Lead Mobile Engineer (Drover)

About Drover

Drover is replacing fencing on ranches with an ear tag that moves cattle using their muscles.

Virtual fencing is already becoming one of the biggest shifts in livestock management, with multi-billion-dollar valuations. But those systems are all collar-based, infrastructure-heavy, and built around electric shock training. Drover is taking a fundamentally different approach: shrinking virtual fencing into an ear tag, the form factor every rancher already knows.

We're building a rugged, solar-powered hardware product that combines low-power GPS, cellular, and satellite connectivity, embedded sensing, and patent-pending muscle stimulation to guide cattle directionally, replacing the need for electric shock.

Drover was founded by Callum Taylor (Harvard EE), who comes from 5 generations of ranching, and Samuel Aubin (USYD, CS), both of whom grew up in Australian ranching towns and have an intricate understanding of the problem space.

We’re backed by Workshop Ventures (the founders of SimpliSafe) and have recently closed an oversubscribed seed round. We’ve also signed with a top-tier contract manufacturer and will launch commercially in Q1 2027.

About the role

As the Lead Mobile Developer, you'll own and scale the React Native application that serves as the main touchpoint for ranchers to move and monitor their cattle. This is a high-impact role at the intersection of geospatial data, livestock operations, and connected hardware. Performance and reliability here directly affect the animals, land, and livelihoods of our customers.

We're an early-stage startup. You'll have high ownership in what you build and a real hand in where the product goes. You'll own our mapbox-powered maps, the user experience, and the data flows that keep everything in sync with our backend. Over time, you'll grow and lead a mobile team.

What You'll Do

• Lead, build and scale our React Native / Expo app from an early stage, shipping to both the App Store and Play Store
• Own the mapping and geolocation experience ranchers use to manage cattle in the field
• Design the data flows and offline/sync behavior that keep the app in lockstep with our backend and connected devices
• Integrate with our wearable hardware (BLE/NFC)
• Debug and optimize across both iOS and Android
• Use AI-assisted development to move fast — while verifying your own work and not sacrificing code quality or readability
• Monitor and optimize app performance — load times, responsiveness, and battery efficiency in the field, where ranchers rely on the app on long days away from a charger

Requirements

• 5+ years building production mobile applications, with strong experience in typescript React Native apps.
• Shipped and maintained apps on both the App Store and Play Store
• Comfortable debugging natively on both iOS and Android
• Experience driving design & product-level decisions
• Willing to work in-person in Austin and to eventually build and lead a team
• Experience in automated UI testing

Nice to have

• Expo
• Mapping/geolocation experience (mapbox specifically)
• BLE / NFC experience
• Hardware integration background

Note: Even if you don't have all of the above and still think you're an excellent candidate, please reach out. We're always open to great people with core skillsets who are willing to push and learn.

Benefits

• Meaningful equity package
• Health, dental, vision insurance
• Competitive 401k match
• Paid family and medical leave
• Unlimited PTO
• Transparency — we overshare all investor and company updates with everyone
• Ownership and responsibility