Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Salesforce Application Developer

🎯 Role Definition

The Salesforce Application Developer operates within the Salesforce ecosystem to design, build, deploy, customize and maintain enterprise‑grade applications that support sales, service, community, analytics and business automation functions. Working closely with business stakeholders, administrators, data engineers and other developers, this role delivers scalable solutions using Apex, Visualforce, Lightning Web Components, integrations, and configuration to drive user adoption, process efficiency and business value.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Salesforce Administrator transitioning into development
Junior Salesforce Developer (Apex/Visualforce)
CRM Developer or Full‑Stack Engineer with Salesforce interest

Advancement To:

Senior Salesforce Developer / Lead Salesforce Developer
Salesforce Solutions Architect or CRM Platform Architect
Director of CRM Engineering or Head of Salesforce Platform

Lateral Moves:

Salesforce Integration Developer / Middleware Specialist
Salesforce Consultant – Cloud Applications
Platform Engineer – CRM & Analytics Systems

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and configure custom applications on the Salesforce.com platform including Apex classes, triggers, Visualforce pages and Lightning Web Components to meet business requirements.
Analyze functional specification documents, collaborate with stakeholders to gather business requirements and translate these into technical design, ensuring alignment with Salesforce best practices.
Integrate Salesforce with external systems using REST, SOAP and Bulk APIs, data integration tools, third‑party services and middleware platforms to enable seamless data flow.
Build, maintain and optimize data models in Salesforce: custom objects, relationships, fields, SOQL/SOSL queries, and design scalable data architecture.
Create and manage declarative automation (Flows, Process Builder, Workflow Rules, Approval Processes) alongside code‑based solutions to support business workflows and enhance productivity.
Enhance user interface and experience by developing Lightning pages, components, UI design, mobile responsiveness and ensure high adoption among users.
Perform code reviews, unit tests, integration tests and support deployment activities using change sets, metadata API, source control and release management processes.
Monitor system performance, identify bottlenecks (governor limits, bulk triggers, data volume issues) and apply optimisations to improve scalability and reliability.
Provide production support and troubleshooting for Salesforce applications: debug errors, investigate exceptions, manage data loads and ensure system uptime.
Develop reports, dashboards and analytics tools within Salesforce to provide business insights, track KPIs, support decision‑making and drive user engagement.
Maintain security and access controls: profiles, permission sets, roles, sharing rules, OWD, and ensure data access aligns with compliance and governance policies.
Manage data migration, ETL, data cleansing and transformation of legacy systems into Salesforce while preserving data integrity and business continuity.
Stay current with Salesforce releases, new features, architectures (Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Experience Cloud, Data Cloud) and recommend ways to adopt new capabilities.
Lead or participate in agile development process: sprint planning, backlog grooming, Retrospectives, stakeholder reviews and ensure delivery of features within timeframes.
Document technical design, configuration, integrations, user guides and support materials to maintain knowledge base and enable team hand‑over.
Coach and mentor junior developers and administrators in Salesforce development best practices, code quality, and platform governance.
Ensure alignment between Salesforce solutions and enterprise architecture: internal systems, BI/data warehouse, middleware and adjacent applications.
Participate in user training, change‑management efforts, support rollout of new features, manage user feedback and drive system adoption.
Manage version control, build automation, CI/CD pipelines, sandbox and production environment strategy, metadata management and release planning.
Evaluate new development tools, frameworks, integration platforms, performance monitoring/traceability tools and drive continuous improvement of the Salesforce platform.

Secondary Functions

Support ad‑hoc data requests such as configuration inventories, user adoption metrics, sandbox usage analysis and exploratory reporting.
Contribute to the Salesforce platform team’s roadmap by recommending automation, integration improvements, new modules or governance enhancements.
Collaborate with business units, IT and data engineering teams to translate strategic business objectives into technical requirements and deployment plans.
Participate in team knowledge sharing sessions, developer communities, peer reviews and prepare internal training materials to elevate team capability.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Strong proficiency in Apex, Visualforce, Lightning Web Components (LWC) and the Salesforce development stack.
Expertise in SOQL, SOSL, Salesforce data modelling, custom objects, relationships, workflows and automation.
Experience integrating Salesforce with external systems via REST, SOAP, Bulk APIs, middleware and web services.
Knowledge of front‑end technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Lightning Design System to build engaging user interfaces.
Experience working with database technologies, large data volumes, ETL/migration tools and data quality processes.
Familiarity with Salesforce declarative tools: Flow Builder, Process Builder, Workflows, Approval Processes.
Strong skills in debugging, code review, optimization of triggers/batches, governor limits and performance tuning.
Experience with version control systems, CI/CD pipelines, metadata management and release processes in Salesforce environments.
A good understanding of Salesforce security and sharing model: profiles, roles, permission sets, data access and compliance.
Relevant Salesforce certifications (Platform Developer I/II, App Builder) and continuous learning mindset on Salesforce ecosystem.

Soft Skills

Excellent communication (verbal and written) – able to liaise with business stakeholders, developers, administrators and executive sponsors.
Analytical and problem‑solving mindset – able to translate complex business needs into scalable technical solutions in the Salesforce platform.
Self‑motivated and accountable – driven to deliver features, manage own work and take ownership of the system outcomes.
Adaptable and resilient – comfortable working in fast‑changing CRM/IT environments, handling multiple priorities, shifting product releases and evolving technologies.
Collaboration and teamwork – integrates well with cross‑functional teams (marketing, sales, operations, data engineering) and supports shared objectives.
Time‑management and multitasking – able to manage concurrent development tasks, sprint commitments, and stakeholder interactions effectively.
Mentorship and leadership – supports still learning team members and helps propagate best practice development standards.
Quality‑focus and attention to detail – ensures deliverables meet code and configuration quality, system performance, security and usability standards.
Strategic orientation – capable of aligning technical decisions with business goals, ROI and platform roadmap.
Learning orientation – committed to staying current in Salesforce advancements, ecosystem tools and emerging trends.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering or a related technical discipline.
Preferred Education:
Bachelor’s degree plus Salesforce Developer certification(s) (Platform Developer I/II) or Master’s in a relevant field.
Relevant Fields of Study:

Computer Science / Software Engineering
Information Systems / Data Engineering
Business Technology / CRM Systems
Cloud Computing / Application Development
Software Architecture / Integration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:
2‑4 years of experience in Salesforce application development or CRM configuration/development.
Preferred:
5+ years of hands‑on Salesforce development, large‑scale implementations, integration projects, and experience across Sales Cloud, Service Cloud or Experience Cloud.