Tech Lead, ServiceNow (Citizen Development)

Ulta Beauty, Inc.•Bolingbrook, IL

About The Position

Live the experience. From professional empowerment to continual learning opportunities. From ongoing investment in new and emerging technologies to a career of self-determination. At Ulta Beauty, our tech team is critical to our scalability—and is recognized that way. We’ve been defined as a “mature start-up.” A place where interdepartmental exposure, open doors, and genuine collaboration is ubiquitous. Where challenges come fast and furious, requiring agility, mental dexterity, and creativity. Where our passion for better solutions drives us and is core to who we are. We’re engineering for the future of retail, and it’s no-holds-barred. But for those motivated by continual change and ambiguity, by superior leadership, by whip smart colleagues who will press you daily for your very best, you’ll find that virtually nothing’s impossible at Ulta Beauty. THE IMPACT YOU CAN HAVE: The ServiceNow Citizen Development Lead is responsible for enabling, governing, and scaling citizen development across the enterprise ServiceNow platform. This role defines the operating model, guardrails, and enablement framework that allows business teams to safely build applications, automations, and workflows using ServiceNow low‑code/no‑code capabilities while protecting platform integrity, security, and performance. This role serves as the primary point of accountability for citizen developer onboarding, standards, quality controls, and ongoing oversight.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, CIS, or equivalent professional experience
7-10 years of overall IT experience, including 3+ years of hands-on ServiceNow platform development and architecture
Deep hands-on experience with ServiceNow, especially:
App Engine
Flow Designer
UI Builder
Data modeling
Strong understanding of platform governance, security, and upgrade impacts
Experience designing enablement programs or Centers of Excellence
Ability to coach non-technical users while enforcing technical standards
Strong stakeholder management and influence skills

Responsibilities

Citizen Development Governance
Define and own the citizen development governance model, including:
What citizen developers can and cannot build
Approved tools (App Engine, Flow Designer, UI Builder, etc.)
Required design and testing standards
Establish tiered citizen developer levels (e.g., beginner, advanced) with increasing privileges
Partner with Platform Architecture and Security to ensure all citizen-built solutions comply with enterprise standards
Enablement & Onboarding
Design and deliver the citizen developer onboarding program, including:
Required training and certification paths
Hands-on labs and templates
Reusable components and patterns
Act as the primary coach and advisor to new citizen developers
Maintain a curated library of:
Approved application templates
Data models
Integration patterns
Design & Quality Oversight
Establish and run lightweight design reviews for citizen-built solutions
Define minimum quality gates, including:
Automated testing requirements
Peer reviews
Platform sign-off criteria
Review and approve citizen-developed applications prior to production deployment in partnership with Release Management
Platform Protection & Risk Management
Ensure citizen development does not introduce:
Uncontrolled customizations
Data model inconsistencies (especially CMDB)
Performance or upgrade risks
Track and report on citizen development activity, including adoption, defects, and technical debt
Serve as escalation point for citizen development issues or violations
Operating Model & Continuous Improvement
Define the end-to-end lifecycle for citizen-built applications:
Intake
Build
Review
Release
Support and ownership handoff
Partner with Product Owners to determine when solutions should:
Remain citizen-built
Transition to full engineering ownership
Continuously refine standards based on platform maturity and usage patterns