The Mobile Engineering Career
A practical weekly note for mobile engineers.
For iOS, Android and cross-platform engineers working on getting hired, passing interviews, designing stronger systems and growing into staff-level scope.
What to expect
What is the mobile engineering career?
The Mobile Engineering Career is a free weekly newsletter by Mike Salari for iOS, Android and cross-platform engineers. Each edition examines one practical career or engineering decision: improving recruiter visibility, preparing for senior interviews, explaining architectural tradeoffs, designing reliable mobile systems or growing into staff-level scope. The guidance comes from more than 15 years of production engineering and more than 500 technical interviews, so the focus stays on decisions engineers can apply rather than generic career advice. Readers receive one useful idea, one concrete example and one action worth taking. Editions are written for mid-level, senior, lead, staff and architect engineers who want stronger technical judgment and clearer career positioning. You can review the recent essays, explore the mobile engineering books, or find the right career path before subscribing.
- 01
Get hired
Make your CV, LinkedIn profile and product record communicate the engineering value already there.
- 02
Pass the interview
Explain technical judgment, tradeoffs and mobile system design without hiding behind memorized answers.
- 03
Grow beyond senior
Build the architecture, influence and leadership habits that make wider scope visible and repeatable.
Reader reviews
What changed for engineers who used the work.
Notes from readers on what changed in their interviews, technical judgment and careers.
“The interview doesn't start when they ask the question. It starts when they challenge your answer. I kept preparing definitions; interviewers kept asking about trade-offs and failure modes. For the first time in years, I walked in prepared for the conversation, not just the questions.”
Mark, Staff Mobile Engineer · 11 yearsVerified purchase, Gumroad buyer“I've bought many iOS interview books, but they're all far behind this one ☝️. What I love most is that Mike shares his real experience instead of just listing questions and answers. It's practical, easy to follow, and feels like advice from someone who's actually been through these interviews. I'm still preparing for my interviews, but this book has already changed the way I think about live coding sessions. I've always struggled with explaining my thought process while coding 😭, and this book really opened my eyes to how to approach problems, communicate my reasoning clearly, and avoid turning the session into complete chaos ❤️. Amazing resource! I highly recommend it!!!”
Ivan GerasimovVerified purchase, Gumroad buyer“I used to fail technical interviews constantly, despite watching countless online courses. Then I found Mr. Mike's book on LinkedIn, and it made all the difference. His excellent plan worked for me, leading to my first job contract today! After six months of searching and over ten failed interviews, this book was incredibly helpful. I wholeheartedly recommend this second edition to anyone struggling with technical interviews, it's easy to follow and the best resource out there.”
Vivek KumarVerified purchase, Gumroad buyer“Usually I don't write reviews but this one really helped me. I used this book and improved my resume and LinkedIn. My visibility score went from 53 to 96 from 100 and I started getting replies and interview invites. I know how to approach recruiters. The idea of signal vs skill made a lot of sense to me. It showed me that I was not being seen clearly, even if I had the skills. The book helped me fix how I present my work in a simple and practical way. After using it, I finally started getting more chances for interviews.”
AnonymousVerified purchase, Gumroad buyer“This book was the gap I didn't even know I had, and is the reason I came back and bought Mike's other books. No motivational nonsense, just practical insights that made a lot of things click for me. A great read. Recommended.”
Nick RuthVerified purchase, Gumroad buyer“Wow. Just wow. Mike recommended this book during my CV audit, and I grabbed it as part of the deal. Best decision. I've been doing Android for 6 years, and this book made me feel like I was discovering Android again. So many interesting questions and topics that made me stop and think. Highly recommended.”
Emilio DasnaVerified purchase, Gumroad buyer
Reviews from verified Gumroad buyers for the corresponding books.
Read before subscribing
Recent writing
The newsletter follows the same practical standard as these essays.
Engineering Interviews
You have 40 interview tabs open and still don't know what to study.
Interview preparation gets worse when everything looks important. The closer the interview gets, the more your calendar should force you to cut.
Read, 6 min readAudioEngineering Interviews
You watched the solution. Then you opened an empty editor.
Watching someone else code can make you feel ready. Live coding exposes the difference between recognition, retrieval, and making your judgment visible under pressure.
Read, 7 min readAudioEngineering Interviews
AI can pass the assessment. You still have to survive the interview.
AI can produce a polished technical assessment. The harder part starts when another Senior engineer asks why the code exists and whether you actually own the decisions behind it.
Read, 7 min readAudio
Written by Mike Salari
Field notes from the hiring side and the production side.
Mike is a Staff Mobile Engineer and Tech Lead with more than 15 years across iOS, Android, cross-platform systems, technical interviews and engineering leadership.
The next edition
Useful enough to apply. Short enough to finish.
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