Software Development Specialist 4 (Python developer)

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce is seeking an experience software developer to help us expand and improve the applications we create to support schools and families. By joining our team, you will become a contributor to some of the most important applications in the Ohio K-12 education system. We create and maintain the applications that distribute over $8 billion in school foundation payments to traditional school districts, community schools, educational service centers, county boards of developmentally disabled and joint vocational school districts. In addition, we process payments for valuable programs like college credit plus which allows students to experience college level course work while still in middle/high school. Your work can directly impact the education of Ohio's children!

This is a senior/expert level position with a focus on enterprise services, solution design , analysis, and ensuring applications are of consistently high quality . The Department 's payment system i s primarily in a Microsoft ecosystem using both on-premises Windows Server and Microsoft Azure , and we are firm believers in exploring and using new technology and services that make our products better . T he successful candidate will have a strong background that aligns to our technology direction and a growth mindset that views changing technology as an exciting opportunity . Excellent communication skills are a must to enable team collaboration, information sharing, and quality mentoring.

Key responsibilities include:

• Partners with stakeholders to understand , design, and implement solutions to the Department's business requirements . Ensure that system independencies, impact s, and risk s are identified and properly addressed in the solution design . Lead and/or participate in planning activities such as effort estimation, sprint planning, and design reviews.

• Lead and perform investigation and analysis of technology and processes to improve how the Department creates software . As a technical subject matter expert on a variety of application development subjects , share your knowledge and mentor other IT members to grow the capabilities of the entire team.

• Serve as a primary developer o f the school foundation payment application and accompanying web-based reports . Ensure code passes functional, performance, and load tests and adheres to State of Ohio and Department security standards.

• Ensure the Department's software products are high qualit y by leading code reviews and assisting with development standards . Lead and/or assist IT leadership with the development, monitoring, and documentation of quality standards.

Key technologies in use today: Python, Django, JSON, .NET/.NET Core, C#, Angular, Oracle, SQL Server, Azure DevOps . The IT department believes in continuously growing the capabilities of our team , so expect frequent training to improve and expand your skills in these and other areas!

The IT department currently operat es in a hybrid work mode l mixing on-site and remote work . We believe in work-life balance including reasonable work hours and a degree of schedule flexibility . Combined with the many benefits of state employment, including top-notch healthcare benefits and a defined benefit pension plan, we believe you will find the Department of Education and Workforce an excellent place to work . Come join us!

Complete Position Description:

Primary Technology: Python

Secondary Technology: Django

6 0% - 2 4 hours per week

1 . Solution a nalysis and design.

• Work with IT and business stakeholders (IT supervisors, architects, senior developers, testers, project managers, business analysts, program staff) to understand the business problem to be solved; research, develop, and analyze solution options; and create user stories and/or requirements and acceptance criteria.

• Lead and p erform impact and risk analysis on solution options to identify interdependencies among systems, services, and/or APIs . Identify and document new technical requirements to mitigate or remediate predicted risk or impact.

• Lead and perform technology analysis, evaluation, selection, and standardization related to software development . Illustrative examples include (but are not limited to) selecting software development patterns or single-page application frameworks.

• Lead and p articipate in work planning using agile practices, including (but not limited to) sprint planning, backlog management and grooming, effort estimation ( e.g. story points), and stand - up meetings.

• L ead design reviews and write design documentation.

• Serve as a technical subject matter expert on software development subjects ( including general technology and ODE specific topics) to other IT members .

2 0% - 8 hours per week

2 . Develops and modifies custom software applications .

• Create , edit, test, and/or compile software code to create new and/or modify existing enterprise software products and processes leveraged by the Department's full application portfolio .

• Develop software i n the Department's Microsoft Azure tenant , on-premise environment (Windows Servers), and/or other environments and platforms as needed.

• Develop software us ing a variety of Department standard tools , technologies , and frameworks including (but not limited to) .NET, .NET Core, C#, Angular, Blazor , Python, Django, JSON, HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Oracle, SQL Server , Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Team Foundation Server, Azure DevOps, GitHub Copilot, Re S harper, CheckMarx , and SonarCube .

• Optimize code to ensure performance and load requirements are met .

• Ensure code adheres to Department and state secure coding standards, procedures, patterns, and/or best practices .

• Create required documentation, including (but not limited to) Tasks in Azure DevOps to plan and describe work performed and effort expended , in-line code comments , and narratives as needed (emails, knowledge base articles).

10% - 4 hours per week

3. Ensures Department products are of high quality

• Lead code review s of your and/or other team members' code .

• Work with application testers to coordinate execution of system level test scripts, including (but not limited to) functional, integration, security, performance, and load testing.

• Oversees performance and load testing . Assesses overall system performance including optimizing code and identifying and resolving software/hardware/cloud integration conflicts.

• S upport and participate in user acceptance testing as needed .

• Lead the development, implementation , monitoring and documentation of quality assurance , security, and testing standards .

5% - 2 hours per week

4. Training

• With the supervisor, creates and follows a professional development plan.

• Maintains and updates job related skills using available resources, including (but not limited to) online training provided by the Department and partner agencies or companies; relevant books, articles, webinars, forums, and conferences; or other resources deemed appropriate by the supervisor.

• Shares acquired knowledge with peers and co-workers, in both informal (one-on-one, team meetings) and structured settings (trainings, mentorships, etc.) as appropriate .

5% (2 hours per week)

5 . Other duties as assigned .

At the State of Ohio, we take care of the team that cares for Ohioans. We provide a variety of quality, competitive benefits to eligible full-time and part-time employees*. For a list of all the State of Ohio Benefits, visit our Total Rewards website ! Our benefits package includes:

• Medical Coverage
• Free Dental, Vision and Basic Life Insurance premiums after completion of eligibility period
• Paid time off, including vacation, personal, sick leave and 11 paid holidays per year
• Childbirth, Adoption, and Foster Care leave
• Education and Development Opportunities (Employee Development Funds, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and more)
• Public Retirement Systems ( such as OPERS, STRS, SERS, and HPRS ) & Optional Deferred Compensation ( Ohio Deferred Compensation )

*Benefits eligibility is dependent on a number of factors. The Agency Contact listed above will be able to provide specific benefits information for this position.

Qualifications

60 mos. combined work experience in any combination of the following: providing solutions design, developing project plans with project manager or recommending approach through defining tasks and/or leading meetings relating to programs for computer applications including 12 mos. work experience in the primary technology as specified by the agency position description & job posting.

-Or completion of associate core program in computer science or information systems; 42 mos. combined work experience in any combination of the following: providing solutions design, developing project plans with project manager or recommending approach through defining tasks and/or leading meetings relating to programs for computer applications including 12 mos. work experience in the primary technology as specified by the agency position description & job posting.

-Or completion of undergraduate core program in computer science or information systems; 36 mos. combined work experience in any combination of the following: providing solutions design, developing project plans with project manager or recommending approach through defining tasks and/or leading meetings relating to programs for computer applications including 12 mos. work experience in the primary technology as specified by the agency position description & job posting.

-Or equivalent of minimum class qualifications for employment noted above. Note: The official position description on file with the designated agency is to reflect the required, primary technology directly relating to the duties of the position. only those applicants possessing the experience in the required, primary technology listed in the position description & job posting are to be considered for any vacancies posted. The job posting must list the required technology commensurate with the position in question.

Primary Technology: Python

Secondary Technology: Django

Job Skills: Software Development/Implementation