Halil Gürsoy
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Engineer and Developer
Berlin, Germany
Toptal member since July 11, 2022
Halil is a professional software engineer with nearly nine years of experience in native app development for Apple platforms. He currently works as the engineering manager of the iOS team at Zalando Lounge, part of the enterprise-level company Zalando, where he built and launched an app and grew its user base to millions. Halil focuses on mobility, fintech, and social media services and platforms and looks at freelance as an opportunity to apply his expertise to a variety of products.
Portfolio
Experience
- UIKit - 9 years
- Software Engineering - 9 years
- iOS - 9 years
- Delivery Management - 7 years
- Swift - 7 years
- Stakeholder Management - 4 years
- MacOS - 3 years
- Technical Leadership - 3 years
Availability
Preferred Environment
MacOS, Xcode, Swift, UIKit, SwiftUI, Fastlane, Firebase, Realm, VIPER Architecture, iOS
The most amazing...
...thing I've accomplished in my career is building the Zalando Lounge app, launching it in the App Store, and growing its user base to millions.
Work Experience
Engineering Manager
Zalando
- Led an iOS team of eight developers at Zalando Lounge for the past 1.5 years, providing technical leadership and managing the members, project delivery and release, and stakeholders.
- Designed and drove the adoption of a completely new Jira workflow and project structure for the whole department and introduced Jira roadmaps, enabling us to switch to a single tool from a multiple tool setup.
- Conducted technical interviews for iOS positions for over five years and recently started acting as a talent champion, assisting hiring managers in their decisions. I also hired two new engineers as the hiring manager for our team.
- Established SwiftUI as a relevant technology in the company and set up a hackathon to help developers engage with the framework and experience how it can enable them.
- Convinced the senior leaders to use SwiftUI as a high-fidelity prototyping tool.
Senior Software Engineer, iOS
Zalando
- Led the first modularization of the Zalando Lounge app, including the adoption of VIPER in the whole codebase, significantly improving the build times, especially since the Swift compiler was not efficient at the time.
- Conducted technical interviews for iOS positions, including screening, coding, general tech, and system design interviews.
- Acted as the tech lead, filled in for the engineering manager who had to leave under short notice, and helped onboard the new head of engineering who came as a replacement.
Software Engineer, iOS
Zalando
- Built and launched the first version of the Zalando Lounge iOS app as the first full-time developer on the project, together with two freelancers.
- Contributed as the main driver from Engineering to grow the app to having millions of users throughout the years.
- Acted as the go-to person for many stakeholders in almost all areas of the app, including product management, product design, data analytics, app messaging, and content creation.
- Led the team that won three different prizes in a Zalando hackathon, including a golden ticket for working on the project for a longer period. The project was related to optimizing the clothing donation process.
Mobile Application Developer
Obss
- Built and launched the minimum viable product (MVP) of Tazedirekt, an e-grocery app tailored for quality groceries. The app was sold to Migros and still uses the same design I implemented back then.
- Started and drove the implementation of Webnak, an iOS app that connected freight givers and truck owners.
- Delivered the MVP of Webnak and regularly updated the app until version 1.5.
- Contributed to refactoring and adding new features to an in-house iOS for Jira named MyJiraClient.
Experience
Development of the Zalando Lounge iOS App
I built and launched the first version of the app, together with two freelancers. I also led its first modularization, including adopting VIPER in the whole codebase, significantly improving the build times since the Swift compiler was inefficient back then.
Development of the Tazedirekt e-Grocery App
https://www.tazedirekt.com/I was the main developer of the app. I also launched its first version and implemented a few major updates after its launch. The app was sold to the French supermarket giant Migros and still uses the same interface I implemented, proving the quality of the initial product.
SwiftUI Development of the Life App
http://www.lifeapp.appI developed the app using SwiftUI exclusively, supporting all Apple platforms, including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS.
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering
Istanbul Technical University - Istanbul, Turkey
Skills
Libraries/APIs
REST APIs, Google APIs, Facebook SDK
Tools
Xcode, Fastlane, Git, Google Analytics
Languages
Swift, Swift 5, Objective-C, GraphQL, C++
Frameworks
UIKit, SwiftUI, React Native
Paradigms
VIPER Architecture, Object-oriented Programming (OOP)
Platforms
Firebase, iOS, MacOS, WatchOS
Storage
JSON, Realm, Cloud Firestore
Other
Software Engineering, Data Structures, Algorithms, APNs, Stakeholder Management, Scrumban, Delivery Management, Release Management, App Store, Code Architecture, Push Notifications, Architecture, Technical Leadership, Technical Hiring, Maps, Software Project Management, Cryptography, Bluetooth
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