Salesforce Team Roles and Responsibilities

Author: callinj
Name: Joe Callin
Title: Sr. Salesforce Developer
Email: joe@jcallin.dev

Introduction

Purpose

This documentation defines roles, responsibilities, and career progression for Salesforce development teams. It provides clear expectations for each role level, helping with career planning, hiring decisions, team structure, and role clarity.

Philosophy

Skills and experience over certifications and degrees. This documentation focuses on what people can do, not what credentials they have. Real-world experience, problem-solving ability, and technical depth are what matter most.

How Roles Are Defined

Roles are defined based on three key factors:

1. Responsibilities: What work they perform and what they're accountable for
2. Decision Authority: What decisions they can make independently
3. Impact Scope: The breadth and depth of their influence (individual, team, system-wide)

Specialization vs Full-Stack

Junior and Mid-Level Developers can specialize in either Lightning Web Components (LWC) or Apex:

• LWC Developers: Focus on Lightning Web Components (JavaScript, HTML, CSS)
• Apex Developers: Focus on Apex (object-oriented backend development)
• Understanding both is beneficial, but specialization is expected at these levels

Mid-Level Developers should be building skills in the other language/framework with guidance from developers with expertise in that area.

Senior Developers must be experts in at least 2 of 3 key areas:

• Lightning Web Components (LWC)
• Apex
• Declarative automation (Flows, Process Builder, Workflow Rules)

Common combinations include full-stack code (LWC + Apex), LWC + declarative, Apex + declarative, or all three.

Getting Started

For Career Planning:
Start with your current role, review the detailed role page, then see Career Progression to understand advancement paths.

For Hiring:
Review all role summaries below, then dive into specific role details to understand requirements and expectations.

For Team Structure:
Review all roles, then see Key Differentiators to understand how roles work together and where responsibilities overlap or differ.

Role Summaries

Salesforce Administrator

Code Involvement: 0% (Declarative only)

Overview:
Salesforce Administrators focus on declarative configuration, user management, and system maintenance. They work primarily with clicks, not code, configuring Salesforce to meet business requirements through built-in tools and declarative automation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Configure Salesforce org settings, security, and user access
• Create and maintain declarative automation (Flows, Process Builder, Workflow Rules)
• Manage user accounts, profiles, permission sets, and role hierarchy
• Create and maintain custom objects, fields, page layouts, and record types
• Configure reports, dashboards, and list views
• Provide user training and support
• Coordinate with developers on requirements and testing

Typical Experience: 0-2 years

View Full Details →

Junior/Entry Developer

Code Involvement: 80-90%

Overview:
Junior/Entry Developers are learning the fundamentals of Salesforce development. They can focus on either Lightning Web Components (LWC) or Apex, implementing features under guidance from more experienced developers. Having understanding in both is an added benefit, but specialization in one area is expected at this level.

Key Responsibilities:

• Implement features and bug fixes following established patterns in primary focus area (LWC or Apex)
• Write Apex classes and triggers OR Lightning Web Components under guidance (focus on one)
• Write unit tests with guidance to meet coverage requirements
• Build understanding of the other language/framework
• Participate in code reviews and incorporate feedback
• Follow coding standards and best practices
• Learn Salesforce development patterns and best practices

Typical Experience: 0-2 years

View Full Details →

Mid-Level Developer

Code Involvement: 85-90%

Overview:
Mid-Level Developers work independently on defined tasks, following established patterns and standards. They can focus on either LWC or Apex with strong skills in their primary area, and should be building skills in the other language/framework with guidance from developers with expertise in that area.

Key Responsibilities:

• Implement features independently following established patterns in primary focus area (LWC or Apex)
• Write clean, maintainable code in primary focus area (Apex OR Lightning Web Components)
• Build skills in secondary language/framework with guidance
• Write comprehensive unit tests meeting coverage requirements
• Participate actively in code reviews (both giving and receiving)
• Follow and enforce coding standards and best practices
• Debug and troubleshoot issues independently

Typical Experience: 2-4 years

View Full Details →

Senior Developer

Code Involvement: 70-80%

Overview:
Senior Developers are experts in at least 2 of 3 key areas: Lightning Web Components (LWC), Apex, and declarative automation (Flows, Process Builder, Workflow Rules). Common combinations include full-stack code (LWC + Apex), LWC + declarative, Apex + declarative, or all three. They drive code architecture, design complex solutions, and mentor other developers. They provide technical validation and clarification to Technical Leads, but the Technical Lead has final authority on code decisions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design and implement complex features and solutions in areas of expertise (Apex, LWC, and/or declarative)
• Drive code architecture and establish patterns
• Provide technical validation and clarification on stories (for Tech Lead)
• Answer technical questions from developers
• Mentor Junior and Mid-Level Developers
• Review code and provide constructive feedback
• Identify and address technical debt
• Guide on when to use declarative vs code-based solutions

Typical Experience: 4-7 years

View Full Details → | See Key Differentiators →

Staff/Principal Developer

Code Involvement: 50-60%

Overview:
Staff/Principal Developers are individual contributors who provide advanced technical leadership at the project and program level. They focus on code architecture, coding standards, best practices, and developing processes that improve development quality and efficiency across teams. This is an alternative career path to Technical Lead for developers who want to advance without people management.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design and implement advanced code architecture at project/program level
• Develop and maintain coding standards and best practices
• Create development processes (mocking tests, test factories, enterprise data patterns)
• Establish patterns and frameworks used across multiple teams
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to Senior Developers
• Contribute to strategic technical decisions

Typical Experience: 5-8 years

View Full Details → | See Key Differentiators →

Lead Developer

Code Involvement: 40-55%

Overview:
Lead Developers are the first step into the leadership track. They lead a stream, squad, or subset of work and remain hands-on. They coordinate work within their scope, mentor developers, and contribute to technical decisions, while a Technical Lead typically retains final authority on code for the full codebase.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead a stream, squad, or subset of development work
• Implement features and drive architecture within assigned scope
• Coordinate work and unblock developers within the stream
• Mentor developers and provide technical input to Technical Lead
• Collaborate with Technical Lead on approach and final code decisions
• Balance hands-on delivery with coordination and guidance

Typical Experience: 4-6 years

View Full Details → | See Key Differentiators →

Technical Lead

Code Involvement: 20-40%

Overview:
Technical Leads own the codebase and make final decisions on all code-related matters. They manage day-to-day tasking, keep development moving forward, and coordinate with Senior Developers and Architects for technical validation and clarification. They own the technical design documentation passed down by Technical Architects, ensuring it is implemented correctly and maintained at the team level. They own the processes for keeping technical debt in check, maintaining standards, ensuring best practices are followed, and keeping documentation updated. They spend significant time guiding others, collaborating with seniors and architects, working with business stakeholders, and technically validating stories. They balance technical excellence with delivery.

Key Responsibilities:

• Make final call on all code decisions (owns the codebase)
• Own and maintain technical design documentation from Architects
• Own processes for technical debt management, standards, best practices, and documentation
• Technically validate stories from technical perspective
• Guide and mentor developers
• Collaborate with Senior Developers for technical validation and architecture guidance
• Collaborate with Architects on high-level technical strategy
• Collaborate with business stakeholders on requirements and priorities
• Manage day-to-day tasking and keep development moving forward
• Assign stories and tasks to developers
• Review and approve code (final authority)

Typical Experience: 5-8 years

View Full Details → | See Key Differentiators →

Architect (Overview)

Code Involvement: 10-20% (architect level)

Overview:
Architects operate at the strategic level with two specializations: Technical Architect (platform and system architecture, technology choices, integration patterns) and Solution Architect (end-to-end solution design, business alignment, cross-system strategy). Both understand code and can provide guidance but are not focused on day-to-day code.

View Architect overview →

Technical Architect

Code Involvement: 10-20%

Overview:
Technical Architects focus on platform and system-level architecture. They own technology choices, integration patterns, data architecture, and cross-team technical standards on the Salesforce platform.

Typical Experience: 7+ years

View Full Details → | See Key Differentiators →

Solution Architect

Code Involvement: 10-20%

Overview:
Solution Architects focus on end-to-end solution design and business alignment. They own how business requirements map to technical solutions across systems, clouds, and teams.

Typical Experience: 7+ years

View Full Details → | See Key Differentiators →

Quick Reference

Role Comparison Matrix

Role Hierarchy

flowchart TD
    Admin[Salesforce Administrator 0% Code]
    Junior[Junior Developer 80-90% Code]
    Mid[Mid-Level Developer 85-90% Code]
    Senior[Senior Developer 70-80% Code]
    Staff[Staff/Principal Developer 50-60% Code]
    Lead[Lead Developer 40-55% Code]
    TechLead[Technical Lead 20-40% Code]
    TechArch[Technical Architect 10-20% Code]
    SolArch[Solution Architect 10-20% Code]
    BusinessAnalyst[Business Analyst]

    Admin -->|Learn to Code| Junior
    Admin -->|Requirements Focus| BusinessAnalyst
    Junior -->|1-2 years| Mid
    Mid -->|2-3 years| Senior
    Senior -->|1-2 years, IC Track| Staff
    Senior -->|1-2 years, Leadership| Lead
    Lead -->|1-2 years| TechLead
    Staff -->|Strategic Focus| TechArch
    Staff -->|Strategic Focus| SolArch
    TechLead -->|Strategic Focus| TechArch
    TechLead -->|Strategic Focus| SolArch

Related Documentation

• Key Differentiators - Detailed comparisons between adjacent roles
• Career Progression - Progression paths, comparison matrix, and decision hierarchy
• Apex Coding Standards - Backend coding standards
• LWC Coding Standards - Frontend component standards
• Testing Standards - Test coverage and testing patterns