Lead Developer

Summary/objective:  

The Lead Developer is responsible for project estimation/scope, some architecture, project team efficiency, communication, deployment and quality of deliverables. A Lead Developer at DragonSpears may work on multiple projects for multiple clients simultaneously (usually 2-3), work with a cross-functional team, and be transparent about time and tasks to help clients understand the progress of their projects. Candidates must love helping people (clients and teammates) and solving business problems. 

Essential functions:  

Estimation/Scope:  

• Review project estimates with the team, and challenge it when necessary 

• Define requirements and test cases 

• Proactively collaborate with team to identify and mitigate risks 

• Manage the scope during development life cycle  

• Responsible for the entire SDLC of a project 

• Prevent scope creep by promptly addressing issues with the team and client 

• Support identification and nurturing and estimation of new opportunities 

Architecture: 

• Prepare and design the application architecture, in concert with an Architect on larger projects 

• Define strategies for technical challenges 

• Have good understanding of different technologies utilized by DragonSpears 

• Provide appropriate solution based upon the viability of different options 

• Ensure that DragonSpears’ best practices and coding standards are followed in the project 

• Perform peer code reviews frequently and provide consistent feedback 

• Ensure that proper unit tests are in place for both server-side and client-side code. 

• Ensure that all the unit tests are functional and always passing 

Project Efficiency: 

• Look for ways to increase team’s productivity by eliminating waste 

• Prioritize and distribute tasks to different resources so that they are working to the best of their abilities 

• Work with Project Owner and Team Leads to ensure team is fully allocated and utilized 

Leadership: 

• Mentor developers and demonstrate exemplary behaviors from technical standpoint

• Ensure the sprint process is followed by developers and that they are meeting best practices

• Be firm, fair, and consistent with feedback 

• Build and maintain high team morale 

• Avoid centralization of knowledge 

• Assist in recruiting process to build the delivery teams 

• Ensure delivery follow through 

Communication: 

• Report status with proper explanations and solutions when appropriate 

• Ensure consistency in concepts discussed with the clients from all team members 

• Ensure consistency in terminology discussed with the clients from all team members 

• Ensure that setup, concepts and design decisions, and deployment and environment documentation is created and updated

• Ensure engineering team is collaborating effectively internally

Deployment: 

• Accountable for overall project outcome 

• Follow proper deployment practices 

• Create and maintain automated build process that will run all the unit tests, both server side and client side, deploy code to staging and prepare deployment ready files for production environments 

• Ensure that the deployment checklist is used when starting a new project and ensure that faulty deployments complete the deployment checklist 

• Ensure deployments follow a well-designed and documented processes that provides for remediating failures

Quality Assurance: 

• Testing Plan documented for the project 

• Ensure that the team is prepared for Sprint review by testing expected functionality beforehand. 

• Set timelines for QA to occur and communicate to the team 

• Work with the delivery team to validate UI functionality 

• Validate data integrity 

• Validate Code quality 

• Mentor team members on best practices of Quality Assurance 

• QA for Critical path and functionality (Regression Testing) 

• Peer testing/Code review 

Competencies:  

1. Technical capacity 

1. Client/Consulting expertise 

1. Communication proficiency 

1. Problem solving 

1. Time management 

1. Ownership of project concerns 

Core Values: 

Heroic – We derive joy out of being the humble heroes. We love to work behind the scenes to empower our clients and teammates to achieve huge successes and enjoy the accolades. 

Initiates Solutions – We initiate solutions before most even recognize there is a problem. We take ownership of issues without passing blame or avoiding work. We operate as a forward-thinking team. 

Refactor often - We have a constant eye towards improvement. Our processes and behaviors are driven by good sense and efficiency rather than because “that is how they’ve always been done.” 

Elevate - We are committed to self-improvement. We are passionate about finding ways in and outside of work to improve our knowledge and skills and align our learning with the goals of the organization. 

Deliver - We follow through on what we say. We are committed to getting it done, whatever it takes. It CAN Be Done. 

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work: 

This is a full-time position. Days and hours of work are Monday through Friday with a flexible core hours policy to accommodate early birds and night owls. 

Supervisory Responsibilities:  

This position requires mentoring, coaching, and the issuance of feedback for teammates. 

Travel:  

May be required to go on-site to clients in the greater Chicagoland area. 

Required education and experience:  

At least 8 years of professional experience. It is preferred that at least 3 years will have been in a client consulting capacity. 

Technical requirements:    

• .NET 

• React 

• SQL 

• C# 

Equal Employment Opportunity 

All employment decisions shall be made without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law. 

Disclaimer 

This description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Other duties, responsibilities and activities may change or be assigned at any time with or without notice.