Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for EDI Developer

🎯 Role Definition

The EDI Developer is responsible for designing, building, integrating and maintaining electronic data interchange (EDI) systems and workflows that enable seamless B2B and internal data exchange. You will partner with trading‑partners, cross‑functional IT teams (integration, ERP, data), business analysts and operations to map transaction flows, implement standard formats (X12, EDIFACT), ensure secure data transport (AS2, SFTP), monitor daily operations and contribute to continuous improvement of the EDI landscape. Your contribution ensures critical business processes such as order‑to‑cash, procure‑to‑pay, logistics and supply chain operate efficiently and reliably.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Junior EDI Analyst or EDI Support Specialist
Integration Developer focusing on B2B/EDI workflows
Data or Interface Developer working with partner systems

Advancement To:

Senior EDI Developer / Lead EDI Engineer
EDI Integration Architect or Trading Partner Manager
Director of Integration Services / Head of EDI & B2B Platforms

Lateral Moves:

B2B Integration Developer (iPaaS, Middleware)
Supply Chain Systems Developer (ERP integration)
Data Exchange/Interface Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, develop and implement EDI maps and translations for standard transaction sets (such as X12 850, 810, 856, 940 / EDIFACT equivalents) ensuring correct business‑data flows between internal systems and external partners.
Collaborate with business analysts and operations teams to gather trading‑partner requirements, document data‑flows, create technical specification documents and define transformation logic for partner integrations.
Configure and maintain communication protocols and secure channels for EDI transport: AS2, FTP/S, SFTP, VAN connections, HTTP/HTTPS, ensuring data is exchanged reliably and securely.
Monitor daily EDI operations, proactively identify inbound/outbound transaction failures, perform root‑cause analysis, resolve exceptions, and liaise with trading‑partners and internal stakeholders to restore throughput.
Develop and maintain EDI interface documentation including mapping rules, partner profiles, data‑dictionaries, error‑handling logic, communication logs, change history and versioning.
Maintain and support the EDI system environment: perform configuration, updates, patches, testing (unit, integration, regression) for EDI engines, translators and partner‑connectivity platforms.
Participate in on‑boarding of new trading‑partners: setup communication links, create new maps, test and certify partner‑transactions, coordinate with compliance and operations teams.
Optimize performance of EDI processes, improve scalability of maps, reduce data‑processing time, manage large‐volume file‐flows and implement best‑practices for high‐throughput B2B data exchange.
Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulatory frameworks (HIPAA, PCI, GDPR where relevant), maintain data‑integrity and audit trails for EDI flows.
Work with ERP/integration teams to map ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics) to EDI outbound/inbound flows, validate data reconciliation, maintain alignment with business processes (e.g., Order‑to‑Cash, Ship/Receive).
Conduct code reviews, peer reviews of mapping logic and interface scripts, support technical governance and promote reuse of standard map libraries and partner profiles.
Provide support and troubleshooting during production incidents, participate in on‑call rotation if necessary, generate reports on error trends and propose improvements to fault‑tolerance.
Maintain version control, configuration management of EDI maps, partner‑profiles and related code, ensure strong documentation and change‑control practices.
Collaborate in agile teams: participate in sprint planning, estimate EDI enhancements, support backlog‑refinement and deliver EDI tasks on time with QA validation.
Mentor junior EDI developers and analysts: share mapping best practices, monitor their work, provide guidance on partner onboarding, error‑handling and documentation standards.
Drive continuous‑improvement of EDI platform: evaluate new tools, cloud‑based EDI platforms (iPaaS), propose migrations or upgrades and support project delivery of enhancements.
Assist operations and business teams by providing dashboards and metrics on EDI throughput, partner performance, SLA adherence and data‑flow health.
Maintain and update metadata and data‑catalogue for EDI transactions, support data‑governance initiatives, ensure transparency of mapping impact and partner dependencies.
Align EDI initiatives with business objectives: support supply‑chain efficiency, order fulfilment, invoice processing accuracy, logistics data‑exchanges and trading‑partner satisfaction.
Manage cross‑functional relationships with trading‑partners, vendors, internal stakeholders (IT, operations, logistics), negotiate data‐exchange requirements, support escalation and maintain partner‑health.

Secondary Functions

Support ad‑hoc data‐exchange analytics: provide insight into partner volumes, error patterns, transaction trends and recommend operational improvements.
Contribute to organization’s EDI/integration strategy and roadmap: help define partner‑onboarding standards, reusable map libraries, iPaaS evaluation, and platform‑governance.
Collaborate with business units (supply‑chain, logistics, finance) to translate integration needs into EDI tasks, prioritise partner‑onboarding and interface enhancements.
Participate in agile ceremonies: daily stand‑ups, retrospectives and sprint reviews for the integration team.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proficient knowledge of EDI standards such as ANSI X12, EDIFACT (and industry‑specific sets) and experience with transaction mapping.
Experience with EDI mapping/transformation tools and platforms such as IBM Sterling Integrator, Gentran, Seeburger, OpenText or similar.
Strong understanding of secure B2B communication protocols: AS2, SFTP/FTP, VAN, HTTP/S and associated certificate/security management.
Working knowledge of data formats and transformation – XML, XSLT, JSON, CSV, flat files and associated data validation/mapping logic.
Proficiency in SQL and relational databases (Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL) for verifying data flows, performing data integrity checks and troubleshooting.
Experience integrating EDI flows with ERP systems, supply‑chain systems, middleware, APIs or messaging platforms.
Strong scripting or programming skills (Java, C#, Python, PowerShell) for custom logic, automation or support in EDI workflows.
Awareness of cloud or hybrid EDI platforms, data volumes/throughput, performance optimisation and scalable interface design.
Excellent documentation skills: produce mapping specification, process flows, partner onboarding guides and technical run‑books.
Experience with production monitoring, error‑handling, SLA reporting, partner‑onboarding metrics and throughput dashboards.

Soft Skills

Excellent communication and stakeholder‑management: able to liaise with trading‑partners, operations, business users and technical staff to define requirements and deliver integration solutions.
Analytical and problem‑solving mindset: able to diagnose complex mapping, data transformation or connectivity issues and propose effective corrective actions.
Ownership and accountability: responsible for end‑to‑end delivery of EDI integrations, partner relationships, transactional health and supportability.
Collaboration and teamwork: works well across development, operations, business‐analysis and partner teams to deliver successful integration projects and ongoing support.
Adaptability and continuous learning: stays current with evolving EDI standards, integration platforms and industry best practices.
Time‑management and prioritisation: able to manage multiple partner‑onboardings, interface enhancements, production support tasks and meet strict deadlines.
Mentorship and team‑player: support junior colleagues, share mapping best practices and contribute to knowledge‑sharing within the team.
Business‑process awareness: understands supply‑chain, logistics or retail order‑to‑cash/procure‑to‑pay flows and translates them into technical integration solutions.
Attention to detail: ensures accuracy in mapping, partner‑data transmissions, error resolution and documentation compliance.
Strategic mindset: aligns EDI/integration work with business outcomes, trading‑partner ecosystem health, scalability and operational stability.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering or related field (or equivalent professional experience).
Preferred Education:
Master’s degree in Integration Services, Supply‑Chain Systems, or Technical Business Integration is a plus.
Relevant Fields of Study:

Computer Science / Software Engineering
Information Systems / Business Technology
Supply Chain / Logistics Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:
3 ‑ 5 years of EDI development or integration experience working with maps, protocols and partner interfaces.
Preferred:
5 + years of hands‑on EDI map‑development, partner onboarding, trading‑partner connectivity, high‑volume supply‑chain or logistics experience and mentoring others.

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for EDI Developer