Lead Developer

Lead Developer role: first step into leadership, stream or squad lead with hands-on technical contribution

Category: Team
Tags: salesforce roles lead-developer leadership

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

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Quick Facts
  3. Core Responsibilities
  4. Required Skills & Experience
  5. Typical Deliverables
  6. Decision Authority
  7. Code Involvement
  8. Mentorship & Collaboration
  9. Success Metrics
  10. Career Progression
  11. Related Roles
  12. See Also

Overview

Lead Developers are the first step into the leadership track. They lead a stream, squad, or subset of work and remain hands-on (40-55% code). 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. They bridge Senior Developer depth and Technical Lead ownership, building coordination and leadership skills before moving into full code ownership.

Quick Facts

  • Code Involvement: 40-55% (Implementation, code review, architecture within stream)
  • Typical Experience: 4-6 years
  • Decision Authority: Technical approach within stream (with Technical Lead approval for cross-stream or final code decisions)
  • Focus Area: Stream/squad leadership, hands-on contribution, mentoring, coordination

Core 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 Junior, Mid-Level, and Senior Developers
  • Participate in technical validation and clarification (input to Technical Lead)
  • Review code and provide constructive feedback within stream
  • Collaborate with Technical Lead on approach and final code decisions
  • Contribute to sprint planning and estimation for stream work
  • Balance hands-on delivery with coordination and guidance
  • Identify technical debt and raise to Technical Lead for prioritization

Required Skills & Experience

Technical Skills

  • Expert-level skills in at least 2 of 3 areas: LWC, Apex, declarative automation
  • Strong code review and quality assessment skills
  • Understanding of team dynamics and coordination
  • Ability to balance technical work with leadership responsibilities

Experience

  • 4-6 years of Salesforce development experience
  • Experience leading or coordinating a subset of development work
  • Experience mentoring other developers
  • Demonstrated progression from Senior Developer (deeper expertise, then coordination)

Knowledge Areas

  • Salesforce development and architecture (team-level)
  • Agile development and sprint coordination
  • Code quality and standards
  • Technical debt identification and communication

Typical Deliverables

  • Features and solutions within stream/squad scope
  • Code reviews and technical feedback within stream
  • Stream-level task coordination and status
  • Technical input and recommendations to Technical Lead
  • Mentoring and guidance to developers

Decision Authority

  • Technical approach and implementation within stream (with Technical Lead approval for cross-stream or final decisions)
  • Task coordination and work allocation within stream
  • Code review and feedback within stream
  • Input to Technical Lead on architecture and prioritization

Key Point: Lead Developer drives work within their stream and provides input; Technical Lead has final authority on code and cross-stream decisions.

Code Involvement

40-55% - Substantial hands-on coding plus code review and architecture within stream. More hands-on than Technical Lead; less than Senior Developer (who has minimal coordination responsibility). Primary balance is delivery within the stream plus coordination and mentoring.

Mentorship & Collaboration

  • Mentors Junior, Mid-Level, and Senior Developers within stream
  • Collaborates with Technical Lead on approach, final decisions, and prioritization
  • Collaborates with Senior Developers for technical validation within stream
  • Provides input to Architects via Technical Lead when relevant
  • Works with product/business on stream scope and clarification

Success Metrics

Qualitative

  • Stream delivery and quality
  • Developer growth and unblocking within stream
  • Balance of hands-on contribution and coordination
  • Effective collaboration with Technical Lead

Quantitative

  • Stream velocity and on-time delivery
  • Code quality and review turnaround within stream
  • Unblock time for stream developers

Career Progression

Path From

  • Senior Developer (typically 1-2 years, 4-6 years total) with demonstrated coordination and leadership interest

Path To

  • Technical Lead - Full code ownership, final authority on code, broader team coordination
  • Staff/Principal Developer - If pivoting to IC track (standards, frameworks, cross-team technical leadership)

Note: Lead Developer is the first leadership step. Progression to Technical Lead means taking on final authority on code and full team (not just stream) coordination.

See Also