Publication
Android Customization: How to Build a UI Component That Does What You Want
https://www.toptal.com/developers/android/android-customization-how-to-build-a-ui-component-that-does-what-you-want
Ahmed is available for hire
Hire AhmedAhmed Alamir
Verified Expert in Engineering
Java Developer
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Toptal member since June 11, 2014
Bio
Ahmed is a veteran developer who has been writing code for about two decades. His experience with Android started with Android's first release. He is a big-picture thinker whose experience transcends mobile development into the entire software delivery pipeline. His experience working with a wide variety of clients, from startups testing the waters to Australia's largest bank, reflects Ahmed's leadership skills, collaborative nature, and solid work ethic that doesn't compromise on quality.
Portfolio
Self-employed
Android, Agile Software Development, REST, JSON, Room, Flow, Coroutines...
Arq Group
Firebase, REST, Git, Kotlin, Java, Android, Agile Software Development...
Kasra.co
Deep Linking, REST, Android, Android Development, Android SDK...
Experience
- Android - 14 years
- Android SDK - 14 years
- Java - 14 years
- Architecture - 10 years
- Agile Software Development - 10 years
- Test-driven Development (TDD) - 10 years
- Leadership - 6 years
- Kotlin - 3 years
Work Experience
Senior Android Developer
2021 - PRESENT
Self-employed
- Uplifted the new joiner experience for a mobile banking app, resulting in users 100% onboarding via the app without the need to visit a branch.
- Led a mobile team to Bootstrap a custom payment app for an independent Verifone terminal, overseeing the entire project from conception to 1st market release.
- Collaborated with back-end and security teams to fortify the payment app running on an independent payment terminal to achieve the required UX without compromising data security and PCI standards.
- Helped one of Australia's largest supermarkets, Coles, introduce their 1st digital wallet into their mobile app.
- Managed Android app release cycle with staged roll-outs while monitoring app health and employing BigQuery to analyze and track production issues.
- Interviewed possible candidates for various clients and helped the successful ones with onboarding and mentoring.
- Heaps of refactoring legacy code, convincing Compose and Flows to tango without stepping on each other's foot, and increasing unit test coverage for existing and new code.
Technologies: Android, Agile Software Development, REST, JSON, Room, Flow, Coroutines, Android Architecture Components, Kotlin, Android SDK, Android Development, Graph Query Language (GQL), Git, GitFlow, Sentry, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Dagger, Large-scale Projects, Scalability, B2C, Business to Consumer (B2C), GraphQL, Jetpack Compose
Senior Software Engineer
2015 - 2021
Arq Group
- Explored the possible solutions to tackle the client's business aspirations and described the structure and behavior of the proposed software solution to project stakeholders.
- Wrote and reviewed code that closely maintains banking regulations and security practices.
- Participated in refactoring legacy code to fit into MVVM architecture and allow for better unit test coverage.
- Worked with the client's back-end team to fine-tune their structure to serve mobile apps better.
- Hosted knowledge-sharing sessions and encouraged team members to engage in presentations and activities.
- Mentored developers and provided technical guidance for solving difficult and illusive bugs.
Technologies: Firebase, REST, Git, Kotlin, Java, Android, Agile Software Development, Android Architecture Components, Model View ViewModel (MVVM), Model View Presenter (MVP), Android Development, Android SDK, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Dagger, Large-scale Projects, Scalability, B2C, Business to Consumer (B2C)
Android Developer
2015 - 2016
Kasra.co
- Designed and implemented the app from the ground up, making ends meet between the existing back end and the desired UI.
- Worked closely with the UX team to meet design specifications and ensure comparability with various Android device sizes.
- Added background loading and caching to enable users to consume content offline.
- Implemented syncing for user settings (favorites, bookmarks, etc.) between different user devices.
- Integrated the app with social media services, e.g., branch.io for deep linking and Facebook/X (formerly Twitter) for logging in and sharing content.
Technologies: Deep Linking, REST, Android, Android Development, Android SDK, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Dagger
Android Developer
2015 - 2015
Fatsack Outdoors
- Ported an existing iOS app to Android, making the necessary UI changes to match the Android experience and design guidelines.
- Created Android UI from provided Photoshop templates.
- Employed a mix of local and in-the-cloud strategy for data storage and caching.
Technologies: JSON, Parse SDK, Android, Android Development, Android SDK, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Dagger
Freelance Android Developer
2014 - 2015
Rolltech, Inc. (via Toptal)
- Developed the Android version of a Rolltech bowling score tracking app.
- Converted iOS app screens to Android ones.
- Implemented the app to consume a real-time API and maintained a responsive user-friendly UI.
Technologies: JSON, Retrofit, Android, Android Development, Android SDK, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Dagger
Freelance Developer
2014 - 2014
Terminal.com (via Toptal)
- Created reusable Linux-based snapshots. Each snapshot contained popular open source software installed, configured, and ready to use.
Technologies: Linux
Development Lead
2014 - 2014
Inmobly
- Led a team of six developers, making design decisions and enforcing code quality practices.
- Used adaptive algorithms in the software to predict user future content consumption based on previous behavior.
- Achieved goals of lowering network congestion and decreasing internet bills.
Technologies: Python, Android, Android Development, Android SDK, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Scalability
System Designer
2012 - 2013
CGI
- Redesigned SQL queries, significantly cutting execution time from five hours to 15 minutes.
- Redesigned C-based administration software for power plants into a server/client architecture.
- Ensured full backward compatibility for the new design.
Technologies: SQL, C#, JavaScript, Scalability
Senior Developer
2011 - 2011
CIT MobiDiv
- Wrote a lossless algorithm to compress images in as few SMS packets as possible.
- Integrated the application with the messaging system on various mobile platforms.
- Used Facebook/Twitter API to publish images from the application.
Technologies: J2ME, Android, Windows Mobile, Android Development, Android SDK, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI)
Developer
2007 - 2011
Harf IT
- Designed and implemented algorithms for indexing both plain text and XML, with the ability to execute XPath queries on indexed data.
- Kept search and retrieval performance under 300ms for 16GB of data on a single mainstream PC, with index storage overhead of 15%.
- Wrote COM wrappers to provide search functionality to other platforms.
- Wrote a plugin to provide advanced Arabic support for SQL Server full text search.
Technologies: Win32 API, C++
Project History
ANZ Mobile App
https://www.anz.com.au/ways-to-bank/mobile-banking-apps/The ANZ App makes daily life easier with great banking and payment features to manage your money.
I participated in refactoring the old design to fit into MVVM architecture and allow for better unit test coverage. I also rewrote parts of the Java codebase into Kotlin, removing redundancies and code smells by taking advantage of Kotlin language features.
I participated in refactoring the old design to fit into MVVM architecture and allow for better unit test coverage. I also rewrote parts of the Java codebase into Kotlin, removing redundancies and code smells by taking advantage of Kotlin language features.
NAB Mobile App
https://www.nab.com.au/personal/online-banking/mobile-banking-appA mobile banking app for the National Australian Bank.
I integrated NPP, the Australian industry-wide payment platform, into an existing codebase with a variation of clean architecture. I implemented Tap & Pay and Instant Card features, handling NFC payments and incorporating an SDK provided by VISA. I worked with legal and security teams to enforce the bank's non-functional requirements.
I integrated NPP, the Australian industry-wide payment platform, into an existing codebase with a variation of clean architecture. I implemented Tap & Pay and Instant Card features, handling NFC payments and incorporating an SDK provided by VISA. I worked with legal and security teams to enforce the bank's non-functional requirements.
Rolltech Bowling — Android
Rolltech is a bowling score tracker wherein users can automatically track scores and statistics in real time, share bowling experiences with friends, and compete globally without ever leaving their favorite bowling center.
Fatsack Outdoors — Android
Fatsack Outdoors is the most user-friendly all-inclusive fishing app for the novice and professional angler. Join or administer a tournament, log your catches, organize your fishing tackle, then connect with millions of anglers and brands around the world all in one fishing app.
Kasra: News and More
Kasra delivers buzzing social articles about celebrities, lifehacks, recipes, and quizzes to the Arab youth.
Kasra enables readers to follow their favorite writers, bookmark the articles they like, share them over social networks, and sync it all across all their devices.
Kasra enables readers to follow their favorite writers, bookmark the articles they like, share them over social networks, and sync it all across all their devices.
ANZ Plus
https://www.anz.com.au/plus/This is ANZ's way of revolutionizing how banking works. The app was built from the bottom up to be a reactive app, using Kotlin flows and gRPC. The data on the screen is always up-to-date, no matter how many devices you use.
I worked in the JOIN space, uplifting the onboarding experience for new customers. I also interviewed new candidates for ANZ.
I worked in the JOIN space, uplifting the onboarding experience for new customers. I also interviewed new candidates for ANZ.
Coles Mobile App
Coles is a major Australian supermarket, retail, and consumer services chain. They recently undertook a major mobile app overhaul, and I joined their Android team.
I mainly implemented the "Multiple shopping lists" feature in the Android app, which involved uplifting existing features and adding new interactions with back-end APIs. I also performed mini refactoring and convincing Compose and Flows to tango without stepping on each other's feet.
I mainly implemented the "Multiple shopping lists" feature in the Android app, which involved uplifting existing features and adding new interactions with back-end APIs. I also performed mini refactoring and convincing Compose and Flows to tango without stepping on each other's feet.
Smart Hospitality
An Android app running on a Verifone payment terminal that allows connecting the terminal to existing POS machines, keeping customers' orders up to date. It also provides sought-after features like allowing a group member to pay their share and leave, split the bill evenly, or split by individual items.
I was in charge of the front-end architecture of the project, kicking off the development and leading the team until the app's first release.
I was in charge of the front-end architecture of the project, kicking off the development and leading the team until the app's first release.
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Android Architecture Components, Butterknife, Google Gson, Retrofit 2, Google Maps, Win32 API, Retrofit, Parse SDK
Tools
SourceTree, Android Studio, Microsoft Visual Studio, Git, ITerm, Flow, Sentry
Languages
Kotlin, Java, C++, C, Python, GraphQL, JavaScript, C#, SQL
Frameworks
Dagger 2, Mockito, Espresso, Android SDK, Dagger, gRPC
Paradigms
Model View ViewModel (MVVM), Object-oriented Programming (OOP), B2C, Test-driven Development (TDD), Agile Software Development, REST, Model View Presenter (MVP)
Platforms
MacOS, Android, Windows, Symbian, Linux, Windows Mobile, J2ME, Firebase
Storage
SQLite, MySQL, JSON, Compose.io
Other
Mobile Banking, Leadership, Architecture, Android Architecture, GitFlow, Software Development, Android Development, Large-scale Projects, Scalability, Business to Consumer (B2C), Jetpack Compose, OkHttp, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Deep Linking, Room, Coroutines, Graph Query Language (GQL)
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