Job Description

The Office of Innovation & Technology (OIT) is the central IT agency for the City of Philadelphia

headed by the Chief Information Officer. This position is within the OIT and assigned to the Department of Planning and Development’s (DPD) IT unit, which is responsible for the creation of spatial data and online web applications and tools to support community planning and housing strategies. DPD regularly engages with the public, city officials and a wide array of stakeholders using geospatial data and web applications to obtain input on the formulation of neighborhood, district and housing plans and to communicate the work of the department with the public. The Department of Planning and Development is made of up multiple divisions including Philadelphia City Planning Commission, Philadelphia Historical Commission, Art Commission, ZBA, Division of Housing and Community Development, and partners with the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation.

The primary responsibility of this position is web-based application development for the divisions of the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) and its partner PHDC using industry-standard technologies and tools. This role involves working closely with the Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT), DPD stakeholders, and other City departments as required, overseeing the full software development lifecycle—from requirements gathering and design to development, implementation, and post-implementation support.

As a Software Engineer, you will work on both critical business systems and resident-facing applications, ensuring solutions are reliable, secure, and user-friendly. You will be primarily responsible for building APIs and UIs using our core technologies (.NET Core and Vue.js), while adhering to established City development standards and best practices. The role also requires contributing to technical documentation, testing, code reviews, and the maintenance of high-quality, scalable applications.

You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to solve complex problems, modernize legacy systems, and integrate with external data sources and services. Emphasis is placed on security, accessibility, and performance to support the City’s commitment to delivering efficient digital services for residents.

This is an opportunity to join a City government that operates the largest GitHub organization among municipalities (github.com/CityOfPhiladelphia), values open-source collaboration, and leverages modern cloud infrastructure to improve how residents and businesses interact with city government online. The position offers the chance to work in a mission-driven environment where your technical expertise directly contributes to the public good.

Job Description

Essential Functions

This role is primarily focused on backend development, with opportunities to work across the full stack to support project needs. You will lead and mentor a team of associate software engineers, ensuring adherence to development best practices, City standards, and secure coding guidelines. Responsibilities include reviewing code in our Git-based workflow, writing unit and integration tests, monitoring applications after launch, and providing ongoing support for applications built by you and your team. You will also collaborate with stakeholders at OIT and other departments as part of our agile development process.

Core Technical Requirements:

• Strong experience designing and building APIs for modern JavaScript and mobile clients, with clear opinions on API interfaces and implementation.
• Proficiency with .NET Core (3.x or greater).
• Deep experience collaborating with developers using Git/GitHub and participating in structured code review processes.
• Experience with Vue.js preferred; experience in React or Angular will also be considered.
• Strong belief in test-driven development: “if it isn’t tested, it isn’t done.”
• Comfort with troubleshooting, debugging, and researching complex or obscure issues.
• Ability to interpret incomplete requirements, ask clarifying questions, and deliver effective solutions.
• A holistic perspective on projects, with the ability to anticipate challenges, remove blockers, and take ownership of outcomes.

Application Design & Development

• Develop and maintain secure, scalable, and efficient web-based applications following SDLC best practices and OIT guidance.
• Gather requirements, design solutions, code, test, and document software systems.
• Review and provide constructive feedback on code written by colleagues and vendors.
• Proactively identify application inefficiencies and propose enhancements.
• Create and maintain development frameworks, reusable libraries, prototypes, and technical specifications.
• Ensure applications are accessible, user-centered, and aligned with City security standards.
• Participate in project timeline development and resource planning.

Collaboration

• Represent the DPD Software Development Team in cross-departmental meetings, working sessions, and external engagements.
• Partner with project managers, stakeholders, and colleagues to clarify requirements, manage expectations, and resolve issues.
• Contribute to agile ceremonies and ensure transparency in project progress.

Providing Expertise

• Evaluate and recommend software solutions, development tools, and emerging technologies for departmental use.
• Provide technical oversight and guidance to software vendors during product development or implementation.
• Contribute to procurement discussions by providing subject-matter expertise.
• Recommend long-term software and application strategies to the IT Director.
• Create and maintain system and architecture diagrams for supported applications.

Other Duties

• Participate in DPD and OIT project review processes, including security and architecture reviews.
• Ensure compliance with City cybersecurity, privacy, and data management policies.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Completion of a bachelor’s degree program at an accredited college or university with major course work in Computer Science, a related engineering field, or equivalent experience – boot camps / alternative pathways are okay; we care more about what you can do than where you learned how to do it.

• Minimum 3 years of experience in a technical role
  • Experience in Web or software development, or design a plus
  • Experience providing technical support to a wide variety of applications a plus

Experience working in a large governmental, or non-profit agency is a plus; in particular, knowledge of Planning or Housing operations and/or the City of Philadelphia.

Knowledge of and Skills in:

• Full-stack web application development technologies and best practices.
• Web accessibility standards (WCAG/Section 508), responsive design principles, and cross-browser/platform compatibility.
• Database systems and query optimization (MS SQL Server, Postgres).
• Development environments, source control (Git/GitHub), and modern DevOps practices (CI/CD pipelines).
• Agile software development methodologies and iterative project delivery.
• Cloud computing concepts, services, and deployment models (AWS preferred).
• Networking fundamentals, application hosting, and performance optimization.
• Secure coding practices, cybersecurity principles, and data privacy standards.
• Content management systems, information architecture, and user-centered design.
• Data visualization and analysis tools and techniques.
• Technical writing, documentation, and system/architecture diagramming.
• Software/UI/UX design principles and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Troubleshooting, debugging, and root-cause analysis.

Experience with the following technologies is a plus:

• .NET Core (3.x or greater).
• JavaScript frameworks (Vue.js preferred; React or Angular considered).
• AWS services (Fargate, Lambda, S3, CloudFront, CloudWatch, etc.).
• CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions or comparable tools.
• IIS web server administration.
• MS SQL Server or PostgreSQL databases.
• QuickBase application development.
• Development work with GIS/Mapping software

Ability to:

• Communicate technical and non-technical concepts clearly, both verbally and in writing, to diverse audiences.
• Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams of varying seniority and technical expertise.
• Work independently with minimal supervision while also thriving in team-based environments.
• Manage multiple projects, prioritize tasks, and deliver high-quality work within deadlines.
• Interpret complex requirements from written, oral, diagrammatic, or schedule-based sources.
• Adapt to changing priorities and respond effectively to urgent issues, including occasional evenings/weekends for critical problem resolution or deployments.
• Apply analytical and creative problem-solving skills to design and implement effective solutions.
• Commit to continuous learning, professional development, and staying current with emerging technologies and best practices.

Additional Information

Salary Range: $70,000-$85,000

Salary Range cannot exceed $85,000

All applications must include a cover letter. Applications without a cover letter will be considered incomplete. 

Did you know?
● We are a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program qualified employer : 25% tuition discount program for City employees (and sometimes spouses and dependents as well) in partnership with area colleges and universities

● We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
● Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
● Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
● Generous retirement savings options are available

*The successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire
Effective May 22, 2023, vaccinations are  no longer required for new employees that work in non-medical, non-emergency or patient facing positions with the City of Philadelphia. As a result, only employees in positions providing services that are patient-facing medical care (ex: Nurses, doctors, emergency medical personnel), must be fully vaccinated.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race,
ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to faqpchr @phila.gov. For more information, go to: Human Relations Website:

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