IT specialist recruitment faces increasing challenges. In 2023, about 64% of business leaders reported problems hiring candidates due to a lack of necessary skills or experience. Companies looking for React developers deal with a technical stack that is difficult to check without the proper expertise. You need to know where to find experts, how to evaluate skill sets, how to conduct interviews and technical testing, and so on.
Despite all the challenges, there are a few proven practices to hire React developers with. In this article, we’ll review the most common ones and examine candidate selection more closely. So, let’s get started!
$65/hour
Warsaw, Poland
Full-time
Tech stack: React, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, Git, Rest API, HTML, CSS, Vue.js, Node.js, Next.js, MySQL, AWS, Azure, RSpec, Jira
Alex is a full-stack software developer with over 6 years of experience. His primary focus is on Ruby on Rails for the backend and React or Next.js for the front end. In past projects, Alex has proactively implemented UI improvements using custom JavaScript. This included an automatic hashtag wrapping feature and reactive data updates without reloading the page. Alex also has experience integrating new APIs.
Full-time
“A true professional in Ruby on Rails! Alex has greatly simplified our backend processes. Moreover, he optimized Sidekiq tasks and reduced daily time calculations by 40 times.”
Taylor
FinTech
“Working with Alex was a breeze. His strong React skills helped us build a highly responsive and user-friendly frontend for our platform.”
Michael
E-commerce
“Alex's knack for crafting intuitive UIs is impressive.”
Morgan
Healthcare
$50/hour
Kyiv, Ukraine
Part-time, 20 hours/week
Tech stack: JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Git, Redux, HTML5, CSS, Jira, Bootstrap, Vue.js, Material UI, jQuery
Serhiy is a front-end developer with 3 years of experience in React. His previous experience includes building a web application for a learning platform. His primary focus was on the user interface, integration of third-party educational tools, and implementation of automatic student assessment. Serhiy has experience with APIs and user communication functionality. He also participated in the migration from Knockout to React.
Part-time, 20 hours/week
"Serhiy's skills brought our platform's UI to life. Easy to work with, delivered on time."
Sam
EdTech
“After working with Serhiy, we got rid of downtime. Our app runs smoother now. He has a lot of potential, for sure!”
Casey
Tech Education
“I worked with Serhiy for over a year in the same team. He approached the project on a staffing basis and quickly got up to speed. His help made a big difference, and we completed it about 36% ahead of schedule.”
Alice
SaaS company
$90/hour
Austin, TX, United States
Full-time
Tech stack: React, TypeScript, Google Cloud Platform, PostgreSQL, SQL, Node.js, Docker, JavaScript, CSS, Webpack, REST API, React Hooks, HTML, Next.js, Redux, Express.js, Nest.js, MySQL
Liam is a full-stack developer with 7 years of experience. He specializes in React, Next.js, Node.js, SQL databases, and Google Cloud Platform. He is proficient in application testing, end-to-end integration, and unit testing and has commercial experience in cloud-based back-ends. Liam successfully built projects from scratch and led teams at his previous job. He has worked with both enterprise-level companies and startups.
Full-time
$45/hour
La Plata, Argentina
Full-time
Tech stack: JavaScript, React, REST API, Redux, ES6+, Git, TypeScript, ESLint, React Hooks, React Router
Noah has 3 years of experience as a React developer. He has primarily worked in the CRM and education industries. Noah has been involved in building new features, performance optimization, code reviews, and bug fixes. He also has experience with the implementation of several features. This includes logins, training, administrative panels, user pages, dashboards, and payments.
Full-time
$35/hour
Lviv, Ukraine
Full-time
Tech stack: JavaScript, Git, HTML, CSS, Webpack, Bootstrap, Figma, REST API, Node.js, React.js, jQuery, MongoDB
Mila is a junior React frontend web developer with 9 months of experience. She worked on a web application for a local startup, focusing on user interface design. Mila integrated third-party APIs for features like push notifications, social media sharing, messaging, and video calls. She has completed several pet projects using Node.js and React. Mila was also involved in projects transitioning from simple landing pages to fully featured online stores.
Full-time
$70/hour
Marlborough, MA, United States
Full-time
Tech stack: React, Redux, Webpack, REST API, AWS S3, Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, GraphQL, Moment.js, WebSockets, HTML & CSS, SASS, Express.js, Next.js
David has 4 years of commercial experience as a front-end developer. He has designed and implemented responsive and web applications using React and NodeJS. Previously, David worked on an aviation project. There, he created a system for calculating flight prices, data in table view, and a communication system. David was also involved in migration services from Javascript to Typescript and working with legacy code.
Full-time
$60/hour
Recife, Brazil
Full-time
Tech stack: JavaScript, React, Redux, SASS, Git, Webpack, CSS, HTML, Vue.js, Material UI, React Hooks, Semantic UI, React Query, TypeScript, GraphQL, Python, MUI, Ant Design, Express.js, MERN
Miguel is a front-end developer with over 6 years of experience. He has an extensive background in React.js and JavaScript ecosystem and 2 years of production practice in React Query. Miguel created projects related to NFT, vehicle recovery, and a social crypto platform. He also takes on freelance tasks in React, JavaScript, and SASS.
Full-time
$45/hour
Odesa, Ukraine
Full-time
Tech stack: JavaScript, Git, HTML5, CSS, React, TypeScript, SASS, ES6+, Node.js, Jest, Bootstrap, Webpack, Jira, jQuery, REST API
Alice has 3.5 years of experience in React web app development. Her expertise includes bug fixing, code review, refactoring, and task evaluation. Alice has developed and launched 3 web apps, reducing user-reported issues by 50% and the development time for new features by 20%.
Full-time
$70/hour
Bucharest, Romania
Part-time, 25 hours/week
Tech stack: JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Node.js, Express.js, Next.js, Nest.js, React, React Hooks, Yii2, SQL, HTML5, CSS3, SCSS, Socket.io, Electron.js, Git
Michael is a Senior React developer and TechLead with over 9 years of experience. He possesses strong skills in organizing and controlling the workflow of programming teams, including mentoring trainees and junior employees. Michael has developed application architecture, project standards, and a small JavaScript framework, covering both the front-end and back-end of web applications. He is available for part-time or freelance engagements.
Part-time, 25 hours/week
“Michael has been a team leader of our developers for almost 3 years, and during this time, we built 13 full-fledged projects in 5 different niches. It was a precious experience to work with someone so professional.”
David
Digital agency
“Michael is one of the most qualified guys I know in this field. He mentored me for 3 months, and I learned more than I did for 2 years earlier.”
Oksana
Junior Web Developer
“Thanks to Michael's leadership, we developed a fully functional app from concept to launch in only two months. That's an impressive result!”
Sarah
FinTech Startup
When looking to hire React developers, 3 main avenues are available: recruitment, freelancing, and staffing.
Start your search by posting on Indeed, Glassdoor, and Stack Overflow job boards. You can also use LinkedIn to find candidates and reach out to potential hires. You can do this with internal resources by creating a job description or using the services of recruiting agencies. They set up candidate requirements and search for, screen, interview, and test them. The search with them is faster than in-house recruitment, but agencies often charge up to 25% of the hire’s annual salary.
You can also attend university job fairs and industry events. The official React website constantly updates the list of upcoming local conferences. You can check out the nearest summit and find React developers nearby.
To hire a freelance React developer, check out platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and Guru. Use social media and LinkedIn to post job opportunities and engage with potential hires. Also, post job listings on freelance-specific job boards to attract qualified candidates.
Last but not least, consider IT staff augmentation. These partnerships can provide access to a global pool of top React developers. It’s a similar model to recruiting, as such agencies hire React web developers through detailed screening and testing. However, IT staffing companies don’t charge a fee for recruitment; you only pay hourly or monthly rates for experts. They provide full support after hiring, handling taxes, working equipment, and knowledge transfer.
One of the advantages of staff augmentation is that you can hire React developers on an as-needed basis. When your project ends, or you no longer need this specialist, you can stop cooperating without long-term commitments.
Now, let’s discuss the cost of hiring React developers. When recruiting an employee in-house, you should focus on the annual salary and add expected bonuses, perks, equipment, etc. When you hire a contractor, for example, through a staffing company, you should calculate the hourly rates. Let’s take a closer look.
When you hire React developers in-house, you can expect to pay a median annual salary of $69,480, based on a StackOverflow survey. However, this figure varies significantly by experience level and region. Below is a table of the average net yearly salary (excluding bonuses and perks) by country.
US
$72,108
$83,526
$91,905
UK
$50,776
$57,419
$63,337
Norway
$50,507
$53,312
$56,118
Australia
$40,559
$42,395
$43,830
Switzerland
$96,953
$100,103
$103,639
Germany
$45,427
$54,173
$68,681
Canada
$44,158
$60,005
$69,189
Eastern Europe
$24,000
$29,400
$43,322
Latin America
$18,000
$26,300
$38,655
Source: The median React developer salary per year by country/region based on Glassdoor, Indeed, and StackOverflow 2022 survey.
Also, remember that React is usually not the only specialization developers offer. For example, the US front-end developers’ salary ranges from $68,202 to $189,117 annually. Full-stack engineers with React skills, in turn, earn from $108,038 to $235,535.
Now, let’s look at the rates you can use to calculate the estimated cost of hiring a contractor.
Here are the average hourly rates for contractor React developers by region:
$83/hour
$65.5/hour
$47.5/hour
$45/hour
Thus, the monthly cost of a React developer on a contract basis would be:
Remember that these are only average values. Some developers may ask for more or less, depending on the scope of work, expertise in the sector you need, etc.
Before hiring React developers, specify the skill and experience level you expect from them. In general, React experts design and implement custom features. They create reusable UI components and libraries and optimize app performance. One of the tasks that developers can perform is cross-browser compatibility.
You need to hire a React.js programmer who can write clean, well-documented code that is easy to maintain. It is also important to cooperate with designers and backend developers to ensure seamless integration. Let’s take a more in-depth look at the skills that React developers should have and the levels of expertise available on the market.
The decision to hire React developers depends on several factors. These include both core skill sets and industry-specific ones. You should pay attention to the basic ones first. Here are some of the must-have skills you should look for:
This list is not exhaustive, and React developers can increase their skills with experience. For example, knowledge of cloud services (AWS or Azure) is nice to have but not required for all projects.
Besides hard skills, you should pay attention to cultural fit, values, and work ethic before you hire a React developer. This also affects the success of the project in some way. For example, a developer may have good hard skills but cannot communicate with your team due to a lack of language fluency or a different time zone. This is often the case with remote workers or freelancers.
Thus, you should screen candidates for soft skills as well:
Of course, if you are looking for a Senior React developer for a Team Lead position or higher, you should also add other skills such as strategic thinking, leadership, etc. It works the other way around, too. Following technical guidance and feedback is the most relevant skill for junior positions.
There are three major levels of expertise for React developers: Junior, Middle, and Senior. The main difference is the amount of experience on different projects. Let’s find out.
Junior React developers are entry-level specialists with up to 2 years of experience. These programmers have basic React skills gained from on-campus or online courses. While junior developers can’t manage full projects, they can help with small, well-defined tasks.
It takes about 4 years to move from a junior to a mid-level or senior role. You can hire React developers as juniors if you already have an internal team. This will allow them to learn and grow under the mentorship of more experienced colleagues.
Mid-level React developers often have 2-4 years of experience. They can already manage entire projects from start to finish. These programmers have a solid grasp of the React framework with state management, Hooks, and component lifecycle. Middle React developers can:
A Middle React developer is the gold standard for any team. They can handle most development tasks independently while being open to learning and growing within their role.
Senior React developers have 4+ years of professional experience. Besides React skills, they also know the whole web development ecosystem. Their role goes beyond coding and includes the following:
Senior programmers can be Tech Leads, Architects, and even CTOs. You can hire React developers for these roles if you need someone to lead projects, make architectural decisions, or mentor junior and mid-level employees.
Trainee
-
Basic understanding of JavaScript, HTML, CSS
Junior Beginner
3 months
JavaScript ES6+, basic React concepts (JSX, Components, Props, State), HTML, CSS
Junior Upper
9 months
All the skills above + React Hooks, Context API, basic Redux, React Router, client-side validation, Git
Junior Advanced
1.5 years
All the skills mentioned above + advanced state management (Redux or MobX), unit testing with Jest and React Testing Library, form management libraries (Formik, React Hook Form)
Middle Beginner
2 years
All the skills above + comfortable with API integration (REST, GraphQL), SSR frameworks like Next.js, performance optimization techniques
Middle Upper
2.5 years
All the skills listed above + experience with TypeScript in React applications, CSS-in-JS libraries (styled-components, emotion), modern React patterns (Compound Components, Render Props)
Middle Advanced
3 years
All skills listed above + state management patterns and libraries, experience with complex routing, code splitting, lazy loading, PWA development in React
Senior
4 years
Proficient in React ecosystem, designing scalable application architecture, solid debugging skills, familiarity with Agile methodologies, CI/CD practices
Tech Lead
5 years
Capacity for developing & mentoring React solutions, system design, high-load applications, experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies, automated testing strategies
Architect
6 years
Expertise in architecting complex web applications using React and its ecosystem, experience in server-side rendering, state management, and data fetching strategies, building web APIs
Senior Architect
8 years
3+ years experience in senior programming, expert level skill in React and modern front-end technologies, experience in large enterprise solutions, performance optimization, security best practices
CTO
8+ years
Leadership in tech trends, strategic planning, budgeting, profound knowledge of React and its ecosystem, ability to innovate and drive the adoption of new technologies
Here are some areas to focus on and example questions:
By asking a mix of technical, problem-solving, and soft-skill questions, you can better test the candidate’s fit for your team. Also, consider a practical coding exercise or take-home assignment.
Be sure to review available React.js developers for hire to verify their grades, areas of specialization, and relevant experience. For example, if you operate in a small niche, such as eBanking, you’d better choose a programmer with that kind of project in their portfolio. Experts from other industries are bound to spend more time researching the required features.
React is a prominent JavaScript development service created by Facebook. It enables developers to construct web and native user interfaces from components, which, in turn, update and render efficiently. This results in high-performance applications boasting dynamic content. As of 2023, 40.58% of developers use React, among other web frameworks.
The primary use of React is as a front-end for web solutions. It supports using different browsers and web APIs and keeps the UI responsive even in the middle of rendering. Also, React Native and Expo provide the ability to develop native apps in React for Android, iOS, and more.
Here’s a list of things you can use React for:
In fact, with React experts in your team, you can build almost any web solution that requires an interactive interface and real-time changes. For example, you can create internal business tools or enhance an existing website with React widgets or components. These can be interactive polls, custom dashboards for visualizing trending data, etc.
Building a successful web application requires a skilled team, and a choice to hire a dedicated React.js developer is a valuable asset. Here’s why:
In short, if you decide to hire React.js developers, you’ll be sure to help your team deliver high-quality, versatile solutions.
That wraps up our guide on how to find and hire React developers. Remember, defining the suitable skill set and your project requirements is the first step to success. If you identify these points, you can quickly start searching on relevant websites and selecting experts.
If you don’t want to waste time interviewing and screening candidates, you can also hire React developers with DOIT Staffing. Contact us and get the best talent available.
Get a consultation and start building your dream team ASAP.
REQUEST CVSA React developer builds user interfaces for web and native apps with the React library. They create reusable UI components, manage app state, and ensure a smooth user experience.
You can hire React developers on freelance platforms (Upwork, Toptal) or job boards (LinkedIn and Indeed). You can also use the help of recruitment or staffing agencies or connect with experts through local events.
It depends on experience, location, and the project’s complexity. In the US, hourly rates range from $60 to $120, while in Eastern Europe and LATAM, it is $35 to $75 per hour.
It can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks to several months. Internal recruiting often takes 1-2 months, while searching for a freelancer – up to 4 weeks. Staffing agencies have an established talent pool, so they can submit the first CVs within 5 days, and complete hiring takes 2 to 4 weeks.
