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kaylen_pillay

Kaylen Pillay

@kaylen_pillay

Lead Android Software Engineer

South Africa
English
About me
I am an experienced Android developer with over six years of experience working on large-scale projects like the Takealot Android app. I specialize in Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, and delivering high-quality software solutions that enhance user experience. I bring a strong focus on analytical problem-solving and team collaboration to deliver results under tight deadlines.... Read more

Skills

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kaylen_pillay
Kaylen Pillay
Offline • 

See my services

Android App Development
I will architect and build a high performance native android app
From$450 / projectMore details

Work experience

takealot

takealot

Full-time • 7 yrs 7 mos

Senior Mobile Engineer 2 (Lead) - Android

Mar 2026 - Present • 7 mos

Since starting as a Senior Mobile Engineer 2 (Lead) - Android at Takealot, I have successfully introduced CI/CI, integration testing and a full R8 Optimization in the app. My leadership role has expanded since, and I'm now responsible for the future vision of the application technically.

Senior Mobile Software Engineer - Android

Mar 2023 - Mar 2026 • 3 yrs

Transitioning to a Senior Mobile Software Engineer, focusing on Android, saw me taking on more platform related responsibilities. I took on a leadership role, helping to nurture both the codebase and younger engineers. Some highlights of my time as a Senior Mobile Software Engineer - Android: - Designed, proposed and built the MVVM architecture integration at Takealot. Feature developers utilize this architecture to build features within the Takealot app. - Introduced Jetpack Compose into the app and designed a roadmap for migration throughout the app. I built workshops for the team to upskill team members. - Worked on the new Checkout experience in the app. This multi-quarter feature was the major project as a Senior Mobile Engineer. - I mentored several junior engineers.

Mobile Software Engineer - Android

Mar 2019 - Mar 2023 • 4 yrs

As a Mobile Software Engineer, focusing primarily on Android, I invested a lot of time understanding the platform. I worked entirely on the customer facing e-commerce application as one of two Android engineers. During this time, I learnt to become a professional engineer, working on a large codebase. I took on may large tech driven and product projects. Tech driven highlights: - Kotlin introduction into the app. Building a roadmap to migrate from Java after Google announced Kotlin as a first class language on the platform. - Unit Testing and UI Testing. I introduced testing to a legacy codebase that did not have unit tests or UI tests. - RxJava migration to Coroutines. I championed then migration from RxJava to Kotlin Coroutines within the codebase. During this project I wrote a full technical RFC, implemented the changes, and onboarded a growing team to smooth the learning curve. - I started and fostered a culture of documentation within the team. Removing the historical knowledge silos that existed. Product feature project highlights: - Authentication rework. I completely we wrote and built the authentication component of the application. Including Google SSO, Biometric authentication, and our in-house authentication mechanism with OTP verification. - Content Management with infinite scroll functionality. I worked on the introduction of infinite scrolling content management within the app. This involved heavy usage of RecyclerViews and a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of nested RecyclerViews. - Personal Details, Refunds, Developer settings features