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Role Description

The ideal candidate is a seasoned engineer who thrives at the intersection of architecture, development, and team leadership. They bring deep expertise in modern Microsoft-based application development, and you’re energized by building systems that are stable, scalable, and mission-critical. Clear communication with both technical and non-technical audiences, mentoring others with patience and confidence, and fostering a culture of collaboration, creativity, and continuous improvement are key in this role. The ideal candidate will navigate ambiguity with ease, anticipate risks before they surface, and take pride in delivering high-quality solutions that support statewide financial operations.

As a senior technical leader within the Office of Modernization, you will guide the design, development, and maintenance of core financial applications that support ESD’s Unemployment Insurance, Paid Family & Medical Leave, WorkSource programs, and agencywide financial operations. You will oversee and mentor a team of developers and contractors, ensuring that solutions are built using modern engineering practices, aligned with enterprise standards, and capable of supporting the needs of more than 1,600 ESD staff and millions of Washingtonians who rely on our services.

Please note: This is a project position anticipated to end December of 2027.

Duties

• Lead the full lifecycle of application development—from architecture and design to testing, deployment, and ongoing support.
• Define technical standards, guide sprint planning, and ensure development quality across multiple systems and interfaces.
• Collaborate closely with agency partners, statewide IT organizations, and business stakeholders to translate requirements into robust technical solutions.
• Play a key role in incident response, production support, and continuous improvement efforts to ensure system reliability, data integrity, and compliance with state and federal requirements.
• Design and maintain architectural standards and core interfaces for mission-critical financial systems, including integrations with enterprise platforms such as Workday.
• Lead analysis, design, and development of complex technical solutions using modern Microsoft-based technologies and agency standards.
• Establish development priorities, translate requirements into technical solutions, and create/maintain databases, automation, and build/release pipelines.
• Plan and direct maintenance of complex applications, including enhancements, technology upgrades, system impact analysis, and code migration validation.
• Define and execute testing strategies, including automated unit, performance, load, and security testing; ensure defects are remediated and releases meet quality standards.
• Create and maintain comprehensive technical documentation, including system diagrams, procedures, batch schedules, and application reference materials.
• Lead production support activities, including incident and problem management, root-cause analysis, troubleshooting, and system performance monitoring.
• Serve as a technical lead for projects, coordinating development work, defining sprint structures, estimating scope, and engaging stakeholders to refine requirements.
• Mentor and coach technical staff, promote best practices, support Agile/LEAN culture, and foster collaboration across teams and workstreams.
• Perform additional duties as assigned, including providing technical estimates, ensuring coverage during absences, and supporting team events and collaboration.

Qualifications

• Option 1: Eleven (11) years or more years of progressive experience in information technology that includes software development, computer programming and/or software systems administration may substitute for the education requirements.
• Option 2: Associate’s degree in computer science, information technology or a closely related field and nine (9) years of progressive experience in information technology that includes software architecture, software development, computer programming and/or software systems administration.
• Option 3: Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology or a closely related field and seven (7) years of progressive experience in information technology that includes software architecture, software development, computer programming and/or software systems administration.

• Demonstrated skills in service-oriented design and development using C#, ASP.NET, MVC, JavaScript, .NET Core, and T-SQL.
• Demonstrated skills in software management and work item management using Team Foundation Server, Azure DevOps, and Git.
• Demonstrated skills performing the full application life cycle activities of the standard Application Life Cycle Methodology (Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall, etc.).
• Continuous development of skills related to new tools and techniques related to application development, maintenance, and support.
• Demonstrated skills performing testing as part of the SDLC.

Preferred/Desired Experience

• Demonstrate a strong understanding of various modules within D365 Finance & Operations (FO) and the ability to configure and customize the D365 FO platform to meet specific business requirements.
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM or ERP Certifications.
• Experience with Azure services such as Azure Functions, Azure PDF, Service Bus to extend and integrate D365 capabilities.

Required Equity Competencies

• The ability to take action to learn and grow.
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others.

Additional Requirements of Employment

• Must be able to pass Unemployment Insurance (UI) & Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) claim and fraud check.
• This position has access to federal tax information and therefore, per RCW 41.04.821 and the IRS publication 1075, is required to have a criminal history record check through the Washington State Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Supplemental Information

Our agency's mission and values drive every decision that we make, determine how we interact with others and are at the core of who we are. We value Access, Love, Belonging, Equity, and Stewardship. We understand that a work environment that respects your work/life balance is key; that's why many of our positions are eligible for flexible work schedules and teleworking opportunities. Through support, value, and trust, our employees are empowered to grow and develop into their best self.

Opportunity for All: We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, ethnic, racial, religious, sexual orientation, and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, people over 40 years of age, people with religious beliefs, veterans or people with military status, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply.

The Employment Security Department is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

If you are a person needing assistance in the application process, if you need this job announcement in an alternate format, or if you have general questions about this opportunity, please contact Katie Swanson, 360-742-8208 or the Talent Acquisition Team, or Washington Relay Service 711 prior to the recruitment closing.

If you are having technical difficulties creating, accessing, or completing your application, please contact careershelp@des.wa.gov or (360) 664-1960 or toll free (877) 664-1960, Washington Relay 711.

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