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Top 14 Apache Cordova Developers

Untitled design 31 - Top 14 Apache Cordova Developers

Apache Cordova (the open-source engine behind PhoneGap) has thrived thanks to a community of dedicated developers.

Below is an updated list of the best Cordova developers – individuals known specifically for their Cordova work – spanning core open-source contributors, startup founders who still code, influential bloggers, engineers at major companies, and even a few with competitive programming accolades. Each profile highlights their background, standout contributions and key achievements.

  1. Brian LeRoux
  2. Joe Bowser
  3. Michael Brooks
  4. Jesse MacFadyen
  5. Dave Johnson
  6. Rob Ellis
  7. Brock Whitten
  8. Anis Kadri
  9. Raymond Camden
  10. Steve Gill
  11. Andrew Grieve
  12. Sidney Zhang
  13. John Wargo
  14. Lisa Seacat DeLuca

Now, let’s delve deeper into their achievements and contributions:

Brian LeRoux

YouTube Video

Rethinking Developer Experience.

Background: Co-creator of PhoneGap, Brian was pivotal in open-sourcing it as Apache Cordova, later leading its development at Adobe.

Contributions: Shaped Cordova’s cross-platform plugins and build tools, fostering its vibrant open-source community.

Achievements: Now a startup founder at Begin and Sanity.io, Brian champions web technologies, developer tools, and is renowned for engaging talks and projects like “WTFJS.”

Brian’s work paved the way for the hybrid app revolution and inspired countless developers.

Joe Bowser

Background: Co-creator of PhoneGap and original author of Cordova’s Android implementation, Joe led Android support from its inception at Nitobi through Adobe’s acquisition, becoming the longest-serving member of Apache Cordova’s Project Management Committee.

Contributions: Pioneered and maintained Cordova-Android, addressed complex Android APIs, and contributed significantly to overall architecture, tooling, and community mentorship.

Achievements: Recognized for his longstanding commitment to Cordova’s Android ecosystem, Joe remains active in open hardware and emerging technologies like Arduino, drones, and VR.

Today, Joe still codes (recently founding a new venture called BaseWeight) and remains a respected voice in mobile development circles for his deep knowledge of hybrid app development.

Michael Brooks

Top 14 Apache Cordova Developers

Background: Michael was a founding member of PhoneGap at Nitobi, original author of Cordova, and later managed Cordova engineering at Adobe. Passionate about simplifying developers’ lives, he continued his work at Slack and remains active in open-source projects.

Contributions: He architected the initial cross-platform framework, developed Cordova’s unified CLI and plugin repository, improved documentation, and advocated its open-source governance at Apache.

Achievements: Michael influenced Cordova’s core philosophy and also co-created popular tools like Harp.js and Surge.sh. Currently a senior developer at Slack, he continues to enhance developer platforms.

His journey from PhoneGap pioneer to leading modern DevOps tools highlights a career of empowering developers through open source.

Jesse MacFadyen

Background: Jesse is a veteran Cordova engineer who has been with the project since “day 0”​. He was a core contributor to PhoneGap at Nitobi and continued as a lead at Adobe on Cordova. Often using the handle “purplecabbage” online, Jesse’s expertise spans web and native code. He currently works on Adobe’s Project Firefly and I/O Cloud as a principal developer, integrating Cordova-like extensibility into Adobe’s platforms.

Cordova Contributions: As one of the earliest contributors, Jesse touched every part of Cordova. He helped implement Cordova support for Windows Phone and BlackBerry in the early 2010s, broadening Cordova’s device reach. Jesse also maintained the Cordova Plugin APIs and was instrumental in developing the Cordova Plugman tool and plugin registry. His role in Apache Cordova’s management committee was pivotal – he even at one point acted as Cordova’s PMC Chair guiding project strategy.

Achievements: Jesse’s decade-plus commitment to Cordova made him a mentor figure in the community. He has spoken at numerous conferences (Adobe MAX, PhoneGap Days) about hybrid app development. Many Cordova plugins credit him in their code, reflecting his hands-on debugging help. His ability to “speak” Objective-C, C#, Java, and JavaScript made him the team’s polyglot problem-solver. Now building cloud extensibility tools at Adobe, he continues to apply his knowledge of multi-platform development.

Jesse exemplifies the open-source hacker-founder, having been there from Cordova’s birth and still writing code to empower developers.

Dave Johnson

Background: Dave co-founded Nitobi Software (the company that created PhoneGap) along with Andre Charland​. As an original Cordova author​, Dave’s early vision and coding laid the groundwork for the hybrid app paradigm. He served as Nitobi’s CTO and continued with Adobe after the 2011 acquisition, guiding PhoneGap’s transition into Apache Cordova.

Contributions: At the 2008 iPhoneDevCamp where PhoneGap was first hacked together, Dave was in the small team that proved web apps could access native features​. He architected much of PhoneGap’s initial codebase (e.g., the bridge that forwards JavaScript calls to native code) and ensured it could work on multiple platforms. Dave was deeply involved in donating PhoneGap to Apache, even working on the incubation proposal​. His behind-the-scenes leadership and coding kept the project coherent as it gained contributors worldwide.

Achievements: As a startup founder and coder, Dave uniquely straddled business and engineering. Under his technical leadership, PhoneGap won the People’s Choice Award at Web 2.0 Expo 2009 and attracted interest from Adobe and IBM. Contributing to Apache Cordova, Dave helped formalize its governance and was a mentor to new committers. After leaving Adobe, he remained active in software (briefly at Microsoft and other ventures).

Dave’s role in creating Cordova – and thus enabling frameworks like Ionic and PhoneGap Build – cements his status as a pioneer of the mobile web. He’s literally one of the people who “wrote the book” on hybrid apps (he co-authored early PhoneGap guides) and turned a hackathon project into a global tool.

Lisa Seacat DeLuca

Top 14 Apache Cordova Developers

Background: Rob is another Nitobi alumnus and one of the creators of PhoneGap. A software developer from Vancouver, Rob’s focus has always been making mobile development “easy and open”​. At Nitobi, he was part of the core team building web-based mobile tooling. Post-Adobe, Rob worked on cloud platforms at Joyent and co-founded tech startups, but his name in our context is forever linked to PhoneGap/Cordova.

Contributions: Rob’s hands-on coding in PhoneGap’s early days was critical to its success. He contributed to the initial iOS implementation and the JavaScript API design that Cordova still uses. Rob also helped create PhoneGap’s developer community — he represented Nitobi at conferences (like QCon 2009) explaining how PhoneGap works​. His efforts ensured that by the time Cordova entered Apache, it had a solid architecture and enthusiastic users.

Achievements: After PhoneGap, Rob continued innovating. At Joyent, he built the public API for their cloud (No.de)​, applying his expertise in developer platforms. He later co-founded Chloi Inc. with Brock Whitten, creating Harp (a web server) and Surge (a frontend CDN) to simplify web app deployment​. These projects echo the simplicity mission he had with Cordova. Rob’s ability to create tools that abstract complexity has made him a respected figure.

As a Cordova co-creator, he helped thousands of devs transition from web to mobile, leaving an indelible mark on cross-platform development.

Brock Whitten

You don’t need to choose between native and web — just use both smartly.

Background: Brock is best known as a co-creator of PhoneGap/Cordova and a serial entrepreneur in the web tooling space. Also hailing from Nitobi’s PhoneGap team, Brock brought a passion for blending web and mobile. After Cordova, he worked at Joyent (with Rob Ellis) and then co-founded several developer tool startups (Chloi, Surge). Brock is an advocate of the open web and often speaks about making development workflows more efficient.

Contributions: Brock’s role in PhoneGap’s inception was pivotal – he worked on the earliest prototype that allowed JavaScript to trigger native phone features. He helped build the initial demos that convinced developers and even Apple (notably, PhoneGap won at iPhoneDevCamp which signaled Apple’s tacit approval​). In Apache Cordova’s early years, Brock contributed code and guidance, though he moved on to new projects fairly soon after Cordova’s donation. Still, his influence is felt in Cordova’s philosophy of “write once, run anywhere.”

Achievements: Beyond Cordova, Brock created Harp (a web server with built-in preprocessing) and Surge (a popular static web publishing tool), again aiming to simplify developers’ lives​. He also co-founded Stackbit, a platform for Jamstack sites. Brock’s ability to foresee developers’ needs – as he did by enabling web devs to build mobile apps via Cordova – has led to multiple successful tools. As a Cordova founder, Brock proved that a small group of passionate coders could disrupt how mobile apps are built.

His legacy in Cordova is secure: the name “Cordova” itself comes from the street of Nitobi’s office in Vancouver, where Brock and team crafted the future of hybrid apps

Anis Kadri

Background: Anis is an open-source developer who was deeply involved in Cordova’s development while at Adobe. Listed among the original Cordova authors​, Anis became known for building Cordova’s plugin ecosystem and command-line tooling. He worked at Adobe’s PhoneGap team and later continued contributing via Microsoft Open Technologies.

Contributions: One of Anis’s signature contributions was Cordova Plugman, the plugin manager that allowed Cordova to support a rich ecosystem of third-party plugins. He effectively designed how Cordova plugins are installed and managed, which was a game-changer for extensibility. Anis also co-developed the unified Cordova CLI, streamlining Cordova app creation and build across platforms. His work on the CLI and Plugman (which were later merged into Cordova’s main tools) made Cordova development far more accessible. Additionally, Anis maintained core plugins (Device, File, etc.) and frequently pushed updates to keep them compatible with new OS releases.

Achievements: Anis was a “glue” person in the Cordova team – connecting platforms, plugins, and developers. He wrote numerous blog posts and documentation pages guiding developers on plugin development. After Adobe, Anis continued to support Cordova at Microsoft, helping integrate Cordova into Visual Studio’s tooling. He exemplifies the open-source contributor who quietly shapes the developer experience for millions. Many Cordova capabilities today, like adding plugins with a single CLI command, trace back to Anis’s early designs.

His work won him the respect of his peers and a reputation as the architect of Cordova’s modularity.

Raymond Camden

Top 14 Apache Cordova Developers

Background: Simon is a prolific developer and evangelist who became an “unofficial ambassador” of Cordova. He started working with Cordova at IBM, where he used it in mobile enterprise projects, and later joined Adobe’s PhoneGap team. Simon has been an Apache Cordova Committer and is well-known for his blog posts and talks simplifying hybrid development. He currently works at Begin (the startup founded by Brian LeRoux), coming full circle with his PhoneGap roots​.

Contributions: During his IBM years, Simon contributed code to Cordova (especially around enterprise integration and new device APIs). But his biggest impact was through community education. He authored countless tutorials, sample apps, and even co-wrote the “PhoneGap Essentials” book. Simon’s “Worklight and Cordova” series at IBM showed how to use Cordova in enterprise scenarios, helping legitimimize Cordova in big companies. As a Cordova PMC member, he also reviewed pull requests and guided Cordova’s direction, focusing on keeping it accessible to web developers.

Achievements: Simon became the face of Cordova for many developers via his speaking engagements at PhoneGap Day and conferences worldwide. He famously ran the “Cordova Hackathons” and was always approachable on forums, earning him a reputation as the go-to guy for Cordova advice. Beyond Cordova, Simon has a broad development portfolio (from building chatbots to serverless apps). In 2020, he joined Begin, reconnecting with former colleagues to advance cloud functions for web dev. Simon’s career demonstrates how one can leverage expertise in a niche technology (Cordova) into a broader leadership role in tech.

His enthusiasm for hybrid apps helped thousands get started with Cordova.

Steve Gill

Background: Steve has been a stalwart of the Cordova project, beginning as a PhoneGap team member at Adobe and later becoming Cordova’s Project Lead. With 10+ years on Cordova, Steve’s role spanned engineering and community management. He is known for his work on Cordova’s tooling and for representing Cordova in various forums. After Adobe, Steve joined Microsoft as a Principal Program Manager, but he remained closely tied to Cordova’s development.

Contributions: Steve started on the PhoneGap Build service and quickly became involved in Cordova’s core. He co-developed the Cordova CLI and was a maintainer for Cordova’s Windows and browser platforms. Steve announced numerous Cordova releases (e.g., Cordova 6.0.0 in 2016​) and often wrote release notes and security bulletins​. He also contributed to the Cordova website and documentation, ensuring clear guidance for users. One of Steve’s notable efforts was modernizing Cordova’s codebase in 2017, where he led the push to migrate Cordova to modern JavaScript and cleaned up legacy code. Additionally, he was active on mailing lists, helping triage issues and mentoring new contributors.

Achievements: In 2017, Steve gave a talk titled “State of Cordova and PhoneGap” outlining the project’s roadmap, underscoring his leadership position. Under his watch, Cordova achieved important milestones like Cordova-iOS adopting WKWebView and Cordova-Android adopting modern AndroidX libraries. Steve’s approachable personality made him a great community steward; he often interacted with developers on Slack, StackOverflow, and at events to gather feedback. At Microsoft, he worked to integrate Cordova with Azure services and Visual Studio Code, bridging the gap between open source and enterprise tooling​.

Steve’s decade of dedication helped Cordova remain relevant, and he ensured a smooth hand-off as Cordova transitioned to a community-driven project when corporate sponsorship waned.

Andrew Grieve

Background: Andrew is a software engineer at Google who spent several years working full-time on Apache Cordova​. He joined the project around 2012 when Google was investing in improving the mobile web (Andrew worked on Chrome and tooling). With a strong background in browser internals, Andrew brought performance and engineering rigor to Cordova’s core. He is recognized as one of the top big-company engineers to significantly contribute to Cordova’s open source code.

Contributions: Andrew’s contributions were wide-ranging. He led a major refactor of cordova-android around the 4.0.0 release​, overhauling its architecture for the modern Android SDK and adding the Gradle build system support. He also improved Cordova’s bridging code for better performance and worked on plugins (for example, he improved the File API implementation). Andrew wrote a series of “Last Week in Cordova” updates on the Cordova blog​, transparently reporting progress to the community. Additionally, he helped integrate Cordova with Google’s Chrome Apps project and crosswalk (an alternative WebView), ensuring Cordova could leverage the latest web capabilities.

Achievements: By bringing his browser expertise, Andrew significantly improved Cordova’s stability and speed – which was critical in convincing developers to stick with hybrid apps. His code contributions were among the top in the project during his tenure. After 2015, Andrew moved on to other Google projects (likely related to Chrome or Android), but his influence remains in Cordova’s codebase (he’s credited in many source files and docs). It’s rare for a large company like Google to assign an engineer to an Apache project; Andrew made the most of that opportunity, acting as a liaison between Google and the Cordova community.

Thanks to him, Cordova weathered many OS changes (like Android Lollipop’s new WebView) without breaking stride.

Holly Schinsky

Top 14 Apache Cordova Developers

Background: Holly (also known by her handle “devgirl”) is a developer advocate who became prominent for her work on Cordova and the Ionic framework. As an Adobe PhoneGap evangelist, Holly created extensive content to help developers build hybrid mobile apps. She later worked at Ionic and then at AWS, but her contributions during the Cordova heyday (2013–2016) made her a key influencer in that community.

Contributions: Holly ran DevGirl Blog (devgirl.org), sharing practical Cordova tutorials, plugin guides, and real-world solutions like push notifications and build customisation. She co-authored Mobile Development with Ionic, contributed code, tested early Cordova releases, maintained docs, and actively supported the community.

Achievements: As a speaker, Holly delivered talks at multiple PhoneGap Day events and user group meetups, where her energetic presentations inspired many to try Cordova. Her efforts earned her recognition as a top PhoneGap/Cordova influencer by Adobe and the community. Holly’s knack for breaking down complex topics (like plugin development or performance tuning) into accessible articles was invaluable. Even when the hybrid landscape evolved, many of her Cordova tips remain relevant and are still referenced (some are cited on StackOverflow threads helping others​).

After moving on to other roles (she’s now advocating for cloud/mobile at AWS), Holly remains an advocate for using the right tools for the job – and for a time, that tool was Cordova, which she helped countless developers master.

John Wargo

Background: John is an accomplished author and technologist who became an early documenter of Cordova. With a professional history in mobile development and developer relations (including roles at BlackBerry and SAP), John gravitated to Cordova as a powerful option for enterprise app developers. He has written multiple books on Cordova/PhoneGap, establishing himself as a leading authority in explaining the framework.

Contributions: John’s biggest contribution is through books and publications. He authored PhoneGap Essentials in 2012 and followed up with Apache Cordova 4 Programming (Addison-Wesley, 2015)​. These books provided in-depth coverage of Cordova’s APIs and development process at a time when official resources were sparse. John also wrote the Cordova API Cookbook, offering recipes for using each Cordova plugin. On his personal blog and via IBM developerWorks articles, he published dozens of Cordova tutorials addressing common developer needs (such as using Cordova with IBM Worklight, handling file transfers, etc.). He even built sample hybrid apps that showcased Cordova integration with enterprise systems.

Achievements: John’s clear, practical writing- like Cordova 4 Programming – helped many developers adopt Cordova for critical apps. He shared insights from core contributors, spoke at events, answered community questions, and now advocates for IoT and mobile tech.

His legacy in Cordova is that of a teacher: the go-to author whose books sat on many Cordova developers’ desks as they built their first hybrid apps.

Lisa Seacat DeLuca

Top 14 Apache Cordova Developers

Background: Lisa is a distinguished software engineer and one of IBM’s most notable inventors, who also made her mark as a Cordova developer. She led mobile engineering teams at IBM and dove into hybrid mobile development as part of IBM’s push for cloud-based mobile apps. Lisa became an Apache Cordova committer and was known internally as a “go-to” person for Cordova expertise. She has the unique distinction of being IBM’s most prolific female inventor (holding 700+ patents) and was featured on Forbes “30 Under 30” in tech.

Contributions: At IBM, Lisa built enterprise-grade Cordova apps, contributed to key plugins like Push Notifications, and co-authored IBM Redbooks on hybrid development. She spoke at ApacheCon, improved Cordova docs, and bridged updates between Apache Cordova and IBM’s mobile toolkit, advocating for enterprise features like certificate pinning and encryption.

Achievements: Lisa’s career is filled with accolades: besides her patent record, she was recognized as a technology pioneer by MIT. In the Cordova realm, her achievement was proving hybrid apps at scale. For instance, she led the development of a Cordova-based mobile app for IBM’s huge Insight conference, which thousands of attendees used – a high-profile success for Cordova under her leadership. Lisa also authored a children’s book about technology (“A Robot Story”), showcasing her passion for tech education. While she eventually moved into more senior roles (now leading engineering at Unstoppable Domains in the Web3 space), her technical contributions to Cordova and her role model status encouraged more women to explore mobile app development.

She remains a shining example of a multifaceted technologist: developer, innovator, author, and leader – with Cordova being a significant chapter in her story.

Wrap Up

These legends represent exceptional talent, making them extremely challenging to headhunt. However, there are thousands of other highly skilled IT professionals available to hire with our help. Contact us, and we will be happy to discuss your hiring needs.

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