WHAT DOES A LEAD DEVELOPER DO?

Published: Jan 13, 2026 - The Lead Developer drives the development of new features and the enhancement of existing functionalities using a test-driven development approach. This role operates within a modern software engineering environment, leveraging practices such as Git workflows, CI/CD pipelines, cloud computing, and technical design analysis to deliver scalable solutions. The lead also ensures continuous improvement by conducting testing, resolving issues, researching emerging technologies, and maintaining clear communication through technical documentation.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Lead Developer

1. Lead Developer Duties

  • Code Familiarity: Develop in-depth knowledge of the code base, architecture, and data model
  • Feature Development: Play a key role in building, testing, and deploying new features
  • Requirements Gathering: Collaborate with internal management to determine requirements for new features
  • Feature Architecture: Architect new features as the product offering grows, manage their timeline, delivery, and rollout
  • Issue Resolution: Coordinate response to any technical issues with the Grapple site and services, working with the team to debug and resolve problems quickly
  • Security Review: Conduct thorough security reviews to reduce the risk of technological breaches
  • Team Management: Manage a remote workforce of software developers and contractors, delivering clear requirements and expectations
  • Quality Assurance: Drive standards for testing and quality assurance of software releases
  • Team Building: Build a team, bring on new developers, and train them

2. Lead Developer Details

  • Team Leadership: Lead integrated development teams including developers, testers, and business analysts
  • Application Delivery: Lead the design, development, coding, testing, and debugging of applications
  • Design Review: Work with teams on reviewing and verifying the implementation of applications according to design best practices, performance, and security
  • Technical Documentation: Support the preparation and maintenance of application and security documentation from clients
  • System Integration: Support the development of applications using a variety of platforms, including Java and .NET applications, and interfacing with Mainframe Cobol, COTS solutions, and robotic process automation, UiPath
  • Project Collaboration: Collaborate with internal teams, partners, and client resources on project-related tasks to meet delivery dates
  • Agile Adoption: Support the adoption of SAFe Agile processes
  • System Modernization: Support development, modernization, and enhancement of mission-critical systems supporting loan, accounting, payment, automation, and business intelligence applications
  • Unit Testing: Develop unit test case design and execution methodologies using appropriate unit testing and code coverage tools
  • Quality Metrics: Responsible for managing software quality metrics
  • Hardware Integration: Work with electronics engineers for board bring-up and software integration
  • Independent Delivery: Work independently with a self-driven mindset and strong sense of project ownership

3. Lead Developer Responsibilities

  • Application Development: Develops and implements applications and interfaces to support various applications and websites
  • Code Quality: Produces code that meets functional specifications accurately and with an appropriate level of robustness to handle errors and unexpected content
  • Design Contribution: Contributes to design document details for architecture, functionality, and time estimates
  • Process Improvement: Contributes to and improves the software development process
  • Workflow Documentation: Creates workflow charts and diagrams using knowledge of programming and logic to document work
  • Release Compliance: Follows development, testing, and deployment procedures as developed
  • Status Communication: Communicates with project management about the status of work and issues with work in progress
  • Content Collaboration: Works with marketing teams and website authors to ensure content is presented in the desired manner
  • CMS Management: Manipulates applications and websites within the content management system Sitefinity using knowledge of .NET MVC, JS, and CSS

4. Lead Developer Accountabilities

  • Technical Mentoring: Mentor and assist other application developers with technical responsibilities
  • Strategic Planning: Rely on extensive experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals
  • Development Standards: Help set direction, standard practices, and procedures for the development group
  • Performance Feedback: Provide input to management on performance reviews
  • Application Support: Support all applications and systemic processes and objects
  • Vendor Relations: Establish effective business relationships with application vendors to ensure operational, effective, and best-in-class interfaces for data, security, and functionality
  • Maintenance Delivery: Serve as a key team member in developing, testing, and implementing bug fixes and maintenance needs for all applications
  • Technology Alignment: Ensure knowledge remains aligned with new technologies, approaches, and systems related to applications and systems
  • Continuous Learning: Demonstrate a proactive approach to gaining knowledge of new languages, platforms, and architecture

5. Lead Developer Functions

  • Feature Development: Responsible for developing new features and extending existing ones
  • Test Driven: Create unit tests for the developed software using the TDD approach
  • Engineering Practices: Work in a highly dynamic environment that applies widely accepted software engineering and software development lifecycle best practices such as Git Flow, trunk-based development, code review, CI, and CD
  • Cloud Ownership: Be in charge of technical responsibilities associated with cloud computing
  • Technical Communication: Read and understand specifications and API documents and perform written communication in English
  • Technical Design: Analyze software projects from a technical perspective and conduct the design process
  • Defect Resolution: Conduct testing, detect errors, and solve problems
  • Process Improvement: Drive continuous improvement of the software development process
  • Technology Research: Research trends and emerging technologies to improve projects
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