Full-Stack Application Developer

About WestEd

As a community of over 1,400 researchers, practitioners, consultants, and administrative professionals from all backgrounds and life experiences, we are committed to making a qualitative difference in the lives of youth, children, and adults. We conduct and apply research, develop evidence-based solutions, and provide consulting services across the country in both rural and urban communities to improve equitable outcomes for individuals from infancy through adulthood. Serving as trusted partners in the areas of education, health, and justice, our teams enhance capacity within communities and school districts to prioritize impact — asking the right questions, customizing methodologies, developing relevant tools, and implementing best practices specific to a diverse range of stakeholder needs.

WestEd supports individual initiative, excellence, and hard work of all individuals in our hiring and work practices. WestEd complies with all applicable federal and state anti-discrimination laws, as well as OFCCP requirements. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, or status as a protected veteran.

SPECIAL NOTICE REGARDING THE WORK LOCATION OF THIS POSITION—Although WestEd provides the option of working at one of its facilities for employees, many roles allow employees to choose to work remotely for their own convenience. The decision to allow remote work at the employee's convenience is based on the requirements of the position or project in question.

Overview

The Application Developer position will work closely with the Senior Software Development Manager, team developers, external client technology teams, and the MSIN product owner to enhance, support, and maintain the MSIN custom web-based application. In addition, this position will help lead the modernization of the legacy .NET and SQL-based systems into scalable, cloud-ready architecture. This role focuses on upgrading existing applications, optimizing database performance, and implementing modern engineering practices across the stack. This position takes ownership of work independently within an agile development process, managing priorities and delivery through sprint planning and Jira-based workflows while actively contributing to a collaborative, cross-trained team.

What We’re Looking For

The right candidate will

• Have a passion for quality software development and a commitment to building maintainable, well-tested code.
• Be energized by modernization challenges – taking a legacy system and making it faster, cleaner, and more scalable.
• Model the IT Core Operating Principles of Transparency, Collaboration, Accountability, and being Solutions-Oriented & Forward Thinking.
• Be comfortable working across the full stack, from database optimization to front-end performance, and taking ownership of your work end-to-end.
• Be an effective communicator and possess the ability to translate technical decisions to non-technical interest-holders and collaborate closely with a product owner and client teams.
• Proactively anticipate technical problems and propose solutions and proactively surface risks, optimizations, and improvements.
• Be a collaborative team contributor willing to cross-train with teammates, share technical knowledge, and help elevate the team’s collective capability even as an individual contributor.
• Be comfortable working in a fully remote environment with hybrid work arrangements available in any of our national offices.

Responsibilities

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following

• Develop and maintain the MSIN custom web-based applicationusing .NET (C#), SQL Server, and Angular.
• Debug, troubleshoot, and resolve production application issues impacting system users, working in collaboration with service desk and QA staff.
• Help leadthe upgrade of legacy .NET applications (e.g., .NET Framework) to modern .NET (Core/6/7/8) architectures.
• Refactor monolithic systems into modular or microservices-based designs where appropriate.
• Modernize data access layers using tools like Entity Framework (EF) Core, Dapper, or optimized ORM strategies.
• Analyze and optimize SQL Server performance (e.g., indexing, query tuning, execution plans).
• Redesign and migrate legacy databases to scalable, cloud-based platforms (e.g., Azure SQL, managed instances).
• Implement CI/CD pipelines for automated builds, testing, and deployments.
• Meet application architecture and non-functional requirements established by the Senior Software Development Manager and product owner.
• Develop required APIs to enhance MSIN’s ability to exchange data with additional data systems.
• Contribute to front-end improvements using newer versions of Angular framework.
• Ensure the integrity, security, and performance of the MSIN application and environments.
• Prepare integration test plans and test cases, and perform thorough, rigorous testing of data added incrementally or in real-time.
• Manage source code and branches in selected repositories, author and execute unit tests, participate in code reviews, and execute and validate application deployments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field – equivalent additional experience in software development may substitute for this education requirement.
• Over 2 years of professional software experience in the IT industry, including requirements analysis, design, development, maintenance, and enhancement for web applications using Microsoft .NET technologies as a full-stack web developer building software applications and services.
• Demonstrated hands-on-experience migrating or upgrading legacy .NET applications and SQL-based databases to modern, cloud-reading architecture.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, anticipate technical problems before they escalate, and proactively propose and implement solutions with minimal direction.
• Proficient in N-tier application development using Microsoft Visual Studio, .NET Framework, ASP.NET, VB.Net, C#.Net
• Proficient with Web API design and development.
• Thorough understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and the development process, such as requirement analysis & definition, prototyping, proof of concept, designing, coding, testing, and implementation.
• Proficient in writing SQL queries, stored procedures, user-defined functions (UDF), indexes, triggers, and views for databases such as SQL Server 2012 and above.
• Proficient in debugging across the full application stack, including application-layer diagnostics, network traffic inspection, and database query analysis.
• Proficient with source code control systems, including Git and GitHub; proficiency in writing unit test cases for business logic and web services.
• Familiar with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.
• Awareness of Angular and Bootstrap framework.
• Familiar with gathering customer requirements and functional requirements, and converting them to technical requirements.
• Excellent organizational skills and the ability to handle changing priorities and multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in the English language – ability to communicate effectively with clients and develop a clear understanding of their business needs.
• Reliability, a professional attitude, and a willingness to do what is required in a cooperative work setting.
• Located in the United States with availability to work 8 hours per day every weekday. Work schedule can be flexible but must include the core hours of Monday-Friday, 9am-2pm PT regardless of time zone.
• Willingness to participate in total time accounting, including recording and reporting of actual time spent across multiple concurrent projects in 15-minute increments.

Other Skills

• Desire to learn new technologies and keep current with technological trends.
• Recent experience with Google G-Suite, Microsoft Office 365, Jira, Box, and Zoom.
• Recent experience working in a governmental, non-profit, or education agency.
• Recent experience managing web service or API integrations with SaaS and/or commercial off-the-shelf products.
• Recent experience collaborating with vendor-led software development projects or system implementations.
• Recent experience analyzing and implementing complex regulatory, security, privacy, and policy requirements.
• Holds an active Microsoft Azure Developer, Administrator, or similar certification credential.
• Familiarity with education data standards (CEDS, SIF, Ed-Fi) and privacy laws applicable to student data (FERPA, COPPA, CIPA).
• Note: Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Successful candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

WestEd conducts a criminal background check and education verification for all new hires. Any offers of employment will be contingent on receiving a clear background check in accordance with applicable law.

Salary And Benefits

The full salary range for this position, WestEd level (9), is $80,000 to $125,000, but WestEd does not typically hire at or near the top of the salary range. The typical hiring range for this role is $80,000 to $100,000. The actual offer considers multiple factors, including but not limited to education, experience, internal equity, and other organizational needs.

In Addition To The Base Salary, Benefits Include

• 15% contribution toward retirement effective day 1 of employment and immediately 100% vested
• Pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Account option
• All health/welfare benefits are effective the first of the month following the hire date
• PTO: 19 days (increases to 21 days beginning the third year of employment), 12 paid holidays
• Life Insurance: value of 3x gross salary, max of 500k
• Opportunities for annual merit-based performance increases + annual incentives
• Professional development opportunities & mentorship program

For more details about our benefits, go to: https://www.wested.org/work-at-wested/#benefits WestEd is a Drug Free Employer and maintains a drug-free workplace. #Circa-ALLSTATES

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals With Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)