Applications Support Supervisor (IT Application Development Senior/Specialist)

State of Washington•Thurston County – Olympia, WA

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) Information Technology Services Division (ITSD) is announcing an exciting opportunity for an Applications Support Supervisor (IT Application Development Senior/Specialist) in Olympia, WA. This position resides with the Applications Support Team and reports directly to the Applications Support & Data Administration Manager. The Applications Support team consists of the WSLCB’s application developers and system administrators and is part of the Applications Support & Data Administration group that includes Product & System Analysis, and Software Quality Assurance (SQA) teams. The Applications Support Supervisor works closely with Product & Systems Analysis Supervisor and SQA Supervisor within the group and is a member of the Extended IT Management Team within ITSD. Under general direction, the Applications Support supervisor position is focused on bridging the gap between the application system administrators and developers and other ITS teams to streamline and automate software delivery processes. Key functions include team leadership/mentorship to enhance skills and support career growth, implementing continuous integration/continuous deployment pipelines to automate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency in software configuration/development and deployment processes, system monitoring and performance optimization to track application performance to proactively identify and address issues, and driving continuous improvement by staying aware of industry trends, and advocating for organizational changes and operational standards that enhance software delivery speed and reliability of agency technology. This position works closely with product and systems analysts to plot product direction and solution road maps, system architecture and integration, workflow automation, vendor-led system upgrades to meet the needs of business and drive business value. This position partners with SQA to ensure that all systems meet software quality standards. This position also coordinates with the ITSD database administrator and infrastructure team to ensure data architecture and system access align with the Applications Support team’s needs and business requirements. Lastly, the Applications Support Supervisor is a member of the IT Extended Management Team, and acts as the authority for application development and support as the team develops policy and operational standards. If you have an interest in serving as agency’s highest technical expert in establishing and maintaining the agencies application development methodologies and designing and developing system integration and custom solutions, we encourage you to apply to be a part of the WLSCB team!

Requirements

Ten (10) years of experience in System Administration and Development with three (3) years in a lead or supervisory position.
OR A Master’s degree in computer science, information technology or a related field AND five (5) years of experience in System Administration and Development with three (3) years in a lead or supervisory position.
AND Professional certification in one (1) or more of the following: AWS Certified DevOps Engineer, Microsoft Certified Azure DevOps Engineer Professional, Cloud DevOps Engineer (Google Cloud), Certified Kubernetes Administration (CKA), Certified DevOps Professional (CDP)
AND Working-level knowledge and recent experience building web-based mapping applications using ESRI’s ArcGIS API and Python scripting.
The ability to take action to learn and grow
The ability to take action to meet the needs of others
Accountability: Accept personal responsibility for the quality and timeliness necessary to achieve excellent results. With little oversight; develop innovative solutions to a variety of issues. Make timely decisions although faced with limited data or resources. Accept own role when expectations are not met, and respond quickly to resolve issues with others.
Build and Maintain Relationships: Earn the trust, respect, and confidence of coworkers and customers through consistent honesty and professionalism in all interactions. Build and maintain working relationships characterized by mutual acceptance and cooperation. Contribute to an environment that honors diversity, and uses diverse perspectives to meet the agency’s mission and goals.
Effective Communications, General: Convey clear, timely, persuasive messages that positively influence the thoughts and actions of others. Effectively express ideas and information through the written and spoken word using language that is appropriate to both the complexity of the topic and the knowledge and understanding of the reader or audience (“ plain talk”). Keeps supervisor and co-workers informed while sharing complete and accurate information with others to include staff and people outside the organization. Practices active listening by concentrating on person or caller; listens without interrupting; and asks questions to clarify and verify information.
Effective Communications, Writing Skills: Composes clear, straightforward, and technically correct documents. Proofreads and edits information to improve clarity, organization, content, and correcting errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Independently compose written responses to emails and letters from customers answering questions, providing information, and/or explaining decisions made regarding eligibility for services or compliance with rules. Extract and compile data to prepare narrative, statistical or other reports for review, analysis, documentation, etc (e.g., financial, payroll, labor distribution, purchasing, inventory, registration, patient or student information).
LEAN: Actively pursue opportunities for problem solving and continuous process improvement, participate in team huddles, and promote program priorities and results.
Serving Customers: Build and maintain internal and external customer satisfaction with the products and services offered by the Liquor Control Board, develop innovative ideas that provide solutions to our customers’ challenges.
Safety: Understand and follow agency safety policies and other standards established to maintain a safe work environment. Carefully organize your personal workspace to minimize the likelihood of accidents. Report all injuries, accidents or hazards to your supervisor immediately.
Adaptability : Demonstrates flexibility in the face of change. Projects a positive demeanor regardless of changes in working conditions. Shows the ability to manage multiple conflicting priorities without loss of composure.
Analysis : Use data and information in a clear and rational thought process to assess and understand issues, evaluate options, form accurate conclusions, and make decisions.
Judgment : Exhibits sound judgment and the ability to make reasonable decisions in the absence of direction. Swiftly refers problems/ issues to the appropriate person(s) when necessary. Works effectively without constant and direct supervision or guidance.
Consulting : Employ expertise, credibility, and effective partnering to help clients identify, evaluate, and resolve complex or sensitive issues, problems, and service needs.
Administration and Management : Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Computers and Electronics: Knowledge of electronic equipment, computer hardware and software, including applications, programming and databases. Demonstrates advanced proficiency by quickly adapting to new technology and easily acquiring new technical skills.
Software Development: Knowledge of WebAPI, REST, C#, .NET, MVC, Entity Framework, HTML5, AngularJS, JavaScript and T-SQL, TFS, Git, SSIS and ability to grow skillset to match industry standards.
Program Management : Effectively direct and integrate all aspects of a project or program, ensuring that work progresses toward achieving goals and objectives.
Research Skills : gather information: Can create data gathering processes; can propose/formulate new processes; able to design new organizational systems; can validate appropriateness of data/information; can logically defend outcomes/results; can analyze and evaluate the accuracy of data; can integrate multiple items of data; contrasts conflicting data; can identify and organize documents and information in ways that make it useful for subsequent applications.
Stress Tolerance: Effectively handle highly stressful or adverse situations, making good decisions, working calmly and accurately, and helping to calm others.
Tact & Diplomacy : Respond to difficult, stressful or sensitive interpersonal situations in ways that reduce or minimize potential conflict and maintains good working relationships among internal and external customers.
Workload Management: Effectively organize multiple assignments, sometimes of a complex nature or involving competing priorities, to produce work products that are accurate, thorough, and on time.
Personnel Management: Assesses current and future staffing needs based on organizational goals and budget realities. Using merit principles, ensures staff are appropriately selected, developed, utilized, appraised, and rewarded; takes corrective/disciplinary action when necessary.
Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Responsibilities

Provide direct supervision of application development and system administration personnel, establish position objectives and expectations.
Establish short-term objectives and long-term application development and support services based on standards and practices; engage staff and colleagues in collaborate development of short and long-term work plans; obtain manager review and approval of work plans.
Ensure alignment with division’s approved technology and product roadmaps and IT portfolio management.
Effectively mentor, train, coach, counsel, and motivate staff to achieve consistently high performance.
Ensure that supervised staff have the information, resources, and authority to complete assignments and meet documented expectations.
Consistently analyze staff performance against position requirements, applicable policies as well as section standards and practices imposing corrective or disciplinary action when required.
Identify and streamline workflows, automating repetitive tasks and implementing continuous integration and delivery pipelines.
Select and implement appropriate tools for version control, continuous integration, deployment, and monitoring.
Implement Agile principles and methods to the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
Establish robust monitoring systems to track application performance, identify issues, and enable proactive responses.
Promote open communication and collaboration between Applications Support & Data Administration sections; Product & Systems Analysis, Software Quality Assurance, and Database Administration.
Ensure seamless standards and practices between section teams and other ITSD teams.
Implement monitoring systems to proactively identify potential issues before they impact users.
Set up automated alerts to notify relevant teams when anomalies or performance degradation are detected.
Utilize tools to analyze system logs for patterns and clues related to potential incidents.
Actively solicit feedback from users to identify issues they may be experiencing.
Assess the severity and impact of incidents to determine the appropriate level of response.
Oversees, develop detailed, comprehensive and well-structured application architected designs to assure quality, efficient and secure complex software systems for staff, other agencies, and the public to consume daily, weekly, monthly and yearly work.
Oversees, short-term objectives and long-term application development services roadmaps for multiple enterprise level applications; engage staff and colleagues in collaborate to development of short and long-term objectives; obtain manager review and approval of long-term technical roadmap; ensure alignment with division’s approved technology and product roadmaps and portfolios.
Effectively mentor, train, coach, counsel, and motivate junior developers, system administrators and other technical staff to achieve consistently high performance related to development from scripting (e.g., Python, SQL) to application development (e.g., C#, .Net).
Develop complex, user intuitive, ADA compliance, and secure web user-interfaces which include secure architecture design, coding, unit test, function tests, system tests, and implementation.
Architect application components, APIs and web services for re-usable code that align with WSLCB standards and industry best practices.

Benefits

A comprehensive benefits package (including but not limited to Medical/Dental/Vision, Long Term Disability, Life Insurance etc.)
Paid Vacation, Leave, and Holidays
Tuition Waiver (enrollment in courses at state universities/colleges on a space availability basis - all or a portion of the tuition/fees may be waived for state employees)
Tuition reimbursement (courses taken with prior approval in order to further employee’s career development with the WSLCB)
Training and career development programs (including online courses and LinkedIn Learning)
A healthy work/life balance (this may include flexible/alternative work schedules and telework/remote work opportunities, when possible)
Employee Assistance Program - confidential program created to promote the health, safety and well-being of public service employees
Generous wellness program (we offer reimbursements for certain fitness related activities)
Onsite exercise facility (for employees working at WSLCB Headquarter Building in Olympia)
Infants at Work Program to promote parent and infant bonding, parental well-being and healthy infant development. Depending on your job duties, work location and supervisor approval, eligible employees who are new mothers, fathers or legal guardians can bring their infant (six weeks to six months) when they return to work.
Free parking