JG

Open to work now for select startup builds

Josh Grenon

I build iOS apps and websites for startups.

I bring 15 years of native iOS experience, founder/operator taste, and fast prototype-to-launch execution to apps and websites that need more than another pair of hands.

Email Josh about a build See how hiring works

Send the product, timeline, current state, and the first thing that needs to ship. I will reply with fit, next steps, and whether a fixed $4k trial week makes sense.

Staff iOS at Perplexity Rally / OpenSea Lead iOS at Shyp + Weebly Zenrez architect Freelance + contract

Services

Where I plug in

Product builds

Prototype-to-launch execution for iOS apps, websites, and focused internal tools.

Native iOS

Swift/iOS development with App Store polish, subscription flows, and product-grade UX.

Websites

Static launch sites, conversion pages, product surfaces, and polished web tools.

Hands-on senior execution

I scope the next useful slice, make product calls, write the code, and keep momentum visible.

LinkedIn history

Professional iOS history before founder projects

Staff iOS Engineer

Rally, acquired by OpenSea

Full-time · Remote

Staff iOS role through Rally acquisition by OpenSea.

Dec 2023 - Dec 2024

Staff iOS Engineer

Perplexity

Full-time · San Francisco

Implemented complete iOS app redesign in less than 4 weeks.
Added an iOS paywall that drove a significant revenue increase.

Aug 2023 - Dec 2023

Senior iOS Engineer

Omada Health

Full-time · Remote

Implemented features across multiple teams while improving code coverage.
Converted UIKit surfaces to SwiftUI and simplified codebase architecture.

Aug 2022 - Aug 2023

iOS Engineer

Sonar

Contract · San Francisco

Developed and launched an emoji creator for custom drops in the Sonar iOS app, reaching 10k custom drops in the first week.

Apr 2022 - Jul 2022

Lead iOS Engineer

Daisie

Contract · Remote

Led a three-person iOS team for feature development.
Wrote and released Rooms, an audio chat rooms feature.
Improved API integration architecture.

Oct 2020 - Jan 2022

Senior iOS Architect

Zenrez, acquired by Square

Full-time · San Francisco

Owned and updated the iOS marketplace app architecture.
Created and maintained a white-label iOS app for 50+ fitness studios.
Sole iOS developer while supporting backend integrations and developer hiring.

May 2016 - Sep 2020

Lead iOS Engineer

Shyp

Full-time · San Francisco

First iOS hire.
Took over the consumer Shyp app plus internal courier and warehouse iPad/iPhone apps.
Helped interview and grow the iOS team.

Apr 2014 - May 2016

iOS Teaching Assistant + Mentor

CodePath

San Francisco

Teaching assistant for CodePath iOS Labs.
Mentored professional startup engineers and designers through an eight-week iOS development class.

Sep 2014 - Mar 2016

Lead iOS Engineer

Weebly, acquired by Square

Full-time · San Francisco

Developed the first Weebly mobile application.
Helped interview and grow the iOS team.

Aug 2011 - Apr 2014

Founder

MotionMobs

Greater Birmingham, Alabama

iOS application development and mobile strategy consulting.

Feb 2009 - Aug 2011

View LinkedIn experience

How to hire me

Start with a fixed $4k trial week

01

Send the product context

Tell me what you are building, where it stands, what needs to ship, and the rough timeline.

02

Quick fit call

We talk through scope, constraints, and whether I can be useful right now.

03

$4k trial week

If there is a fit, we scope roughly 20 hours around one valuable product slice at a set price.

04

Continue if it fits

After the trial, we decide whether to keep going as a larger fixed-scope build or ongoing contract work.

Email the project context

The trial is meant to de-risk the relationship before a larger scope. No long retainer up front: one focused product slice, clear communication, and production code you can inspect.

Client + team work

Proof I can ship inside someone else's roadmap

Daisie

Contract Lead iOS Engineer

Led a three-person iOS team and shipped Rooms, an audio chat rooms feature.

Sonar

Contract iOS Engineer

Launched a custom-drop emoji creator that reached 10k custom drops in its first week.

Shyp

Lead iOS Engineer

Owned the consumer app plus internal courier and warehouse iPhone/iPad apps.

Zenrez

Senior iOS Architect

Built and maintained a white-label iOS app used by 50+ fitness studios.

Selected Apps

Live iOS products shipped end to end

WalkOff

Steps with friends, built around simple competition and daily accountability.

5.0 stars8 App Store ratings

View on App Store

Founder, product, iOS Live on App Store

Pawtraits

AI pet portraits packaged as a focused consumer photo product.

4.0 stars16 App Store ratings

View on App Store

Founder, product, iOS Live on App Store

Fieldtrip

Travel-style AI photos for people who want destination shots without the flight.

5.0 stars25 App Store ratings

View on App Store

Founder, product, iOS Live on App Store

Ovii

AI avatar and UGC tooling shaped by content experiments that reached 3M views.

3M-view content experimentLive web product

Founder, product, web Live website

Barbear

A playful haircut app built with Replicate and Supabase to help people try styles before the chair.

5.0 stars5 App Store ratings

View on App Store

Founder, product, iOS Live on App Store

Cico

Calorie tracking built with Matthew Capizzi around burn rate, deficit clarity, and daily decisions.

4.9 stars37 App Store ratings

View on App Store

Founder, product, iOS Live on App Store

Websites

Tools, launches, and startup surfaces

Quartermaster

AI project management

A task and visibility system for teams working with humans, agents, and messy project context.

Current productSaaS website

Founder, product, engineering Live website

Captain

macOS developer utility

Maps the services, dashboards, configs, and resources connected to a project.

Current productmacOS utility

Founder, product, engineering Live website

Tortuga

The studio home for launch notes, experiments, and shipped products.

Studio siteProduct portfolio

Founder Live website

Crew

AI website feedback

ICP and expert agents evaluate landing pages through a buyer's eyes.

Cofounder/CTOAI eval product

Cofounder, CTO Live website

Flagship

AI mockup generator

Turns app screenshots into branded device mockups for launches, stores, and decks.

Current productLaunch utility

Founder, product, web Live website

Open Source

Pinned from GitHub

perplexity-api-swift

Open-source Swift package for working with the Perplexity API in native apps.

https://github.com/joshgrenon/perplexity-api-swift

gemini-flash-api-swift

Swift package linked from the pinned repositories on Josh's GitHub profile.

https://github.com/joshgrenon/gemini-flash-api-swift

supabase-onesignal-edgefunction

TypeScript edge function linked from the pinned repositories on Josh's GitHub profile.

https://github.com/joshgrenon/supabase-onesignal-edgefunction

TypeScript1 star

generate-swift-structs-from-supabase-schema

Swift generator repo linked from the pinned repositories on Josh's GitHub profile.

https://github.com/joshgrenon/generate-swift-structs-from-supabase-schema

View all repositories

What you get

Senior product help without agency drag

Clear first slice

We turn the messy product ask into the smallest useful thing worth shipping first.
Production code

You get maintainable Swift, Astro, React, or backend work that another good engineer can own later.
Product taste

I will push on UX, scope, and tradeoffs instead of blindly taking tickets.
Launch help

App Store polish, landing pages, analytics, paywalls, and the small details around release.
Direct updates

You work with me directly, with clear progress and no account-manager layer.

Open to work now

Tell me what you're building.

Include the product, what needs to ship, the current state, timeline, and whether the $4k trial week sounds like the right starting point.

josh@bytortuga.com