How to hire a lead developer

How to hire a lead developer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step lead developer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a lead developer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new lead developer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a lead developer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the lead developer you need to hire. Certain lead developer roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect lead developer also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of lead developer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Lead Developer	Description	Hourly rate
   Lead Developer	Software developers are the creative minds behind computer programs. Some develop the applications that allow people to do specific tasks on a computer or another device... Show more	$39-77
   Mobile Applications Developer	A mobile application developer is responsible for designing programming applications for mobile devices according to clients' specifications and business demands. Mobile application developers must have excellent knowledge of the technology industry, as well as computer system commands to develop efficient scripts and smooth navigation of operating systems... Show more	$36-62
   Data Warehouse Developer	Data Warehouse Developers are information technology (IT) professionals assigned to manage company-related information or data. They are responsible for creating the company's data warehouse, where the company's data will be stored... Show more	$34-57

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Java
   • JavaScript
   • Architecture
   • C++
   • Web Application
   • GIT
   • API
   • CSS
   • UI
   • HTML
   • Code Reviews
   • Scrum
   • Web Services
   • Html Css

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop UNIX shell scripts to automate the process of running jobs/batches for scheduling and process the feeds.
   • Consult on the database schema, create business environments, write stored procedures in PL/SQL, authore reports and manage security.
   • Configure and manage JGroup multicasting communication for apache tomcat web servers.
   • Develop an UI tool for inbound and outbound file monitoring tool using HTML, CSS, JavaScript etc.
   • Used HTML5 create forms and tables to display client's personal information which is fetched from back-end by using AJAX.
   • Object orient design and implementation with agile application development using scrum.

   More lead developer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the lead developer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A lead developer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a lead developer in Louisiana may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level lead developer. Additionally, a lead developer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average lead developer salary

   $116,340yearly

   $55.93 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level lead developer salary

   $83,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average lead developer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$139,305	$67
   2	Washington	$129,824	$62
   3	District of Columbia	$120,996	$58
   4	Maryland	$118,181	$57
   5	Virginia	$117,610	$57
   6	New York	$116,430	$56
   7	Massachusetts	$115,670	$56
   8	New Jersey	$115,270	$55
   9	Arizona	$114,073	$55
   10	Pennsylvania	$113,306	$54
   11	Ohio	$109,632	$53
   12	Georgia	$108,822	$52
   13	Texas	$108,240	$52
   14	North Carolina	$108,143	$52
   15	Utah	$107,826	$52
   16	Florida	$105,097	$51
   17	Indiana	$103,274	$50
   18	Colorado	$100,812	$48
   19	Illinois	$100,803	$48
   20	Minnesota	$100,617	$48

   Average lead developer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Mayo Clinic	$167,859	$80.70	8
   2	Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati	$166,130	$79.87
   3	Meta	$164,980	$79.32	2,502
   4	Apple	$158,129	$76.02	338
   5	Pure Storage	$157,306	$75.63	8
   6	Netflix	$156,306	$75.15	12
   7	Pacific Investment Management Company LLC	$150,550	$72.38	10
   8	Bloomberg	$148,451	$71.37	153
   9	Fox Broadcasting Company	$147,536	$70.93
   10	Intuitive Surgical	$147,390	$70.86	7
   11	Google	$146,310	$70.34	479
   12	Square	$145,674	$70.04
   13	First Republic Bank	$143,914	$69.19
   14	Neuberger Berman	$143,814	$69.14	8
   15	Cisco	$143,365	$68.93	187
   16	Levi Strauss & Co.	$143,346	$68.92
   17	Boston Consulting Group	$143,343	$68.91	1
   18	Forest City Realty Trust	$142,307	$68.42
   19	MySpace NYC	$141,560	$68.06
   20	ViacomCBS	$141,244	$67.91

4. Writing a lead developer job description

   A good lead developer job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a lead developer job description:

   Lead developer job description example

   Working with KinderCare Learning Companies means using your outstanding talents to help set the foundation for lifelong learners, where you can collaborate with colleagues, grow and learn, and positively impact the families we serve.
   
   With over 50 years of experience, 30,000 employees, and more than 2,000 early learning center programs, we are the most accredited leaders in early childhood education. Together, we create environments where kids grow and thrive. As one of only four companies to receive the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award six times, we're confident that you can grow and thrive here, too. We can't wait to meet you.
   
   Our Technology team is undertaking a comprehensive digital transformation by recruiting talented individuals and building and supporting best-in-class systems that uplift the family experience and enable our center staff to focus on the children. If you are looking for a role where your work can positively impact the lives of children-KinderCare is the company for you!
   Who you are:
   
   You are a skilled software engineer, who has experience designing, building, and supporting enterprise applications and APIs in C# to support critical lines of business.
   You have a strong Lean/Agile mindset and experience working on Agile teams. You can effectively set expectations around the delivery of your work within a team. You have a passion for learning, designing, and implementing new technology and a keen eye for optimization of business process. You are a highly engaged and collaborative team member with exceptional communication skills You are an innovator, skilled at using cutting-edge technologies to solve complex business problems.
   THE JOB:
   Working as part of a talented team of software engineers in an Agile environment to utilize cutting edge technologies including ASP.NET Core, Kendo controls, Entity Framework, Service APIs using OData and REST to innovate solutions to our critically important applications crucial to several rapidly growing lines of business. Recommend, design and create technical improvements in existing capabilities to enhance productivity and optimize security and efficiency. Responsible for the organization and tracking of work within the context of your team. Ensuring solutions are optimized for support, usability, and flexibility. Participating in support and triage activities, including rotational out-of-hours on-call duties. Qualifications
   
   8 Years of C#, .NET Core and ASP.NET RESTful API. Expertise in C# 9.x - 10.x. Solution experience with SOLID principles and Object Oriented Programming patterns. Solution experience with Entity Framework solutions at enterprise scale. .NET Solution architecture such as Onion or Clean. Ability to assess and mentor others in delivering solutions, designs and technical specifications to address business needs. Ability to assess and mentor others in feature delivery to specific design requirements and coding standards. Ability to assess and mentor others in the intake and decomposition of work at the Epic/Story level. Active participant in creating system, solution, application and component architecture standards and practices.
   NICE TO HAVE:
   Command Query Responsibility Segregation (CQRS), Microservices, Domain Driven Design Data modeling, structured and unstructured. AWS or cloud infrastructure experience OData V4 implementation Our benefits meet you where you are. We're here to help our employees navigate the integration of work and life:
   Know your whole family is supported with discounted child care benefits. Breathe easy with medical, dental, and vision benefits for your family (and pets, too!). Feel supported in your mental health and personal growth with employee assistance programs. Feel great and thrive with access to health and wellness programs, unlimited paid time off and discounts for work necessities, such as cell phones. ... and much more. At KinderCare Learning Companies you'll use your skills and expertise to help craft and contribute to our shared mission of supporting communities and encouraging lifelong learners. From our teachers to our cooks to our financial analysts, we are all passionate about crafting a world of learning, happiness and adventure for more than 150,000 children every day.
   
   As the first national early childcare education provider to achieve the WELL Health-Safety Rating from the International WELL Building Institute, we continue to follow the latest science-backed and evidence-based strategies for maintaining a safe and worry-free workplace.
   
   Our highest priority has always been to keep our employees, children, families, and communities as safe and healthy as possible. KinderCare highly encourages its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect themselves and their communities. We are proud to provide paid time off for employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. We are also subject to state law, local ordinances, and Health Department requirements for employees working in child care, school facilities, and corporate work spaces.
   
   We truly believe that everyone belongs in our circle, and everyone deserves to be celebrated for who they are. By partnering with underrepresented groups and experts in DEI, we are identifying areas to improve and forging a path forward through accountability, compassion, accessibility, and inclusion.
   
   KinderCare Learning Companies is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, gender identity or expression, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find lead developers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your lead developer job on Zippia to find and attract quality lead developer candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit lead developers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   If your interviews with lead developer applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new lead developer

   Once you've selected the best lead developer candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new lead developer. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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