José Silva, Developer in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal

José Silva

Software Developer

Location
Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
Toptal Member Since
March 29, 2018

For the past 10 years, José has been working as a mobile developer—amassing a vast knowledge of the Android SDK and building highly interactive mobile apps with complex UIs and multimedia elements along with network communication and an overriding prerogative to provide the best UX possible. At his core, José is driven by his curiosity, and this enables him to create solutions that cover all the necessities and more.

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Portfolio

SumUp
Kotlin, Android, Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile (KMM), Android Studio, Swift...
Abihome
MongoDB, TypeScript, Express.js, Node.js, Kotlin, Android
MindSea Development, Inc. (via Toptal)
Firebase Cloud Functions, Cloud Firestore, Firebase, TypeScript, Bitrise...

Location

Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal

Availability

Full-time

Preferred Environment

Slack, Git, Android Studio, MacOS

The most amazing...

...project I've worked on is the official FC Porto app which allows fans to experience the club from the inside through dedicated content.

Work Experience

2022 - PRESENT

Kotlin Developer

SumUp
  • Built internal libraries to integrate into the main product.
  • Developed proofs of concept that supported the company's decision regarding product development.
  • Implemented SDKs from various brands to interact with physical devices in multiple platforms using Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile.
Technologies: Kotlin, Android, Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile (KMM), Android Studio, Swift, Xcode, IntelliJ IDEA, Redux
2018 - 2022

Android Developer

Abihome
  • Participated in the initial version of the Abihome app.
  • Implemented the redesign for version 2.0 of the Abihome app.
  • Developed an accompanying Android app to allow students to choose mottos when shaking the device.
  • Built a REST API to be consumed by mobile apps on a separate project using Node.js, Express, TypeScript, and MongoDB.
Technologies: MongoDB, TypeScript, Express.js, Node.js, Kotlin, Android
2019 - 2020

Android Developer

MindSea Development, Inc. (via Toptal)
  • Reviewed legacy code to improve location tracking implementation, using geofences to automatically start and finish the tracking.
  • Added support for location tracking when the user isn't using the app and while the device is idle.
  • Created pipelines for CI/CD using Bitrise, deployed it to the Google Play Store, and distributed test builds using Firebase App Distribution.
  • Identified and fixed bugs as part of a global code review.
  • Refactored and improved a major feature, in a vertical way (UI, domain, data), according to provided layouts and with strict collaboration with Project Management.
  • Developed server-side code, in Firebase Cloud Functions, to support migration and the refactor of a major feature.
  • Helped with the implementation of the onboarding flow for an app.
  • Tested and implemented an in-app update feature, improving user experience.
  • Applied small improvements to already existing features.
Technologies: Firebase Cloud Functions, Cloud Firestore, Firebase, TypeScript, Bitrise, Kotlin, Android
2018 - 2019

Android Developer

TiCCC.com, LLC (via Toptal)
  • Developed an Android app to log users' operations and tasks using Kotlin, with local data storage and authentication.
  • Built a timer mechanism to act as a core feature of the project.
  • Created a mechanism to wake the device when the task timer reaches the estimated time, using services, BroadcastReceiver and AlarmManager.
Technologies: Room, Firebase, Kotlin, Android SDK
2018 - 2018

Mobile Developer

Waterdog
  • Developed mobile applications for the Android and iOS platforms.
  • Built a proof-of-concept chatbot with Google Actions for a car insurance company.
  • Implemented, in both Android and iOS using GeoJSON, a map with layers indicating different hazard levels for fire or meteorological events.
Technologies: Swift, Java, Kotlin, iOS, Android
2018 - 2018

Freelance Android/BLE Developer

Regulr (via Toptal)
  • Implemented a scanning mechanism to scan for BLE beacons nearby.
  • Enabled communication with a Firebase Realtime database to retrieve and store the beacons' related data.
Technologies: Bluetooth Beacons, Firebase, Android
2014 - 2018

Android Developer

Thing Pink
  • Worked on a range of projects for clients in the sports, food, and retail industries.
  • Built apps that focused on presenting complex UIs.
  • Developed complex custom UI components and animations.
  • Explored the interactions with Android wearable devices.
  • Integrated with Firebase and other Google services.
  • Implemented the integrations with push notification services such as Parse and Pushwoosh.
Technologies: Git, JSON, REST, Kotlin, Java, Android
2012 - 2014

Android, Web, and Back-end Developer

Grupo Leya
  • Contributed to the development of the Android mobile app.
  • Developed a REST API that was consumed by the mobile apps.
  • Participated in the development of a set of HTML tools to be used by the content creators' team.
  • Integrated the content created into the Android mobile app.
  • Initiated the research to shift from Flash/ActionScript to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
  • Formed and guided the teams that were using the newly developed tools.
Technologies: Git, REST, JSON, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, Java, Android

Experience

ABIHOME | Die Abiapp

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.abihome.abihome
ABIHOME is a platform that helps students (who are about to graduate) to celebrate their last year in high school. With ABIHOME, they can create yearbooks and surveys, organize tours, plan for prom night, and buy hoodies and other apparel.

As part of the Android team, I worked on the first release of the app and was later responsible for refactoring the UI.

FC Porto Official App

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pt.android.fcporto
An Android mobile app for the Portuguese soccer club FC Porto.

Among its many features, I highlighted the live feed for matches of the main soccer team, the integration of a live-stream content, and the implementation of custom push notifications with different sounds that acted as a key to user engagement. It also possessed several custom UI components: the calendar view, the competition screen, and an associated virtual card.

I worked closely with the design team to deliver great ideas and propose new features to the client.

Digital Tour Guide

I developed the Android application that allowed the user to use the smartphone as a digital tour guide, with support for multiple languages, replacing the devices that the museum lends. The app features a list of items, grouped by the exhibition they're associated with, providing both audio, video and/or panorama images, and also a descriptive text.

Cartão Fnac

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pt.fnac.app.android
A mobile app to ease communications between retail player Fnac and their customers, providing not only access to news and promotions but also displaying their purchase history, a virtual member card, and the location of stores and support lines.

As a member of the development team, my work focused on developing custom UI components and animations.

Galp EvoDriver

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pt.galp.android.evodriver
A mobile app that allows users to search and filter Galp gas stations and gives vouchers with discounts to registered users.

Tradiio Música

Tradiio is a platform that acts like a stock market where users can invest in songs and give bands and musicians the opportunity to rise. The mobile app has a music player, allows users to invest and follow their investments, see different kinds of songs and new releases, create playlists, and buy merchandise.

Weduc

Weduc acts as a social network that targets the educational area, providing a closer communication channel between teachers, students, and parents. The mobile app has a social feed, an agenda, a messaging system, and multimedia albums.

20 Manual

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.leya.educacao.manualdigital
20 Manual was developed with the purpose of substituting physical books and notebooks that both students and teachers use at school and home. Users have access to digital books (with the ability to search content, take notes, and highlight), a digital notebook, and interactive resources to help in classes and to study at home.

MAI Mobile

MAI Mobile is the official app for the internal administration ministery, providing contacts for the entities associated (like firefighters and police) and information about fire emergencies across the country.

My contribution to this project was based on codebase improvements and implementation of some features.

Project Time Machines

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ticcc.ptm
Project Time Machines is a time tracker that enables the user to log times for the tasks it intends to perform, associated with an ongoing operation.

Skills

Languages

Kotlin, Java, Swift, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, TypeScript

Frameworks

Android SDK, Glide, Express.js, Redux

Tools

Android Studio, Android Jetpack, Dialogflow, SourceTree, Slack, Git, Mongoose, Xcode, IntelliJ IDEA

Platforms

Android, Firebase, MacOS, iOS, Bitrise

Storage

JSON, Cloud Firestore, MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB

Libraries/APIs

Retrofit 2, Android API, Google Analytics API, Firebase Android SDK, Android Architecture Components, RxJava 2, Pushwoosh, Node.js

Paradigms

REST, Android Material Design, Model View Presenter (MVP), Model View Viewmodel (MVVM)

Other

Firebase Cloud Functions, Room, Heap, Bluetooth Beacons, Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile (KMM)

Education

2005 - 2012

Integrated Master's Degree in Informatics and Computer Engineering

University of Porto, Faculty of Engineering - Porto, Portugal