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Best 14 Flex Developers for Interactive UIs

flex developers - Best 14 Flex Developers for Interactive UIs

Flex may not dominate headlines anymore, but its impact on rich internet applications (RIAs), enterprise dashboards, and UI architecture endures, thanks to a passionate global community.

From Adobe SDK engineers to open-source contributors, startup founders, and developers modernizing Flex for the web, this ecosystem remains vibrant. Here’s a list of key Flex developers driving its evolution through code, education, and community leadership.

  1. Christofer Dutz
  2. Alex Harui
  3. Carol Frampton
  4. Carlos Rovira
  5. GabrielHorvitz
  6. Jeffry Houser
  7. Joseph Labrecque
  8. Josh Tynjala
  9. Jun Heider
  10. Omar Gonzalez
  11. Justin Mclean
  12. Michael Schmalle
  13. Mahmoud Ali
  14. Peter Elst

Now, let’s dive into each of these experts’ backgrounds:

Christofer Dutz

YouTube Video

From an idea to an Apache TLP.

Nationality: German

Christofer is the lead developer of Flexmojos, the popular Maven plugin for building Flex apps.

He took over Flexmojos in 2012 and improved Apache Flex’s integration with Maven and continuous build systems. In Apache Flex, he created tools to “Mavenize” the Flex SDK and has been a committer and PMC member driving modern development practices. Christofer is also active in other Apache projects (like PLC4X), frequently speaks at ApacheCon, and mentors developers on bridging Flex with Java/Spring backends.

Alex Harui

Nationality: Finnish-American

Alex was one of the original Flex SDK developers at Macromedia/Adobe (working on Flex since 2002) and later became Vice President (PMC Chair) of Apache Flex.

He has spearheaded the next-generation Flex project (Apache FlexJS/Royale) to cross-compile ActionScript/MXML to JavaScript, ensuring Flex applications can run without Flash. Alex remains a core Apache Royale committer and community mentor, sharing his deep expertise with developers worldwide.

Carol Frampton

Nationality: American

Carol worked on the Adobe Flex team for five years, where she developed core features (Flex text frameworks, Spark DataGrid, etc.) and became the top bug fixer in later releases.

She transitioned with Flex to Apache and served as Release Manager for Apache Flex 4.8.0. With a background spanning ColdFusion and JRun, Carol brought enterprise software experience to the Flex community. Today she continues to champion Flex as a highly experienced software engineer.

Carlos Rovira

Carlos Rovira - Best 14 Flex Developers for Interactive UIs

Nationality: Spanish

Carlos is the founder of Codeoscopic S.A. and creator of the Riality Flex/JEE platform for insurance applications.

He has been a passionate advocate of rich client applications, leading multiple companies since 2007 focused on multi-device business apps. As an Apache Flex committer, Carlos contributes to Flex and its evolution (now Apache Royale) and frequently shares his expertise with the community (e.g. via blogging and Spanish Flex user groups).

Gabriel “Harbs” Horvitz

Nationality: American

Gabriel (often known just as “Harbs”) runs multiple technology businesses – In-Tools, PrintUI, and UnHurdle – all of which rely heavily on Flex/ActionScript for publishing and automation solutions.

He brings this practical industry perspective to Apache Flex, where he’s a longtime committer and currently the PMC Chair (overseeing Apache Flex’s project direction). Harbs is driving Apache Royale’s development and design (Royale evolved from FlexJS). Between managing businesses and coding, he actively engages with the community, bridging real-world needs with framework evolution.

Jeffry Houser

Nationality: American

Jeffry is the founder of DotComIt and creator of Flextras, a library of open-source Flex UI components (including calendars, auto-completes, mobile UI controls, etc.).

As one of the initial contributors to Apache Flex, he focused on expanding the component ecosystem for mobile and enterprise use. Jeffry has shared “cool stuff” with the community through dozens of articles, three books, and hundreds of podcast episodes. He often speaks at conferences and user groups, making complex Flex topics accessible.

Joseph Labrecque

Joseph Labrecque - Best 14 Flex Developers for Interactive UIs

Nationality: American

Joseph is a senior interactive software engineer at the University of Denver specializing in expressive web, desktop, and mobile apps (often built with Flex/AIR).

He is an Adobe Education Leader and has been an Adobe Community Professional, recognized for teaching and advocacy in the Flash/Flex realm. Joseph has authored several books and video courses on Flex, Adobe AIR, and Animate. As an Apache Flex committer, he contributes documentation and helps developers transition from Adobe’s tools to Apache solutions. He also runs the Fractured Vision Media studio and shares tutorials on his blog “Inflagrante Delicto.”

Josh Tynjala

If we want Flex developers to move forward, we have to meet them where they are—with tools they already know.

Nationality: American

Josh is the author of Feathers UI, a popular open-source user interface component library for Starling (Stage3D) that brought Flex-like components to GPU-accelerated apps.

He has been a key contributor to Apache FlexJS/Royale compilers, helping developers transpile ActionScript to JavaScript for modern web deployment. Josh also educates the community via his “NextGen ActionScript” tutorials and blogs, guiding Flex developers through the transition to Royale and newer languages. In late 2024, he announced the release of Apache Royale v0.9.12 as a significant milestone, exemplifying his leadership in the project.

Jun Heider

Jun Heider - Best 14 Flex Developers for Interactive UIs

Nationality: American

Jun is known for co-founding the Open Spoon Foundation, which supported the open-source Flex ecosystem during the Adobe-to-Apache transition.

He has helped grow Apache Flex by mentoring newcomers and raising community awareness. Jun has built multi-user and video-rich Flex applications as a cross-platform mobile developer at RealEyes Media. He also served as an adjunct faculty at University of Denver, teaching native application development with Adobe AIR. Jun frequently speaks at user groups and conferences, acting as a bridge between Adobe, Apache, and developers as Flex evolved.

Omar Gonzalez

Nationality: American

Omar has been developing with Flash since 2000 and Flex since the Flex 2 beta.

He served as Senior Architect at Almer/Blank, building rich front-ends and back-ends across HTML5, Flex, Node, and more. An advocate of test-driven development, Omar applied those practices in Flex and contributed many bug fixes and improvements as an Apache Flex committer. He is keen on expanding Flex beyond the Flash Player, experimenting with how Flex apps can target JavaScript/HTML5 (which presaged Apache Royale). Omar is also known for helping others on forums and for his upbeat community presence (his personal blog often shared Flex tips).

Justin Mclean

Justin Mclean - Best 14 Flex Developers for Interactive UIs

Nationality: Australian

Justin has over 25 years of web development experience and became a driving force in Apache Flex after Adobe’s donation.

He contributed features like enhanced internationalization (e.g. postal code support for numerous locales in Flex 4.9) and served as Release Manager for Apache Flex 4.9.0. Beyond coding, Justin is a certified trainer and frequent international conference speaker, simplifying Flex and Arduino/IoT topics alike. He even served on the Apache Software Foundation Board, advocating for open source. Justin runs Class Software in Sydney and continues to split his time between teaching and software development.

Michael Schmalle

Nationality: American

Michael has been an ActionScript developer since 2001, known for creating a read/write AS3 DOM API and working on language parsers.

He became a key contributor to Apache Flex by leading development of FalconJX, the next-gen ActionScript compiler that cross-compiles to JavaScript (aimed at “putting the last nail in the Flash Player” for Flex apps). Michael is also experimenting with music tech (synthesizer frameworks) using his Flex knowledge on Android and Unity. His pragmatic and forward-looking approach (e.g. embracing JavaScript and WebAudio) has been invaluable in keeping Flex (now Royale) relevant.

Mahmoud “Akamud” Ali

Mahmoud Akamud Ali - Best 14 Flex Developers for Interactive UIs

Nationality: Brazilian

Mahmoud is a .NET and Flex developer who co-created the FlatSpark project – a modern skinning theme to refresh Apache Flex’s look-and-feel for contemporary apps.

He donated FlatSpark to Apache and, as a committer, his goal is to continue improving Flex UI components and skins. Based in Brazil, Mahmoud is active in open-source and often explores new technologies to blend with Flex. He exemplifies the next generation of Flex contributors: polyglot, design-minded, and community-driven (he’s often found helping out on forums and sharing knowledge on his blog).

Peter Elst

Nationality: Belgian

Peter is a Belgian developer who became a prominent figure in the Flash/Flex world through blogging, speaking, and building real-world apps.

He co-authored multiple books on ActionScript and Flex, and was a fixture at industry events (e.g. Adobe MAX, 360Flex) as a speaker. Peter worked on projects across Europe before joining Google as a Web Solutions Engineer. Throughout, he remained a “longtime supporter of Flex as a platform,” advocating for its use in enterprise solutions. Even after moving into web and mobile development at Google, Peter’s influence via his blog and community involvement (Adobe Community Expert, user group leader) cemented his status as a Flex community influencer.

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.

Note: We’ve dedicated significant time and effort to creating and verifying this curated list of top talent. However, if you believe a correction or addition is needed, feel free to reach out. We’ll gladly review and update the page.

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