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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 real strength of the platform, the ability to develop Heroku apps in so many different languages, and is the reason for its enormous appeal to web developers all over the world.
The first step you must undertake to hire Heroku developers is to make sure that you understand your project requirements inside and out. Draw up a clear product specification as this 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:
- 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 that 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 HerokuAPI 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.
A. Experience
The advantages that the Heroku development platform has to offer can easily become disadvantages if your developer doesn’t have a good amount of experience in web development.
In this way, it is much like WordPress, which helps inexperienced web developers create sites that look great but would be out of reach of their abilities otherwise. For example, deploying a static HTML website on Heroku is not the sign of a developer who is experienced in web development.
Heroku takes some pressure off software engineers as it allows them to focus on front-end code instead of infrastructure.
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While this is great and can help to avoid certain issues, it does mean that less knowledgeable developers are able to create good products. This won’t seem like a problem until your web application throws up some error that your less experienced developer can’t solve.
Experienced front-end and back-end developers are vital as they can identify roadblocks ahead and will account for the implementation of other features later on, etc. when writing their code.
Also, more complex web applications that require some form of machine learning, etc., will require high-level developers who have experience in this niche.
A thorough scrutinization of your developer’s work history is essential. Make sure that your developer also has lots of experience working in projects that were created without Heroku.
B. App deployment on Heroku and intellectual property protection
Another advantage of Heroku is that much of the app security is handled by the platform. However, this can be a negative also. Many developers have reported issues with this. The disadvantage of this is that you are entrusting the platform with the security of your code.
While it is relatively straightforward, your developer should have experience in deploying apps on Heroku and the best practices for the protection of your intellectual property.
How to find the best Heroku developers?
The next steps detail how to hire Heroku developers:
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.
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 too.
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.
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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.
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.
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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 community of mid-level and expert full-stack developers has years of experience designing and building great apps with Heroku.
Once you have submitted your form, one of our dedicated account managers will get in touch to answer any questions that you might have.
