Lead iOS Engineer
1993 - PRESENTStand Alone, Inc.- Built and maintained the first and most popular crosswords app in the store, with over 3 million downloads.
- Managed the relationship with Apple's App Store team to get Crosswords into the store on day 1.
- Maintained Crosswords through 10 iOS versions.
- Released Crosswords as the Apple & Starbuck's app of the week in 2012.
- Oversaw a transition from Objective-C to Swift as our primary iOS language.
- Developed numerous internal tools and libraries to assist in iOS development.
Technologies: REST, JavaScript, Xcode, Objective-C, Swift, iOSLead iOS Developer
2022 - 2022Real Talk LLC- Built out an app for Speech Pathologists to use to help manage both their clients (back office) and sessions with those clients.
- Worked with the rest of the team to create and evolve the server API that the iOS app talks to.
- Built an MVP that met or exceeded all initial requirements in time for the client to use it in a trade show presentation.
Technologies: iOS, Swift, SwiftUI, UIKit, Mobile UI, APIs, ArchitectureLead iOS Engineer
2021 - 2022Coinlytics- Built an iPhone, iPad, and WatchOS app from zero to shipping.
- Integrated with a custom API to provide up-to-date cryptocurrency information to the user's Home Screen using widgets.
- Built out a complex Widget customization framework with dozens of themes, support for thousands of currencies, and an enormous amount of customization.
Technologies: iOS, SwiftUI, WatchOS UI, Apple Watch, UX, UI, Swift, Swift 5, StoreKit, App UX, Apple, UIKit, APIs, Networking, WidgetsMobile Developer
2021 - 2022Lavngarde, PBC- Took over development of a POC that had already been started, built it into a shipping product.
- Interfaced with a variety of 3rd party APIs to build out a powerful background checking system.
- Integrated with Firebase to store user information and make simple admin tasks easy to accomplish without having to access code.
Technologies: Swift, iOS, Firebase, API Integration, Mobile UX, SwiftUI, App UX, AppleLead iOS Developer
2020 - 2021Strongest.com- Designed and built a detailed CrossFit application for the iPhone and Apple Watch using SwiftUI, Core Data, Combine, and numerous other Apple and third-party technologies.
- Built out a flexible data model to encompass the breadth of CrossFit exercise programs and workouts.
- Implemented a detailed phone and watch UI that allows an athlete to easily monitor their workout and keep them motivated and informed.
Technologies: SwiftUI, Core Data, Swift, Intercom API, Mixpanel API, iOS, Networking, WatchOS UISenior iOS Developer
2018 - 2020Nomadic Tribe- Built out the Nomadic Tribe mobile application, designing much of the app's architecture and implementation.
- Created a flexible and lightweight internal networking stack using protocols for easy extension.
- Designed an application architecture with minimal reliance on outside code, enabling short build times and fast iteration (all dependencies were managed using the Swift Package Manager).
Technologies: UIKit, Git, Bitbucket, Jira, Xcode, Swift, iOSiOS Developer Volunteer
2016 - 20175calls.org- Designed and developed the 5calls app iPad interface.
- Redesigned the iPhone UI for use on larger screens.
- Coded and built out the entire iPad interface.
Technologies: Swift, Xcode, iPad, iOSiOS Contract Developer
2015 - 2016PG&E/Leviathan- Built an iPad app to showcase PG&E's Zero-Net-Energy house.
- Architected and coded the iPad app, integrating augmented reality, location-awareness, and 3D imaging components.
- Implemented a pre-ARKit Augmented Reality experience using the iPad as a virtual window.
Technologies: Bluetooth, Xcode, Augmented Reality (AR), Swift, iOSiOS Contract Developer
2010 - 2016Salesforce- Built the first mass-deployed iPad marketing tool at Zimmer (at the time of its release, it was the largest deployed iPad app in the world).
- Designed and coded Salesforce's initial REST toolkit for implementing iOS apps based on their platform.
- Built The Home Depot's paint color simulation tool, Color My World, a tap app in the App Store.
- Created the Monsanto Seedsman Digital Sales Assistant iPad app.
- Developed the Allergan, Kimberly Clark, Abbot Vascular, and Diageo DSA iPad apps.
Technologies: iPhone, iPad, Salesforce, REST, Objective-C, iOSiOS Contract Developer
2011 - 2015Roger Ebert- Built Roger's iOS Great Movies app.
Technologies: Objective-C, Xcode, iOSiOS Contract Developer
2013 - 2014LaPresse- Built the crosswords playing component for the LaPresse newspaper app.
- Converted our existing Crosswords app into an embeddable library.
- Worked with the LaPresse team to embed the crossword functionality into their existing app.
Technologies: Objective-C, iPhone, iPad, iOSiOS & Palm OS Contract Developer
2002 - 2013Handmark- Built Handmark's Express software client for both Palm and iOS.
- Owned the development of one of the keynote iPhone apps (Handmark was brought on stage for the initial iPhone SDK introduction for this app).
- Built up the Palm client as the initial client for Handmark's Express news service.
- Transitioned the client to iOS after the release of the iPhone.
- Oversaw Palm and iOS development until Handmark's acquisition by Sprint in 2013.
Technologies: XML, Xcode, C++, Objective-C, Palm OS, iOSiOS Contract Developer
2010 - 2012Apple, Inc.- Architected and coded a discussion board component for Apple's internal Apple Store sales tool, Retail Me.
- Took existing designs and translated them into working application features.
Technologies: iPad, Objective-C, iOS, Xcode
iPhone Developer in Chicago, IL, United States
Member since June 11, 2018
Ben has been an iOS developer for the entire life of the platform and has worked on mobile devices for more than 20 years. He designed, built, and has maintained the most popular Crosswords app in Apple's AppStore for the last 10 years. He's done work on Apple's foundation OS code, designed Salesforce's internal REST framework, and written large-scale deployed apps for companies like Home Depot and Zimmer.
Ben is now available for hire
Portfolio
- Stand Alone, Inc.REST, JavaScript, Xcode, Objective-C, Swift, iOS
- Real Talk LLCiOS, Swift, SwiftUI, UIKit, Mobile UI, APIs, Architecture
- CoinlyticsiOS, SwiftUI, WatchOS UI, Apple Watch, UX, UI, Swift, Swift 5, StoreKit...
Availability
Full-time
Preferred Environment
Xcode
The most amazing...
...project I got to work on was with Roger Ebert on his iOS Movie Guide. We were able to distill decades of film criticism down to an iPhone sized package.
Employment
Experience
- Crosswordshttps://itunes.apple.com/us/app/crosswords/id688876601?mt=8
The first (and most popular!) Crosswords app in the App Store. It's been there since day one, has been featured by Apple, been a Starbucks App of the Week, and won numerous accolades. I designed and built the iOS client.
- Nomadic Tribehttps://apps.apple.com/us/app/nomadic-tribe/id1457846011
A Swift app for exploring native cultures around the world, learning about them, and scheduling trips to visit and live among them. I worked with a globe-spanning team with members on three continents and a half dozen time zones. We designed and built the app to help what we call nomads to expand their worlds by connecting with the nomadic tribes worldwide.
- The Home Depot | Project Colorhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/app/project-color-the-home-depot/id1002417141?mt=8
I was in charge of the iOS component of this app, though not the actual color mapping. We started with a series of wireframes and comps and implemented the entire app. I was in charge of application architecture and implementation.
- Ukrainian Poetry | Аркуші—українська поезія
A SwiftUI app for exploring Ukrainian poetry on your phone. We designed and built the app as an early exploration of a fully SwiftUI app on iOS. We eschewed all UIKit controls and code and built it entirely in SwiftUI. I worked with a talented and dedicated Ukrainian designer to build a beautiful app that expressed both the poetry of the Ukrainian language and the flexibility of SwiftUI.
- USAToday Crosswords
I developed this back in 2009, and they've not maintained it, but, for a while, it was one of the most popular iOS Crossword apps. I designed and implemented the entire application.
- Twitter + OAuthhttps://github.com/bengottlieb/Twitter-OAuth-iPhone
Here's an open source library I created to make it easier to log into Twitter via OAuth. I designed and coded the Oauth components that enabled secure login to Twitter's services.
- ASDetect Autism Detection Apphttps://itunes.apple.com/us/app/asdetect/id1058669141?mt=8
I built the iOS component for this app, including most of the design and all of the coding. I worked with a team distributed over three continents and six time zones to build an award-winning app to help parents detect autism in their young children.
- Collusion: Nearby Device Networking with MultipeerConnectivity in iOS (Publication)Traditionally, connecting devices for peer-to-peer communications has been a tedious task: An application needs to discover what’s around it, open connections on both sides, and then maintain them as network infrastructure, connections, distances, etc. Realizing the difficulties inherent in these activities, in iOS 7 and macOS 10.10 Apple introduced its MultipeerConnectivity framework. Join Toptal Freelance iOS Developer Ben Gottlieb as he explains what MultipeerConnectivity is, and teaches us how to use it.
Skills
Languages
Objective-C, C, Swift, JavaScript, XML, C++, Swift 5Frameworks
SwiftUI, Core Data, Cocoa, UIKit, iOS Frameworks, Vapor, ARKit, StoreKitTools
Xcode, Interface Builder, Jira, Bitbucket, GitParadigms
Agile, Prototype-based OOP, MVC Design, UI Design, RESTPlatforms
WatchOS, iOS, MacOS, Apple, Firebase, Salesforce, Apple Watch, MobileOther
UI, iPhone, iPad, Bluetooth, Networking, Architecture, API Integration, Mobile UX, Palm OS, Augmented Reality (AR), WatchOS UI, Mobile UI, APIs, App UX, UX, WidgetsStorage
SQLiteLibraries/APIs
Intercom API, Mixpanel API
Education
- Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics1991 - 1995Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Troy, New York
