Every Salesforce org eventually reaches the point where clicks are not enough. A sales team wants quotes to pull live stock from the ERP, a service team wants cases routed by contract tier, and someone has built several overlapping Flows on the Opportunity object that now fight each other. A Salesforce developer writes the Apex, triggers and Lightning Web Components that handle what configuration cannot, and in many companies the same person also runs day-to-day administration: users, permissions, Flows, reports and deployments.
This page gives you a copy-ready Salesforce developer job description that also covers the administrator side of the role, with guidance on how it changes by level, how to check Salesforce skills during screening, common job description mistakes, and when contract or permanent hiring suits it best.
Salesforce developer job description template
Fill in the square brackets with your clouds, integrations and team details. If you are hiring a pure administrator, keep the admin bullets and move the Apex and LWC items into nice to have.
About the role
[Company] is hiring a Salesforce Developer / Administrator to build and look after our Salesforce org, which supports [sales / service / partner] teams across [regions or business units]. You will build custom features with Apex and Lightning Web Components, automate processes with Flow, keep the org secure and tidy, and move changes safely from sandbox to production. You will be based in [city / remote] and report to [CRM lead / IT manager].
Responsibilities
- Gather requirements from business users and decide whether each need is best met with configuration, Flow or code.
- Develop Apex classes, triggers and batch or scheduled jobs that respect governor limits and follow a one-trigger-per-object pattern.
- Build Lightning Web Components for custom pages, record actions and [Experience Cloud] portals.
- Write efficient SOQL and SOSL queries and design custom objects and fields with the data model in mind.
- Build and maintain Flows, validation rules and approval processes, and retire older automation where it overlaps.
- Manage users, profiles, permission sets, roles and sharing rules in line with [company] access policies.
- Integrate Salesforce with [ERP / billing / marketing systems] using REST APIs, platform events or [MuleSoft].
- Write Apex test classes with meaningful assertions and keep code coverage above the deployment threshold.
- Deploy changes through [Copado / Gearset / Salesforce CLI and Git] and plan around Salesforce’s seasonal releases.
- Build reports and dashboards for business users and train them on new features.
Requirements
- [X]+ years of hands-on Salesforce experience, including development in Apex.
- Experience building Lightning Web Components with JavaScript.
- Strong understanding of governor limits, bulkification and asynchronous Apex.
- Good working knowledge of Salesforce Flow and core administration, including permission sets and sharing.
- Experience with [Sales Cloud / Service Cloud] in a production org.
- Experience deploying changes between sandboxes and production with version control.
- [Salesforce Platform Developer I or Administrator certification], or equivalent practical experience.
Nice to have
- Experience with Salesforce CPQ, Experience Cloud or Marketing Cloud.
- Integration work with MuleSoft or other middleware.
- Exposure to Agentforce or other AI features in Salesforce.
- Platform Developer II or other advanced Salesforce certifications.
What we offer
- [Salary range] and [benefits].
- [Work mode: on-site / hybrid / remote].
- [Certification exam and Trailhead learning support].
How the Salesforce role changes by level
Junior Salesforce developer or administrator. A junior person handles user management, simple Flows, field and layout changes, reports and small Apex fixes under review. The job description should ask for a solid grasp of the data model and declarative tools, an Administrator or Platform Developer I certification or equivalent Trailhead work, and the habit of testing changes in a sandbox first.
Mid-level Salesforce developer. This person owns features end to end: they gather requirements, choose between Flow and code, write bulk-safe Apex and LWC, write proper tests and deploy. Ask for examples of integrations they have built and automation they have cleaned up, since tidying an existing org is a large part of real Salesforce work.
Senior Salesforce developer or technical lead. A senior hire looks after the health of the whole org. They set coding and release standards, review other people’s code, plan for large data volumes, design sharing and security, and choose integration patterns. If the role covers multi-org strategy and solution design across several clouds, you are moving into a Salesforce architect job description, and it should say so.
Salesforce skills that matter most, and how to check them
- Clicks versus code judgment. Describe a business need, such as updating related contacts when an account changes territory, and ask how they would build it. Strong candidates weigh Flow against Apex and explain why, rather than writing code for everything.
- Bulkification and governor limits. Show a short trigger that runs a SOQL query inside a loop and ask what is wrong with it. Anyone with real Apex experience should spot the problem quickly and explain how to fix it.
- Testing. Ask how they write test classes. Good answers mention test data factories, testing bulk scenarios and asserting outcomes, not just reaching the coverage percentage.
- Security and sharing. Ask how they would give a regional manager access to their team’s opportunities but not other regions’. This shows whether they understand roles, sharing rules and permission sets.
- Release discipline. Ask how changes reach production in their current or last org. Listen for sandboxes, version control, a deployment tool and a rollback plan.
A short practical task in a free Developer Edition org, such as building a small LWC that calls Apex, gives you a clear view of their code. For admin-heavy roles, ask them to walk you through a Flow they built and what they would change now.
Common Salesforce developer job description mistakes
- Blurring developer and administrator without saying so. Many companies need one person to do both, which is fine, but an ad titled “developer” that is mostly admin work frustrates the person hired. Fix: state the rough split between code and configuration.
- Not naming the clouds. Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, CPQ and Marketing Cloud are very different products. Fix: list the clouds and major managed packages in your org.
- Treating certifications as the only filter. Certifications show study, not whether someone can untangle a messy org. Fix: list them as preferred, and test practical skills in the interview.
- Ignoring the state of the org. A fresh implementation and an old org full of legacy Process Builder and workflow rules are very different jobs. Fix: describe what the org looks like today and the main project ahead.
- Leaving out integrations. If the role involves connecting Salesforce to your ERP or billing system, that is a major skill requirement. Fix: name the systems and the integration method.
Contract, contract-to-hire or permanent: which suits a Salesforce developer
Contract Salesforce developers fit implementation projects, cloud rollouts such as adding Service Cloud or CPQ, org clean-ups and integrations with a defined scope. These projects reward people who have done the same kind of rollout in other orgs and can leave behind documented, tested work.
Contract-to-hire works well when the long-term shape of your Salesforce team is still unclear, for example when you do not yet know whether you need a developer who can administer or an administrator who can code. A trial period answers that with real work.
Permanent hiring suits companies that run most of their sales or service operation on Salesforce, because the org keeps changing with every new process, team and seasonal release. Zilo AI supports all three routes: we hire Salesforce developers in India on contract, contract-to-hire or permanent terms, and screen candidates on real org work, including code, declarative builds, deployments and integrations. Our IT hiring services also cover the developers and QA engineers who work around your CRM.
Frequently asked questions
What should a Salesforce developer job description include?
It should name the Salesforce clouds and integrations in your org, describe the balance between Apex, LWC and admin work, state the deployment tools and process, and list core requirements around governor limits, testing and Flow. Mention preferred certifications and the reporting line.
What is the difference between a Salesforce developer and a Salesforce administrator?
An administrator configures Salesforce through its built-in tools: users, permissions, Flows, validation rules, reports and dashboards. A developer writes code, mainly Apex and Lightning Web Components, for needs that configuration cannot meet. In smaller teams one person often does both, so describe the real split in the job description.
Which certifications should a Salesforce developer job description ask for?
Platform Developer I is the common baseline for developers, and Administrator for admin-heavy roles. Platform Developer II or cloud-specific certifications suit senior roles. Treat them as preferred, not mandatory, since practical org experience matters more.
Should a Salesforce developer know Flow as well as Apex?
Yes. Salesforce pushes much of its automation through Flow, and a good developer knows when a Flow is the better choice. A developer who writes Apex for every requirement leaves behind an org that is harder for admins to maintain.
If you would rather meet a shortlist of Salesforce developers who have already been tested on real org work, Zilo AI can handle the search for you. Contact our team and tell us about your org, your clouds and what you need built.