A Brief Explanation of Developer roles

I was asked by my employer to give a quick synopsis of what constitutes a senior developer so we could provide a pathway for advancement. This was my first draft at such a thing, but I thought someone would find it useful.

Senior Developer

• Writes clean code that conveys intent.
• Has the ability to extract classical algorithmic problems from everyday business requirements.
• Inserts meaningful and clear comments when necessary.
• Communicates with project managers in a timely manner. Effectively communicates product statuses and strives to provide meaningful time estimates.
• Mentors junior developers to help them progress in their skill and knowledge.
• Has a solid understanding of design patterns, and uses them effectively.
• Has a solid understanding of algorithms and data structures. Applies this knowledge and helps others to understand these principles.
• Is acquainted with current technologies and practices. Understands where these ideas would be a good fit in their current problem space.
• Actively uses automated testing as a part of their development process.
• Actively strives to automate tedious day to day processes.
• Can architect and lead a mid-sized project effectively.
• Continuously strives to learn new skills and polish current skills.
• Has the ability to match technical solutions with business needs.
• Has expert level knowledge in their IDE/Text editor.
• Has intermediate-level knowledge of Linux.
• Has a solid grasp of the business requirements of the current project.
• Checks in only clean and well factored code.
• Can plan (create agendas) and execute meetings to aid project managers.
• Knows when to stop and ask for help, and who on the team to ask.

Junior Developer

• Has a good grasp of the syntax and conventions of the language/framework in which they are working.
• Is steadily working on mastering design patterns. Can explain a few of them.
• Has a good overview knowledge of databases and can use them in their daily work.
• Consistently works to improve their Linux skill-set.
• Is working to increase knowledge in algorithms and data structures.
• Is working on understanding the importance of meaningful tests. Understands how to use testing to save time and effort and produce a more reliable product.
• Efficiently uses IDEs and text editors.
• Can use source code management effectively.
• Can take guidance from a coworker to take a data design to fruition.
• Is actively learning how to write code “in the spirit of” the current language/framework.

Originally published at http://github.com.