application developer lead

Starbucks is seeking an Application Developer Lead to drive delivery and ongoing support for technology solutions tied to Business Systems Development initiatives in Starbucks Technology Nashville. This onsite role focuses on technical design through deployment and platform stewardship, while also owning production support responsibilities and guiding teams through complex, real-world systems.

Role Summary

In this position, you will lead technical planning and execution across the solution lifecycle. You will oversee prototype work for complex problems, build incrementally toward a final product vision, and ensure delivery teams have clarity on approach and progress. The role also includes incident and problem support, root cause analysis, operational KPI ownership, and maintaining documentation used by training, operations, system administration, and deployment teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead and collaborate in planning, decomposing, estimating, scheduling, prioritization, and resource allocation activities.
• Take the lead on prototype efforts for complex problems and build incrementally toward the final product vision.
• Provide transparency in approach and progress throughout the delivery process.
• Lead the Development Team through the solution design process, including requirements gathering and backlog refinement.
• Drive systems approach and technical design and development by shaping and guiding delivery from initiation through functional design.
• Develop software solutions to address business problems, leveraging established design patterns and coding standards.
• Ensure solutions are secure, durable, scalable, flexible, and accessible, with proactive mitigation against production support issues.
• Automate test coverage per platform capabilities and requirements, and establish continuous build and integration testing on applicable platforms (including support for manual system and integration testing).
• Contribute to deployment approach and execution, including data conversion planning, script development and execution, warranty period handling, and transition to operational platform context.
• Operate across both waterfall and Agile Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) processes and methodologies.
• Proactively shape and influence candidate solutions on the platform and contribute to platform vision, roadmap, and platform investment planning.
• Identify and prioritize innovative platform opportunities and technical debt through regular reviews and remediation programs.
• Partner with cross-functional teams including Infrastructure, Security, Architecture, QA, and key Development teams, and ensure solutions follow enterprise processes and governance.
• Deepen vendor relationships to influence product roadmaps, improve support engagement, and understand technology trends.
• Contribute to the platform development community by providing input and feedback on design patterns, coding standards, and shared libraries.
• Provide project leadership for small to medium development efforts across a shared code base, including initiating, organizing, and championing work.
• Supervise delivery by setting priorities, guiding deliverables, and coordinating schedules and costs to keep projects on course.
• Analyze options in team settings to make sound decisions, and partner with vendors to improve delivery models.
• Represent the Development Team in cross-functional engagements and in complex, ambiguous situations to drive alignment and mutually agreeable outcomes.
• Socialize technical approach and design with the project team and dependent teams.
• Take leadership opportunities, facilitate team meetings, encourage a culture of technical excellence, and identify innovation adoption opportunities.
• Coach and mentor other application developers on new skills and technologies.
• Consult in IT planning with application and platform expertise for new business capabilities.
• Track and communicate planned and in-flight business capability efforts, lead approach and scoping, and drive resource estimation.
• For a medium to large business capability portfolio area, rationalize, design, and oversee solution changes in sustainment.
• Fulfill on-call support responsibilities, including potential pager rotation coverage.
• Lead and train partners in diagnosing, troubleshooting, and remediating incidents and problems affecting end users.
• Initiate and lead root cause analysis efforts, create and maintain operational KPIs, and feed systemic issues into platform roadmap exercises.
• Ensure training, system administration, deployment, and operational documentation are created and maintained.
• Work onsite four days a week.

Requirements

• 8-10 years of professional industry experience with software development.
• 2 years of leading teams of four or more software developers.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field.
• Knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and computer science concepts relevant to the platform.
• Mastery of relevant development languages, tools, frameworks, utilities, and technical dependencies.
• Understanding of how design and implementation choices impact secure, scalable, durable, flexible, and accessible solutions.
• Ability to write and value high quality, reusable software with minimal defects.
• Aptitude to pick up new technologies and trends relevant to the business and platforms, including examples such as IoT, Big Data, REST Services, mobile, and cloud components.
• Thorough understanding of data transport mechanisms and integrations including synchronous, asynchronous, bulk data, and tightly or loosely coupled methods.
• Thorough understanding of application architecture, infrastructure, and security concepts and technical implementation.
• Ability to analyze, diagnose, and propose solutions to user problems, and to understand and escalate technical challenges with options and recommendations.
• Thorough understanding of relevant platform and applications including established APIs, system activity components, process flows, underlying data model, business rule implementation specifics, batch jobs, user interface components, and application configuration.
• Ability to design and develop enhancements on top of industry COTS (Commercial Of The Shelf) applications that differentiate and/or provide competitive advantage.
• Familiarity with business context and trends, including understanding functional aspects of the solution and business customers’ opportunities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and active listening skills.
• Ability to negotiate priorities, approaches, designs, and ideas with team members and customers.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to balance multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
• Ability to use business knowledge, sound judgment, and resourcefulness to proactively act and make timely, effective decisions.

Technologies

• Agile Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)
• Waterfall
• IoT
• Big Data
• REST Services
• Mobile
• Cloud components
• COTS (Commercial Of The Shelf)
• APIs

Compensation and Location

• Location: Nashville, TN (onsite)
• Salary: USD 124,200 - 207,000 per year

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Basic and supplemental life insurance, plus other voluntary insurance benefits
• Short-term and long-term disability
• Paid parental leave
• Family expansion reimbursement
• Paid vacation from date of hire
• Sick time (accrued at 1 hour for every 25 hours worked)
• Eight paid holidays and two personal days per year
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Discounted company stock program (S.I.P.) and Starbucks equity program (Bean Stock)
• Incentivized emergency savings and financial well-being tools
• 100% upfront tuition coverage for a first-time bachelor’s degree via Arizona State University’s online program through the Starbucks College Achievement Plan
• Student loan management resources and access to other educational opportunities
• Backup care
• DACA reimbursement