The Guardian
Staff Android Developer
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Join our team at the Guardian and be a part of a diverse and inclusive global organisation that delivers fearless, investigative journalism and holds power to account. Our team of award-winning journalists, cutting-edge commercial professionals and industry-leading digital experts are committed to making a difference and represent a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. We offer a challenging and exciting environment for career development, with a focus on training, growth and fostering an inclusive culture.
We are now looking for a Staff Android Developer to join the Apps Experience team. We build the Guardian Android app primarily in Kotlin (and Java). With over 5 million downloads and as one of the UK's top 10 news apps on Google Play, we're trusted by millions of readers to deliver a fast, reliable and accessible experience.
As a Staff Android Engineer, you'll help shape the technical direction while remaining a hands-on engineer of an app used by millions, influencing architecture, engineering standards and developer experience across multiple teams.
About the role
- Lead the technical direction of our Android platform, influencing architecture and engineering decisions across multiple teams.
- Build high-quality Android applications using Kotlin and modern Android technologies.
- Drive improvements in performance, reliability, accessibility and maintainability.
- Champion engineering excellence through testing, automation, CI/CD and modern development practices.
- Mentor and coach engineers, sharing knowledge and helping teams solve complex technical challenges.
- Collaborate closely with iOS, backend, product and design teams to deliver cohesive user experiences.
- You'll have the autonomy to shape technical strategy and lead improvements that benefit engineers and millions of users alike.
- Take ownership of technical initiatives or features from discovery through to delivery, balancing long-term technical health with delivering value to users.
About you
- Extensive experience as an Android engineer with deep expertise in Kotlin and modern Android development, including Jetpack Compose, Coroutines & Flow, MVVM, WebViews, Jetpack libraries and modular application architectures.
- Experience designing scalable, maintainable mobile architectures and evolving applications over time.
- You champion a culture of quality, shaping testing strategies and helping teams adopt effective unit, integration and UI testing practices to deliver reliable, maintainable software.
- You have the ability to influence technical direction, establish engineering best practices and raise the engineering bar across multiple teams.
- You demonstrate a curious mindset, always looking for opportunities to improve products, engineering practices and developer experience. We regularly make time to explore new ideas through hack days and technical innovation.
- You show an appreciation for cross-platform development and enjoy collaborating with iOS and backend engineers.
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We actively encourage applications from groups traditionally underrepresented in the UK media
Our developers operate in a hybrid environment working 1 day a week from our offices in Kings Cross and 4 days a week remotely.
We believe in salary transparency where possible. The starting salary for new Staff Apps Developers at the Guardian is £92,000 per annum.
We value and respect all differences (seen and unseen) in all people. We aspire to have inclusive working experiences and an environment that reflects the audience we serve, where our people have equal access to career development opportunities, their voices are heard and can contribute to our future. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Many of our staff work flexibly and we will consider all requests for flexible working arrangements.
How to apply
To apply, please upload your latest CV. We don't require a cover letter but we'll ask you a question about your experience as an android developer as part of the application questionnaire. This question should take no longer than 5 minutes to answer, so please factor in the extra time when applying.
We appreciate the time taken to prepare each application we receive. We do not use AI-assisted technology to review applications; every application is reviewed by a member of our recruitment team. Thank you for bearing with us during the screening process.
The closing date for applications is Monday 24th August 2026.
All roles at the Guardian are open for everybody to apply. It is important to us that you feel supported and comfortable throughout your recruitment process, in order to perform your best. Please let us know if there are any changes we could make to help your application, this includes providing documents in accessible formats or personalising the process to better support your needs. Please contact Anna Vipers on anna.vipers@theguardian.com to discuss further so we can work with you to support you through your application.
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Benefits at the Guardian
- You'll have 30 days of annual leave per year (plus bank holidays) with the option to purchase an additional 5 days.
- Our pension scheme is generous; if you contribute 5% then we will contribute 8-12% (depending on your age).
- We believe in giving back, which is why employees are given 2 volunteering days annually and the option of payroll giving. Season ticket loans are also available.
- You are entitled to private healthcare, life cover, income protection, and eye tests. You can also opt in to dental insurance.
- We have enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave policies in place. We also support our employees by offering an IVF, menopause, baby loss, and trans equality policy.
Culture and wellbeing
We want everyone to feel like they belong at the Guardian and we champion diversity of thought. Our various employee forums provide a platform to use their voice to foster an inclusive workplace. We became the first major media organisation to achieve B Corp status.
We offer tools to help you prioritise your wellbeing including access to our employee benefits platform which provides tailored support for health and wellbeing. In addition, we also offer free yoga and pilates classes. These run alongside our corporate gym membership and cycle to work scheme.
Our canteen has views overlooking the Regents Canal and caters for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Learning and development
We encourage personal and professional growth. Employees have access to a broad range of tools and solutions, and we are happy to support the pursuit of professional qualifications through vocational courses and apprenticeships.
We value honesty in your application.
AI generated content must not be presented as your own work.
Please review our guidance on the use of AI in your application here [https://workwithus.theguardian.com/guidance-for-the-use-of-ai].
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