Chris Banes

Software Engineer focused on mobile UI and UX

Chris Banes is a seasoned software engineer specializing in mobile user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) development, particularly within the Android ecosystem. He has extensive experience in various roles, notably as a Staff Developer Programs Engineer at Google, where he contributed significantly to the Android Developer Relations team from January 2013 until August 2021. His work primarily focused on enhancing the developer experience through initiatives like the AppCompat library and Material Design components, which have become foundational elements for Android app development.1 2 3

Career Highlights

Education: Chris earned a first-class degree in Computing Science from Aston University in 2010.3
Google Tenure: Over his nearly nine years at Google, Chris led multiple projects and teams, focusing on developer outreach, technical documentation, and engineering projects that improved Android's UI capabilities. He was instrumental in backporting features to older Android versions and managing developer relations efforts.2 3
Twitter: After leaving Google, he served as a Staff Software Engineer at Twitter, where he led the Client UI Android team, overseeing UI development for the Twitter app.1 4
Open Source Contributions: Chris is known for creating several popular open-source libraries for Android, including the PhotoView library for pinch-to-zoom functionality and the Accompanist library that extends Jetpack Compose capabilities.3 4

Skills and Achievements

Technical Expertise: Chris has authored over 50 blog posts on Android development practices and delivered more than 25 talks at industry conferences, establishing himself as a thought leader in mobile development.3
Community Engagement: His role involved mentoring junior engineers and participating in developer outreach to foster a vibrant community around Android development.2 3

Current Status

As of now, Chris is exploring new opportunities after his tenure at Twitter. His extensive background in mobile UI/UX makes him a prominent figure in the field of Android development.1 4

Highlights

Oct 16 · twitter

Haze 0.9.0-beta04 has been released!

Progressive (gradient) blurring and new styling APIs. Nearly there for final release, just got some performance work to do.

https://t.co/T2wR8d4pdJ https://t.co/exf0jpcGeP

Oct 15 · twitter

…and another library bites the dust

🪟 material3-windowsizeclass-multiplatform is now deprecated

https://t.co/fji2jZXyro

Mar 27 · newsletter.jorgecastillo.dev

Effective Interviews ⚡️ Chris Banes - by Jorge Castillo

Mar 8 · chrisbanes.me

Resume - Chris Banes

Jun 7 · proandroiddev.com

The Value of Google I/O, for You and Your Company - ProAndroidDev

Experience

Staff Software Engineer at Stealth Tech Company

Staff Software Engineer at Some Tech Company (May 2023 - Present) Staff Software Engineer at Cash App (April 2023 - May 2023) Staff Software Engineer at Twitter (September 2021 - November 2022), Staff Developer Programs Engineer (March 2019 - September 2021) Senior Developer Programs Engineer (October 2015 - March 2019) Developer Programs Engineer (January 2013 - October 2015), Android Application Developer at Omnifone (June 2012 - August 2012) Android Developer at Mobile Interactive Group (January 2012 - May 2012) Developer of FriendCaster for Android at OneLouder Apps (July 2011 - January 2012) Android Developer at BSkyB (September 2011 - November 2011), Software Engineer (August 2010 - July 2011) Software Developer (June 2008 - August 2009)