In the ever-evolving world of mobile development, velocity and quality often feel like opposing forces. But what if you could have both?
In this episode of “Build to Succeed,” we sat down with Landon Robinson, Staff Engineer at Etsy, to explore how his team built a powerful, feature-rich mobile experience for millions of Etsy sellers—without ballooning team size or compromising on design. The secret? Strong architecture, cross-functional collaboration, and a product-first mindset.
Building a Modern Mobile Stack
Landon’s journey from native development to Flutter mirrors a larger trend in the mobile space. While skeptical at first, he was won over by Flutter’s rendering engine, flexibility, and tooling, eventually helping lead Etsy’s transition from a shared native codebase to a standalone Flutter app for sellers.
Today, Etsy’s Flutter-based Seller app is maintained by a focused team of just eight engineers, yet it supports rich functionality and rapid iteration.
“We’ve been able to build a lot of features in a short amount of time… resulting in a feature-rich app that can really help our sellers manage their shops on the go,” Landon shares.
One of the key drivers behind that speed was intentionally designing for developer experience from the start. From abstraction layers to documentation and onboarding guides, the team built not just a product, but a platform others could plug into.
"Early on, we thought a lot about the developer experience," he adds. "Our goal was not only to speed up development, but also to allow other teams to come in and build."
The “Away Team” Model: Cross-Functional Collaboration That Works
One of the most innovative aspects of Etsy’s development model is what Landon calls the “away team” approach. This allows engineers—often from web or full-stack backgrounds—to embed with the Seller app team temporarily to build specific features directly in Flutter.
Backed by strong internal docs, Codelabs, and mentorship, these away teams are able to ship production-ready code in weeks, all within a well-governed architecture that ensures quality and consistency.
“People start focusing on the product itself, as opposed to being confused by ‘what can we do on Android or iOS?’ It’s more of a product-driven mindset…and teams reorganize around product domains,” Landon reaffirms.
That cultural shift—from platform silos to product teams—has enabled Etsy to scale not just code, but shared ownership. It’s an example of how the right combination of tech and process can empower teams to deliver faster and more collaboratively.
Why Flutter Made the Difference
For Etsy’s team, choosing Flutter was about more than code reuse. It was about removing the friction between platforms, between teams, and even between engineering and design.
Because Flutter allows pixel-perfect design implementation and cross-platform deployment, the team rarely had to “dumb down” experiences to meet technical constraints.
Combined with a modern mobile architecture and strong QA practices, this enabled Etsy to ship more with less while still meeting the expectations of millions of sellers.
Looking Ahead: The Role of AI in Developer Productivity
While Etsy’s Seller app team hasn’t yet deeply integrated AI, Landon is optimistic about the possibilities. With tools like GitHub Copilot already in use by some engineers, the team sees AI as a potential force multiplier, especially for repetitive tasks or infrastructure work.
“If AI can help us be force multipliers of ourselves, why wouldn’t we use it? We’re definitely excited to see how we can layer it into our already smooth process,” he concludes.
As AI continues to evolve, the goal isn’t to replace engineers—it’s to amplify their impact. That vision aligns perfectly with the team’s foundational choices: tools and practices that unlock creativity, ownership, and focus.
Engineering With Purpose, Grounded in Impact and Trust
Through all the talk around technology, Landon is clear about what really matters—building solutions that make sense for the business.
This mindset permeates Etsy’s Seller app strategy: from platform decisions to team structure, every move is grounded in real, measurable outcomes, not just engineering experimentation.
On the other hand, when asked about what strong leadership looks like, Landon emphasizes trust, communication, and clarity. Empowering engineers to do their best work and then supporting them with the right structures is key to sustaining both morale and momentum.
And that empowerment goes both ways. By building a team culture rooted in shared goals and open collaboration, Etsy has created a development environment where engineers from different disciplines—mobile, web, and platform—can come together and build something better, faster, and smarter.
Listen to the Full Episode
In a world where tools and frameworks evolve rapidly, Etsy’s experience is a reminder that the foundations of great software are timeless: clear goals, strong teams, and a deep understanding of the people you’re building for.
If you’re leading a mobile team, scaling cross-functional collaboration, or evaluating the impact of Flutter and AI in your org, this conversation is a must-listen. Enjoy!
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