Roles · Flutter Developer · Lead

What a Lead } should know

34 core skills, 51 in total. Expectations per skill, and what changes at the next level.

This page lists what a Lead } is expected to know and do, skill by skill. Core skills are the ones a manager and peers assess in a review cycle; the rest count only in self-assessment. Main areas: Programming Fundamentals, Frontend Development, Mobile Development.

34core skills
17additional skills
11skill areas
100%at Advanced or Expert
Assess myself as Lead Full role matrix

Core skills for a Lead

Grouped by area. The label on the right is the expected depth: Awareness, Working, Advanced or Expert.

Programming Fundamentals · 7

Defines algorithmic standards for Flutter team: UI rendering optimization strategies, state management algorithm selection, efficient data processing patterns for mobile platforms. Conducts reviews of algorithmic decisions in performance-critical UI features.

Defines async programming standards for Flutter team: Dart async/Isolate usage guidelines, Stream-based architecture reviews, async state management patterns. Establishes best practices for async patterns in cross-platform Flutter applications.

Defines code quality standards for Flutter team: Dart style guide enforcement, widget architecture conventions, state management patterns. Conducts architectural reviews of complex UI implementations. Establishes quality gates for platform-specific code and accessibility compliance.

Defines data structure standards for Flutter team: state management data model conventions, offline storage schema design, API response mapping patterns. Conducts reviews of data architecture decisions in Flutter applications. Establishes team guidelines for efficient data handling across platforms.

Defines design pattern standards for Flutter teams: establishes architectural review practices for mobile app patterns, creates guidelines for state management and architecture pattern selection, conducts training on Flutter-specific design patterns for scalable apps.

Defines OOP/SOLID standards for Flutter team: widget composition guidelines, state management architecture patterns, repository/service layer interface contracts. Conducts reviews of Dart class hierarchies and mixin usage in cross-platform Flutter projects.

Defines type safety standards for Flutter development teams — establishes Dart analysis options, null safety migration policies, and type-safe serialization codegen requirements. Conducts architectural reviews ensuring consistent type patterns across widget libraries, state management, and API client layers.

Frontend Development · 2

Data Fetching Expert

Defines frontend architecture at the product level with Data Fetching. Establishes standards and best practices. Conducts architectural reviews.

Defines frontend architecture at the product level with Accessibility. Establishes standards and best practices. Conducts architectural reviews.

Mobile Development · 7

Defines ASO framework for cross-platform mobile portfolio: coordinates store optimization across iOS and Android teams, establishes unified metadata management workflows, implements cross-platform keyword cannibalization analysis. Leads store presence strategy reviews.

Defines mobile application architecture. Establishes development standards. Conducts architectural reviews and defines the technical roadmap.

Defines mobile application architecture. Establishes development standards. Conducts architectural reviews and defines the technical roadmap.

Mobile CI/CD Expert

Defines mobile application architecture. Establishes development standards. Conducts architectural reviews and defines the technical roadmap.

Defines mobile application architecture. Establishes development standards. Conducts architectural reviews and defines the technical roadmap.

Defines mobile application architecture. Establishes development standards. Conducts architectural reviews and defines the technical roadmap.

Defines mobile application architecture. Establishes development standards. Conducts architectural reviews and defines the technical roadmap.

API & Integration · 4

Defines API documentation strategy for mobile backend services consumed by Flutter applications across platforms. Establishes design standards for client-facing API documentation including SDK guides, offline behavior specifications, and platform-specific notes. Coordinates cross-team API documentation reviews from a mobile consumer perspective.

Defines GraphQL API strategy for Flutter application portfolios across mobile, web, and embedded platforms. Establishes schema design standards optimized for client-side state management and offline capabilities. Conducts API design reviews from a mobile consumer perspective and coordinates cross-team schema federation.

Defines API strategy for mobile apps at product level: mobile API contract standards, offline sync API governance, API versioning policies for mobile client compatibility. Conducts API architecture reviews for mobile-backend integration.

Defines WebSocket strategy for mobile product platform. Establishes real-time communication standards, connection management policies, and mobile-specific reliability requirements. Conducts architecture reviews for WebSocket integrations. Drives adoption of efficient real-time communication patterns across mobile teams.

DevOps & CI/CD · 1

Defines DevOps strategy for Flutter teams: establishes CI/CD standards for multi-platform mobile delivery, implements platform engineering approaches for Flutter build infrastructure, drives adoption of automated release management for App Store/Play Store.

Testing & QA · 4

E2E Testing Expert

Defines E2E testing strategy at the product/department level for Flutter applications. Establishes quality standards: coverage requirements, CI integration policies, and quality gates for releases. Drives adoption of automated E2E testing culture across mobile development teams. Creates E2E testing COE practices for cross-platform app quality.

Defines integration testing strategy for Flutter application ecosystem across multiple platforms and app variants. Establishes quality standards for platform channel contracts and third-party SDK integration boundaries. Implements shift-left testing culture with early validation of design system component integration and API backward compatibility.

Defines testing strategy at the product level. Establishes quality assurance standards. Implements shift-left testing culture.

Unit Testing Expert

Defines testing strategy at product level for Flutter apps: widget/integration/golden test standards, platform-specific testing governance, CI/CD test pipeline architecture. Establishes shift-left testing culture with automated quality gates for Flutter releases.

Security · 2

Defines authentication strategy for Flutter/mobile products. Establishes standards for OAuth2/OIDC integration, token management, and biometric authentication across mobile platforms. Drives adoption of secure authentication patterns and conducts architecture reviews for auth flows. Creates security testing requirements for mobile authentication.

Defines secure coding strategy for Flutter mobile development teams. Establishes security policies for mobile data protection, secure API communication, and platform-specific security hardening requirements. Coordinates mobile security incident response and trains teams on OWASP MASVS-compliant development practices.

AI-Assisted Development · 2

Defines ChatGPT/Claude adoption strategy for Flutter development teams. Establishes standards for AI-assisted code generation, automated test creation, and prompt libraries for cross-platform development. Conducts reviews of AI integration patterns in mobile development ensuring code quality and platform consistency.

Defines GitHub Copilot strategy for Flutter teams: establishes guidelines for AI-assisted mobile development, designs review standards for AI-generated Dart/Flutter code, drives Copilot adoption aligned with cross-platform development best practices.

Architecture & System Design · 2

Defines architectural strategy for Flutter products based on Clean Architecture. Establishes guidelines for presentation/domain/data layer separation and BLoC/Riverpod usage patterns. Conducts architecture reviews ensuring widget-agnostic business logic.

Defines architectural strategy for Flutter/mobile products: cross-platform architecture standards, shared code strategies between mobile and web, and integration architecture with backend services. Establishes architecture review processes and mobile-specific design guidelines. Conducts architecture reviews for major feature implementations.

Version Control & Collaboration · 2

Code Review Expert

Defines code review strategy for Flutter team: widget and state management review standards, platform-specific code review governance, Flutter best practices review criteria. Establishes review culture for mobile code quality.

Git Advanced Expert

Defines Git strategy for Flutter teams: establishes branching standards for mobile release cycles, designs merge policies for cross-platform code coordination, drives adoption of automated version management and changelog generation for App Store/Play Store releases.

Performance Engineering · 1

Defines Performance Budgets strategy at the team/product level. Establishes standards and best practices. Conducts reviews.

Additional skills

Not assessed by the team, but part of the self-assessment and the development plan.

Apache KafkaAWSDatabase IndexingDockerKubernetes CoreMultithreadingNetwork FundamentalsOpenTelemetryOWASP & Application SecurityPostgreSQLPrometheus & GrafanaPrompt Engineering for CodeRedisSLI / SLO / SLAStructured LoggingTerraformCursor IDE

What changes at Principal

0 skills get a higher expectation or become core when moving from Lead to Principal. The biggest jumps first.

See the Principal page →
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} in the open competency matrix: 51 skills across 5 levels. The matrix is free for individuals and stays free.