IT Application Development - Senior/Specialist (Olympia)

State of Washington; Olympia (WA); Hybrid; USD 99,000 - 134,000; Full time

Job summary

State of Washington seeks an IT Application Development - Senior Specialist for a project position in Olympia, WA, with hybrid work options. The role focuses on modernizing and maintaining critical applications within a regulated IT environment, ensuring security and compliance across multiple agencies and stakeholders.

Key duties include designing and upgrading applications, leading development teams, and delivering integrated solutions using .NET, SQL, and related technologies.

Qualifications

• Six (6) years of progressively more complex problem solving as a developer designing, developing or maintaining large-scale applications with mission critical business functions using Bootstrap, JavaScript, Knockout, JQuery, Ninject, ASP.NET MVC, Entity Framework, T-4 Templates, Reporting Services, MS SQL Server, Microsoft .NET C#, Transact Structured Query Language (TSQL), and Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML).
• AND
• Five (5) years of progressively more complex problem-solving experience as a developer designing, developing or maintaining large-scale applications with mission critical business functions using the Microsoft technology stack including Windows, Visual Studio, IIS, .NET C#, ASP.NET MVC, Entity Framework, SQL, TFS, SharePoint, etc.
• OR
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science or closely allied field.
• AND
• Seven (7) years of programming experience with Java and/or .NET technologies and/or C# .NET framework. Developing user interface with: .NET MVC, Jakarta Struts, Web Services (SOAP/RESTful), and jQuery. Seven years of experience working with relational databases (JDBC, SQL).
• AND
• The ability to take action to learn and grow
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others.

Responsibilities

• Designing, building, upgrading, maintaining, enhancing, testing new and existing applications.
• Designs, builds and maintains integration packages.
• Participates in iterative process improvements.
• Uses software development methods and tools to integrate and support custom-off-the-shelf (COTS) software.
• Recommends, designs, and develops technical solutions.
• Embraces agile software development principles and values.
• Provides technical leadership to application development teams.
• Influence information strategy and provide direction.
• Analyze current technologies used within the agency and determine ways to improve.
• Document and monitor requirements needed to institute proposed updates.
• Assess various technologies and platforms to determine the most suitable options for the solution, considering factors such as cost, performance, and compatibility.
• Account for possible project challenges on constraints including, risks, time, resources and scope.
• Work closely with project management teams to successfully monitor progress of initiatives.
• Provide detailed specifications for proposed solutions.

Skills

Bootstrap

JavaScript

Knockout

JQuery

Ninject

ASP.NET MVC

Entity Framework

T-4 Templates

Reporting Services

MS SQL Server

Microsoft .NET C#

TSQL

HTML

Education

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science or closely allied field

Tools

Windows

Visual Studio

IIS

.NET C#

ASP.NET MVC

Entity Framework

SQL

TFS

SharePoint

Job description

Our vision is to ensure that “Washington state’s children and youth grow up safe and healthy—thriving physically, emotionally and educationally, nurtured by family and community.”

Job Title: IT Application Development - Senior Specialist - Project Position

Location: Olympia, WA, Thurston County (Flexible/Hybrid)

Closes:November th, 2026

Salary:$99,300.00 - $133,608.00 Annually

*Project position until at least 6/30/2028

The DCYF Application Development group designs, develops, configures, maintains and optimizes a broad range of robust, scalable applications, systems, software, interfaces and tools in support of the agency's mission and business objectives. This includes, but is not limited to, financial operations, human resources, licensing, fieldwork, case management, reporting, research, and supports for more than a dozen teams within the DCYF IT division.

Click here to learn more about DCYF.

The Opportunity

This position has the important job of improving older technologies or creating better applications. The incumbent does this work in a highly regulated IT environment, and a key objective is compliance with industry’s best practices and all applicable Washington State and federal security standards, laws, and regulatory requirements. This work ensures that the SSPS user community, which includes internal programs of DCYF and external stakeholders such as OFM and Union 925, follow all necessary steps to issue payments to approximately 30,000 users and/or providers.

Some of what you will get to do

• Designing, building, upgrading, maintaining, enhancing, testing new and existing applications.
• Designs, builds and maintains integration packages.
• Participates in iterative process improvements.
• Uses software development methods and tools to integrate and support custom-off-the-shelf (COTS) software.
• Recommends, designs, and develops technical solutions.
• Embraces agile software development principles and values.
• Provides technical leadership to application development teams.
• Influence information strategy and provide direction.
• Analyze current technologies used within the agency and determine ways to improve.
• Document and monitor requirements needed to institute proposed updates.
• Assess various technologies and platforms to determine the most suitable options for the solution, considering factors such as cost, performance, and compatibility.
• Account for possible project challenges on constraints including, risks, time, resources and scope.
• Work closely with project management teams to successfully monitor progress of initiatives.
• Provide detailed specifications for proposed solutions.

Required Qualifications

Six (6) years of progressively more complex problem solving as a developer designing, developing or maintaining large-scale applications with mission critical business functions using Bootstrap, JavaScript, Knockout, JQuery, Ninject, ASP.NET MVC, Entity Framework, T-4 Templates, Reporting Services, MS SQL Server, Microsoft .NET C#, Transact Structured Query Language (TSQL), and Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML).

AND

Five (5) years of progressively more complex problem-solving experience as a developer designing, developing or maintaining large-scale applications with mission critical business functions using the Microsoft technology stack including Windows, Visual Studio, IIS, .NET C#, ASP.NET MVC, Entity Framework, SQL, TFS, SharePoint, etc.

OR

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science or closely allied field.

AND

Seven (7) years of programming experience with Java and/or .NET technologies and/or C# .NET framework. Developing user interface with: .NET MVC, Jakarta Struts, Web Services (SOAP/RESTful), and jQuery. Seven years of experience working with relational databases (JDBC, SQL).

AND

• The ability to take action to learn and grow
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others.

Additional Required Qualifications

• Working knowledge of Agile values and principles as they apply to application development.
• Working knowledge of Scrum development methodologies, artifacts and traditions.
• Working knowledge of DevOps concepts.
• Experience working in a highly regulated environment where IT assets and data are subject to a broad range of State and federal information security requirements and regulations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience maintaining and supporting IT applications in a 7 day a week / 24 hour a day availability situation.
• Agile Training or Certification.
• Data Engineer, Data Scientist, Data Architect, or Solution Architect certifications.
• .NET Developer training or certification
• Experience in SCRUM, Agile, and iterative development processes.

Supplemental Information

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is committed to Washington’s children and youth growing up safe, healthy, and thriving. We invite all candidates to join us in our mission to create a diverse and equitable workplace that reflects the communities we serve. If you are excited about this role but you believe that your education and/or experience might not align perfectly with every qualification in the job posting, we encourage you to apply anyway.

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained service animal by a person with a disability.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple vacancies.

DCYF participates in the federal E-Verify program. The selected candidate must provide proof of identity and authorization to work in the United States, consistent with E-Verify requirements, on their first day of employment.