Software Developer Lead

Date Opened: Friday, June 05, 2026 12:00 AMClose Date: Friday, June 19, 2026 12:00 AMDepartment: Innovation and Technology DepartmentSalary: $106,196.00 - $132,745.00 Commensurate with Experience

Welcome to the City of Charlotte

Charlotte is America’s Queen City, opening her arms to a diverse and inclusive community of residents, businesses and visitors alike. Here you will find a safe, family-oriented city where people work together to help everyone thrive. The mission of the City of Charlotte is to deliver quality public services and promote the safety, health, and quality of life for all residents.

Our guiding principles include:

• Attracting and retaining a skilled and diverse workforce

• Valuing teamwork, openness, accountability, productivity, and employee development

• Providing all customers with courteous, responsive, accessible, and seamless quality services

• Taking initiative to identify, analyze, and solve problems

• Collaborating with stakeholders to make informed decisions

SUMMARY

Position SummaryThe City of Charlotte is seeking a highly skilled and versatile Software Lead to guide the design, development, modernization, and delivery of critical applications that support city operations and public services. This role provides technical leadership across web, mobile, integration, and cloud platforms; partners with business units to shape solutions; and ensures high‑quality, secure, accessible, and reliable software for employees, residents, and community stakeholders.The ideal candidate is an experienced engineer and architect who excels in mentorship, modern engineering practices, product thinking, systems integration, and leading cross‑functional teams through complex modernization initiatives.

Key Responsibility Areas

1. Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Lead architecture, development, and delivery of scalable, secure software solutions

• Provide technical oversight, code review guidance, and engineering best practices

• Evaluate and recommend modern frameworks, tools, patterns, and platforms

• Create system architecture diagrams, technical specifications, and documentation

• Present designs to architecture review boards and guide technology decision‑making

• Maintain system knowledge across legacy and modern platforms

• Ensure solutions meet performance, security, accessibility, compliance, and operational standards

2. Web, Mobile & Front-End Engineering Leadership

Lead the City’s cross‑platform application ecosystem, including web and mobile applications.

Add responsibilities for:

• React and React Native development leadership

• Mobile app delivery for iOS and Android

• App Store / Google Play release processes

• Feature toggles, blue/green releases, and resident‑facing deployment strategies

• Mobile accessibility including VoiceOver, TalkBack, and mobile UX patterns

• Responsive, accessible, modern front-end architecture across web and mobile

• Coaching engineers on React/JS patterns, state management, and design systems

3. Integration Architecture & Enterprise Connectivity

This role leads not just UI/API development but enterprise‑level system integration.

Responsibilities include:

• Enterprise integration design and architecture

• Workday integrations and cross‑department data exchange

• Middleware platforms (Boomi preferred), APIs, and message-based integrations

• Integrations with Oracle, SQL Server, REST APIs, and file-based interfaces

• Robust error handling, retry logic, logging, reconciliation, and monitoring strategies

• Modernizing legacy integration patterns and reducing brittle system dependencies

4. Legacy Modernization & Application Transformation

Many city systems are critical, old, and deeply embedded. This role leads modernization:

• Replace legacy Oracle Forms, Dynamics customizations, and .NET Framework applications

• Migrate legacy platforms to modern web, mobile, cloud, and API-first architectures

• Introduce modular, scalable designs that minimize disruption to operations

• Support phased rebuilds, parallel runs, and zero‑downtime considerations

• Collaborate with owners to define migration strategy and long‑term sustainability

5. Public-Sector Product Ownership & Partner Engagement

This role blends engineering expertise with product thinking unique to public service.

• Translate business needs into clear technical solutions and roadmaps

• Guide departments when requirements are unclear or evolving

• Balance resident experience, operational realities, policy constraints, accessibility, and budget

• Facilitate workshops, requirement sessions, and solution discovery

• Communicate risks, trade-offs, and design decisions in non‑technical terms

6. Agile Leadership & Jira Ownership

This goes far beyond “experience with Jira.” You will help teams operate effectively.

• Configure and maintain Jira boards, workflows, dashboards, automation, and reporting

• Track velocity, operational work, team capacity, and cross-team dependencies

• Support backlog refinement, Scrum ceremonies, and sprint planning

• Help teams distinguish project work from operational support

• Improve transparency, delivery predictability, and team flow

7. Accessibility Leadership (Web & Mobile)

Accessibility spans more than WCAG for modern platforms.

• Ensure ADA compliance across web and mobile applications

• Conduct screen reader testing (VoiceOver and TalkBack)

• Incorporate accessible UX patterns, semantic structure, keyboard navigation, and color contrast

• Support inclusive design that serves residents of all abilities

8. Cloud, DevOps & Operational Excellence

Expand beyond general cloud familiarity:

• AWS S3, CloudFront, IAM, serverless concepts, and Azure ecosystem knowledge

• CI/CD pipelines using Bitbucket Pipelines, Jenkins, Fastlane, App Center, or equivalent

• Infrastructure as Code (Terraform preferred)

• IIS hosting and troubleshooting for .NET applications

• Observability, application monitoring, and incident response leadership

9. AI & Data Modernization

As the City expands its digital capabilities, this role helps evaluate and guide responsible AI use.

• Assess opportunities for AI-assisted solutions, automation, search, vector retrieval, or knowledgebase improvements

• Provide guidance on privacy, governance, safety, and operational value

• Not expected to be an AI engineer, but able to identify practical use cases and avoid risks

Minimum Qualifications

High School Graduate or Equivalent and nine (9) years of related work experience OR

2 Year College Degree and seven (7) years of related work experience• OR• Bachelor's Level Degree and five (5) year of related work experience• OR

 Master's Level Degree and three (3) years of related work experience or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience that provides the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the essential job duties

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in government, utilities, public safety, transportation, or enterprise‑scale environments

• Experience with middleware platforms (Boomi preferred)

• Experience with ERP systems like Workday

• Experience leading modernization or migration initiatives

• Familiarity with service‑oriented or microservice architectures

• Strong understanding of cybersecurity principles and secure coding practices

Key Competencies

• 5+ years of software development experience

• 2+ years in a technical leadership or team lead role

• Strong modern .NET development (C#, ASP.NET Core, REST APIs)

• Experience with React and/or React Native

• Mobile application delivery for iOS and Android

• Solid understanding of cloud technologies (AWS and/or Azure)

• Strong knowledge of relational databases and integration patterns

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automated testing

• Strong knowledge of Agile/Scrum practices and Jira administration

• Experience leading cross-functional engineering teams

• Technical Architecture & Engineering Leadership

• Integration & Legacy Modernization

• Mobile & Web Application Delivery

• Product Thinking & Stakeholder Engagement

• Communication & Cross-Department Collaboration

• Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking

• Agile Practices & Jira Administration

• Accessibility, Security & Operational Excellence

• Adaptability, Ownership, and Continuous Learning

Working Conditions

• Must be located within 45 miles of Charlotte, NC and work in office a minimum of two days per week. This issubject to change at any time due to organizational and business needs.

• Collaboration with diverse city departments, partner agencies, and community-serving teams

• Occasional after-hours availability for maintenance windows or critical issues

Why Join the City of Charlotte?

• Directly contribute to applications that impact residents, businesses, and community services

• Support a mission-driven environment focused on integrity, innovation, and public service

• Opportunities for professional development, leadership growth, and skill expansion

• Competitive benefits, retirement plan, and the stability of public-sector service

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The City’s Background Check Policy requires background checks to be conducted on final internal or external candidate(s) applying for any position with the City of Charlotte. The type of information that will be collected as part of a background check includes, but is not limited to: reference checks, social security verification, education verification, criminal conviction record check, and, if applicable, a credit history check, sex offender registry and motor vehicle records check.

Background checks must be in compliance with all federal and state statutes, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The checks must be consistent with the guidelines set forth by these laws requiring organizations to obtain a candidate’s written authorization before obtaining a criminal background report, motor vehicle records check or credit report; and to properly store and dispose of information derived from such reports.

Final candidates must pass a pre-employment drug-screening test and physical examination. During the selection process, candidates may be asked to take a skills test, and/or participate in other assessments.

The City of Charlotte is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or on the basis of actual or perceived gender as expressed through dress, appearance, or behavior.

Our culture is to serve the community honorably.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply online.

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job.

You are welcome to visit the City of Charlotte Human Resources Department lobby, where self-service application kiosks are available. They are located in our office at 700 East 4th Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28202. We are open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST), excluding official City holidays.

For questions about your application or the hiring process, please email Careers@ci.charlotte.nc.us.

The City of Charlotte is committed to making our services and programs accessible to all. Upon request, auxiliary aids, written materials in alternate formats, language access, and other reasonable accommodations or modifications will be provided. To make a request, please fill out the Innovation & Technology ADA request form or call 704.336.4120.

BENEFITS

The City of Charlotte provides a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees.

Clickhereto learn more about the City of Charlotte’s benefits.

The City of Charlotte is a drug and alcohol-free workplace.