavaScript on both platforms. Look for a typed spec, sensible threading, clean error propagation to JavaScript and a short note on how it would be tested.
Expo projects need this too
Expo is now the recommended way to start new React Native apps, and it no longer means giving up native code. Development builds, config plugins and the Expo Modules API let teams add native functionality while keeping managed tooling. A senior developer should explain when a config plugin is enough and when a custom module is required.
Release pipeline ownership
Shipping is where many React Native projects stall. Test whether the candidate has owned, not merely watched, these steps:
- Signing and credentials for iOS certificates and provisioning profiles and Android upload keys, stored safely outside the repository.
- Automated builds with EAS Build, Fastlane or a CI service, producing reproducible builds per environment.
- Store submission, including privacy declarations, review notes and handling rejections; our guide to avoiding App Store rejection lists the usual traps.
- Over-the-air updates with EAS Update or a similar service, used only for JavaScript and asset changes within store policy, with staged rollouts and a rollback plan.
- Crash and performance monitoring with symbolicated stack traces, so a crash report points at a real line of code.
How to hire React Native developers in India: a vetting sequence
When you hire React Native developers in India, the strongest signal is shipped work you can install and inspect, so build the process around evidence rather than quizzes. Write the role description around your product's real constraints, such as offline use, payments or device integrations, so candidates can judge the fit too. Then run a sequence that respects everyone's time:
- Portfolio check: live apps in both stores they helped build, with a clear account of their own part.
- Technical conversation: architecture choices from a past app, upgrades they led and incidents they handled.
- Paid task: a feature with one native touchpoint, delivered as a pull request with tests.
- Device check: run their build on a mid-range Android phone, not only a recent iPhone, because that is where performance problems surface for many users in India.
If recruiting is not where you want to spend the next month, iJurug Soft builds cross-platform apps as milestone-based projects with senior engineers on every engagement. Read how we scope React Native app development in India to see whether a project model suits you better than a hire.
Frequently asked questions
Do React Native developers need Swift or Kotlin?
For simple apps, rarely. For anything with payments, hardware, background tasks or a custom SDK, at least one person on the team must be comfortable reading and writing Swift and Kotlin.
Should a new app use Expo or the bare workflow?
Most new apps start well on Expo with development builds. Choose a bare setup only when a specific native requirement cannot be met through config plugins or custom modules.
How much of the code is shared between iOS and Android?
Most business logic and UI code is shared. Platform-specific work usually concentrates in permissions, notifications, deep links, native modules and store configuration.
Can an existing app migrate to the New Architecture?
Yes, typically by upgrading React Native in steps, auditing third-party libraries for compatibility and testing on real devices at each stage.
Want a second pair of eyes on your app plan or your shortlist? Share your requirements through our contact form or write to info@ijurugsoft.com, and we will respond with a recommended approach and a clear quote.