Senior Mobile Engineer, iOS
Mozilla
Hirezar Summary for South African Applicants
This fully remote full time position at Mozilla is open worldwide, so South Africans can apply. As a remote position, you can work from anywhere in South Africa — whether you're based in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, or a smaller town.
Job Description
<p><strong>Why Thunderbird?</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thunderbird is one of the world’s most trusted open-source email applications, empowering more than 20 million people globally. At MZLA, the team behind Thunderbird, we build privacy-respecting communication and productivity tools that help people manage their digital lives while staying in control of their data.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We are open source by design. Our products are developed transparently and in collaboration with a global community of contributors, and that same spirit shapes how we work: collaboratively, inclusively, and with a shared commitment to putting users first.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We are a small but growing company of 60+ people distributed across seven countries. As Thunderbird evolves beyond a single desktop application, we are expanding across desktop, mobile, paid services, and new product experiences that help people and organizations work more effectively without giving up control to big tech ecosystems.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Our revenue model combines user donations, which help keep Thunderbird’s apps freely available, with paid services that cover the costs of hosted offerings while supporting long-term sustainability and continued innovation.</span></p>
<p><strong>A note about MZLA and Mozilla: </strong>MZLA Technologies Corporation is the nonprofit-owned company behind Thunderbird and part of the Mozilla family. MZLA is separate from Mozilla Corporation and has its own compensation programs, benefits, and employment policies.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To learn more, visit </span><a href="http://www.thunderbird.net"><span style="font-weight: 400;">www.thunderbird.net</span></a></p>
<p><strong>The opportunity</strong></p>
<p>The Senior Software Engineer, iOS is an experienced individual contributor who brings deep iOS expertise to the design, development, and evolution of Thunderbird’s iOS application. This role will continue to contribute to Thunderbirds effort to develop the iOS app and establish a strong technical foundation for the product.</p>
<p>You’ll work closely with mobile engineers, product management, UX, and other partners to deliver a high-quality iOS experience that meets high standards for performance, reliability, accessibility, security, and maintainability. </p>
<p>You’ll play an important role in delivering exceptional user experiences for Thunderbird’s global user base by translating product needs into thoughtful technical solutions and ensuring your work aligns with MZLA’s mission and the objectives of the Thunderbird Project. You’ll also collaborate with open-source contributors and mobile engineers across the broader Mozilla ecosystem.</p>
<p><strong>What you’ll do </strong></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Build and refine Thunderbird’s mobile products and platform architecture.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Improve scalability, performance, reliability, and user experience.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Develop a deep understanding of the codebase and architecture to confidently make changes across the entire stack.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Maintain strong debugging and testing practices across unit, integration, and automated testing.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Review code and guide improvements to architecture, testing, and development best practices.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Independently resolve complex issues involving performance, security, and cross-platform integration.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Monitor application health and address issues before they escalate.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Document technical decisions, system architecture, and team processes.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Own assigned projects, collaborating cross-functionally, from investigation and planning through development, validation, and delivery.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Ensure mobile development meets accessibility, security, and privacy standards.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>What you bring </strong></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">7+ years of professional software development experience, including 2+ years in a Senior Software Engineer role.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">3+ years of professional mobile application development experience.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Strong experience with Swift, SwiftUI, and iOS frameworks.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Deep knowledge of iOS architecture, design patterns, and performance optimization.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Experience delivering and maintaining complex, scalable, and reliable software.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight:
Tips for South African Applicants
Timezone Advantage
South Africa (SAST, UTC+2) overlaps well with European business hours and has a few hours of overlap with US East Coast. Mention your timezone flexibility in your application.
Salary in Context
Even without a listed salary, international remote roles typically pay 2-3x more than equivalent local positions in South Africa due to the exchange rate advantage.
Application Tips
Tailor your CV to international standards — use a clean format, highlight remote work experience, and include your English proficiency. Many SA applicants succeed by emphasising their strong work ethic and cultural adaptability.
Load Shedding Preparedness
If you're applying for a remote role, having a backup power solution (UPS, inverter, or generator) and mobile data as a backup internet connection shows employers you're prepared for South Africa's infrastructure challenges.
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About Mozilla
Mozilla is a company in the Firefox industry that hires remote workers from South Africa. They currently have 26 open positions on Hirezar. View all Mozilla jobs →