Senior Software Developer (Tech Lead)

SOLAS, the Further Education and Training Authority of Ireland, was established on 27 October 2013 and its mission is to fund, co-ordinate and monitor a range of Further Education and Training (FET) provisions that is responsive to the needs of learners and employers.

It is an agency of the recently formed Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

SOLAS works in close collaboration with Education and Training Boards (ETBs) across Ireland on provision of high-quality further education and training, equipping learners with relevant skills and knowledge, and providing a pipeline of talent into employment and to the Irish economy and society.

At SOLAS, we put the learner, employers and communities, which FET serves, at the heart of everything we do.

Working with sister agencies, SOLAS leads actions in key policy and strategy documents including the most recent Further Education and Training (FET) Strategy , the evaluation of the National Youthreach Programmes (2019), the National Skills Strategy 2025 and the People Strategy and others.

The Senior Software Developer \ Technical Lead (Grade 7) in the SOLAS IT Department plays a significant role in development of new applications and reengineering existing applications supporting the business needs of SOLAS and the wider FET sector.

Working in conjunction with an IT Business Lead and business stakeholders the successful candidate will work on the development of new and amending existing functionality in the SOLAS applications space.

This will involve work on a wide variety of mainly full stack web based systems.

Reporting to the Business Applications Manager the successful applicant must be flexible, positive, and enthusiastic and demonstrate an outstanding record of achievement in their career to date.

Key Responsibilities : Hands on full stack software development.

Lead, contribute and manage a development team to deliver new functionality and enhance existing software.

Contribute to technical decision making within the ICT department.

Responsible for maintaining business requirements documents and functional specifications in-line with requirements.

Liaise with and develop strong working relationship with business process owners.

Gather requirements and facilitate workshops.

Provide estimation of work and agreement of deadlines with stakeholders.

Report to internal and external stakeholders on project progress.

Collaborate with other teams within ICT.

Assist and directly engage in testing to ensure the quality of the teams development work.

Respond to support queries and end user issues in a timely manner.

Keep abreast of trends and developments within the software industry.

Mentor Junior Developers.

Peer review Code.

Represent SOLAS on committees and at meetings as necessary.

Perform other duties as may be assigned from time to time.

Requirements Essential Minimum of 7 years strong experience in software development working on medium / large level projects.

Minimum 3 years experience managing ICT Development teams.

Work well in fluid / evolving environment.

Good understanding of software development lifecycle and change management.

Candidate must be flexible / adaptable in their approach to work, embrace change and adapt work practices accordingly.

Very strong web development skills and experience based around the Microsoft stack, e.

C#, SQL Server, IIS, TFS, Share Point, Git, Azure Dev Ops, Graph API, Microsoft Entra, Microsoft Fabric.

Experience with Bootstrap, less CSS, Visual studio IDE.

Experience of authentication and authorisation methodologies within web development.

Candidates should be conversant with REST APIs, JSON, web services, MFA, security issues etc.

NFQ / QQI Level 8 IT qualification or equivalent Desirable Knowledge of MVC design pattern.

Experience with.

Net Core, Typescript, node.js, webpack.

Experience using SSRS, SSIS, Power BI, Tableau.

Knowledge of Microsoft claims-based authentication.

Experience in implementation of AI chatbot on public facing systems.

Certification in Agile project management.

This is a permanent position for which the salary scale ranges from €73,700 to €93,266 per annum (inclusive of two long service increments) for a 35-hour week.

Starting pay will be at the minimum point of the scale as per Government Circular E100 / 8 / 82.

Exceptional circumstances may apply for candidates with current service in the Civil / Public service.

SOLAS offers an excellent benefit package including a contributory pension scheme and the opportunity for further training and development.

Applications using the SOLAS Application Form which can be downloaded from our website, must be submitted through quoting reference number560by 12pm, Monday, 13 October 2025.

Please complete the application form as specified.

SOLAS will not accept CVs.

A Blended Working policy is in place and an arrangement is available to request with this role, a minimum requirement of 2 days per week in the office (Castleforbes House, Dublin 1).

One of the days being the SOLAS Anchor Day - Wednesday.

Please note that as a public sector employee, you must reside in the Irish jurisdiction to avail of blended working, and in accordance with Department Public Expenditure and Reform (DPENDR) requirements, you must be available to attend in person if and when required.

SOLAS is an equal opportunities employer.

Canvassing will disqualify.

Benefits : Paid Holidays Work Life Balance Employee Assistance Programme Cycle To Work Scheme Health and Wellbeing Initiatives Travel Pass Scheme