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Heroku is one of the world’s leading software development PaaS platforms. It first came on the scene back in June 2007, making it one of the first PaaS platforms.
Originally, Heroku only supported one programming language, Ruby, but thanks to tireless development, it now allows coding in just about any major programming language, including JavaScript, Node.js, Ruby on Rails, PHP, Python, Scala, Clojure, and Go.
This highlights the platform's real strength, the ability to develop Heroku apps in so many different languages, and is the reason for its enormous appeal to web developers worldwide.
The first step in hiring Heroku developers is to ensure that you understand your project requirements inside and out. Drafting a clear product specification will help you understand the exact type of Heroku developer and the skill sets that they require.
To help you with this, here are the main skills that you require when you hire a Heroku developer:
Heroku programming skills
All mid-level to senior-level Heroku developers should have the following skills:
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- Understanding and experience of using PaaS software development systems, specifically Heroku. Others such as Docker are a bonus.
- Heroku is polyglot, meaning that it supports most programming languages. These include Node, JavaScript, Ruby on Rails, PHP, Go, Scala, and Clojure. You need a developer who knows more than one of these programming languages.
- Understanding of coding best practices.
- Experience in planning, designing, and implementing cloud delivery models.
- Knowledge of GitHub and various continuous integration scenarios.
- How to automate different parts of the web development process.
- Understanding of database management systems such as MySQL and MongoDB.
- Experience with the use of Heroku API and with developing new APIs.
- A good background in some or all of the following: CSS, Redis, Vue, Bootstrap, React.js, jQuery, Django, Laravel, and AngularJS.
- App security, including how best to secure APIs.
- Extensive knowledge of Heroku Buildpacks.
Other skills to look for when you hire Heroku developers
Now that you have a good idea of the types of skills that you will need in your developer, let’s look at a few of the non-development-related skills that they must have.
1. Choose the right hiring platform
The temptation of every startup or enterprise company is to try to onboard the most cost-effective developers as quickly as possible.
Many startups make the mistake of heading straight to the general-purpose freelance developer sites. While such sites offer a good range of developer skill sets at low rates, they do come with big drawbacks.
They connect clients directly with freelance developers and then leave them to it. Many of these software engineers will only be able to work on your project part-time as they have other clients too.
Other than the obvious distraction that comes from trying to manage a heavy workload, something which often reduces their work speed and communication skills, freelancers are unmanaged and often get charged a hefty 20% of their income by the platform.
Keep in mind that if you choose to hire a developer outside of the United States or your home country, you will have to account for time zone differences when managing them.
A much more sensible choice is to opt for the software developer-specific freelancer sites.
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These sites offer vetted software engineers which helps you avoid getting a poor-quality programmer. Unfortunately, these developers are still freelancers so come with the obvious drawbacks. Also, these sites offer little in the way of management tools or project managers.
The best choice is to hire Heroku developers from a dedicated software development company such as DevTeam.Space. Not only are our software engineers employed full-time by our platform, but their work is also guaranteed by us.
So, if you are not 100% happy, then you don’t have to pay. We offer managed web developers and development teams. Our contract includes the option to enter into a full NDA, which is essential to protecting your idea.
2. Interview the shortlisted candidates
The success of your Heroku development project depends on you finding a good coder. This you must do during the interview stage (unless you hire one from a software development company).
Now it's time to roll up the sleeves and get interviewing.
If you don’t have a good understanding of Heroku software development then you should either ask someone who does to assist or find some interview questions on Google.
During the interview, be sure to delve into their background and experience creating Heroku apps. You should also do your research on their past projects and ask them specific questions that relate to your project specifications.
Keep in mind that good communication skills are a must. In the interview, your candidate should be able to relate ideas in a clear and precise manner.
3. Get them up to speed and ready to go
Once you have found the right candidate, it is time to bring them up to speed with the project requirements, technical solutions, test plans, etc. Be sure to insist on an NDA before doing this.
Introduce your developer to your team and management processes. Make 100% sure they know what is expected of them and how to manage communications.
The final step is to get them set up with the tools that they will need to undertake your web development. Detail your project plan and work for upcoming iterations. Finalize payment conditions and get them working.
Interview tips when hiring Heroku developers
We have the following interview tips for hiring Heroku programmers:
A. Look for skilled developers with the primary software development skills first
You should first look for software developers with the relevant primary skills. Check out their education qualification, e.g., a degree in computer science or information technology. Look for full-stack web developers or Rails developers based on your project requirements. Don’t primarily focus on Heroku skills.
Heroku is an easy-to-use PaaS platform. You can get extensive and high-quality documentation. A skilled full-stack web developer or an experienced software developer can relatively easily learn Heroku.
What if experienced Heroku developers don’t know Ruby on Rails, and you need this framework in your project? You face a steep learning curve.
Therefore, focus on finding a software engineer with the relevant skills first.
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B. Evaluate the experience in using cloud computing platforms
You have clarity over the primary skills needed in your development team. You have already covered this aspect during interviews. Now you need to evaluate the experience in using cloud platforms.
Do the developers have backend development experience in a cloud environment? Can they quickly work their way through a cloud platform?
Top Heroku developers should have considerable experience in using cloud platforms. They should work on multiple projects using cloud platforms. They can then easily work on Heroku.
Assessing this can be hard when you interview remote developers. The assessment gets harder if you interview freelancers. Hire Heroku developers from hybrid software companies like DevTeam.Space. We follow a stringent screening process.
C. Assess the software architecture skills when hiring senior software engineers
In the modern era of software engineering, software developers need a thorough understanding of architecture. We don’t expect developers to replace architects. Architects will still make the relevant architectural decisions. However, developers should know how to code in line with the relevant architectural guidelines.
Evaluate the understanding of software architecture when interviewing candidates. This evaluation can be hard when interviewing remote Heroku developers, and it’s harder for freelancers.
That’s another reason to hire developers from trustworthy companies like DevTeam.Space. Our vetting process does the “heavy lifting” for you.
Examples of interview questions when hiring Heroku developers
Ask questions that help you to evaluate hands-on knowledge, e.g.:
A. What are the options to install the Heroku CLI?
Answer: You have the following options:
Installing with an installer;
Standalone installation with a Tarball;
Installing with Ubuntu/Debian apt-get;
Installing for Arch Linux;
Installing with NPM.
Heroku doesn’t prefer the NPM option due to the lack of auto-updates.
B. What is a “Dyno” in Heroku?
Answer: A “Dyno” is an isolated, virtualized Unix container. A dyno in Heroku provides the environment needed to run an application.
C. What is a “slug” in Heroku?
Answer: A “slug” is a bundle of the source code, fetched dependencies, the language runtime, and compiled/generated output of the build system. Heroku executes slugs to run applications.
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Since you are looking for great Heroku developers, why not take a moment to complete a DevTeam.Space product specification form. Our mid-level and expert full-stack developers community has years of experience designing and building great apps with Heroku.
DevTeam.Space is an innovative American software development company with over 99% project success rate. DevTeam.Space builds reliable and scalable custom software applications, mobile apps, websites, live-streaming software applications, speech recognition systems, ChatGPT and AI-powered solutions, and IoT solutions and conducts complex software integrations for various industries, including finance, hospitality, healthcare, music, entertainment, gaming, e-commerce, banking, construction, and education software solutions on time and budget.
DevTeam.Space supports its clients with business analysts and dedicated tech account managers who monitor tech innovations and new developments and help our clients design, architect, and develop applications that will be relevant and easily upgradeable in the years to come.
Once you have submitted your form, one of our dedicated account managers will contact you to answer any questions you might have.
