Learn about the important requirements, obligations, responsibilities, and skills that should be in a technical lead job description.
Technical leads manage technical projects and generally oversee teams of software developers, IT professionals, or engineers. Technical leads also use their technical subject matter expertise to troubleshoot and resolve escalated technical problems.
Do you need to add a technical lead to your staff? You can get started with ZipRecruiter today! Your first job listing on ZipRecruiter is free. We also created a guide to the best job posting sites if you want to share your listing in other places.
Technical Lead Job Description Template
We’re seeking a tech-savvy, organized, and goal-oriented technical lead to join our organization. As the technical lead, you’ll manage technical projects from requirement gathering through timely completion. In addition, you’ll be responsible for training staff, assigning work, monitoring progress, and reporting on the status of each project to senior management. You’ll also diagnose and fix complex technical issues that arise.
Technical Lead Responsibilities
-
Gathering end-user requirements and determining each project’s scope.
-
Identifying potential risks and issues and ways to mitigate them.
-
Creating project schedules and setting project milestones.
-
Delegating tasks to team members.
-
Ensuring each project gets completed on time and within budget.
-
Training, mentoring, and motivating team members.
-
Writing project progress reports and presenting them to senior management.
-
Troubleshooting escalated technical problems.
-
Improving processes and procedures to make future projects go more smoothly.
Technical Lead Requirements
-
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, information technology, computer science, or a related discipline
-
Advanced degree and technical certifications preferred
-
3+ years in a similar position
-
Proven track record of technical project completion
-
Superior technical, leadership, project management, problem-solving, communication, and interpersonal skills
Technical Lead Duties And Responsibilities
Let’s dive deeper into some of the technical lead’s responsibilities.
Gather End-User Requirements
Technical leads meet with end users to compile a list of their pain points, requirements and wants. Then, they determine the project’s scope. A technical lead must have superb communication skills to solicit and collect the information needed to strategize, manage, and complete each project.
Identify Potential Risks
Technical leads analyze each project to determine potential risks or problems that may arise. Then, they devise plans to mitigate those risks and handle each issue. A technical lead, therefore, must be a forward-thinker and a strong problem-solver.
Related: Best Tech Careers
Create Project Schedules
Technical leads create project schedules and set milestones based on the project’s scope. Then, they delegate appropriate tasks to each team member. A technical lead must have top-notch project management and leadership skills to keep the project on pace with the schedule.
Troubleshoot Escalated Technical Problems
Technical leads diagnose and resolve technical problems that other team members struggle to fix. Doing so frees up the rest of the group to work on different project elements. Therefore, a technical lead must be a subject matter expert in the technology used in the work.
Write Project Progress Reports
Technical leads write project progress reports to document how the project is going. Then, they present each status update to senior management. Therefore, a technical lead must have strong writing, communication, and presentation skills to keep leadership in the loop.
If you are looking to transition to the technology field, you may need to update your resume. Check out our guide to creating an IT resume.
Technical Lead Salary And Job Outlook
Here’s the current outlook for the technical lead role in the United States:
Median National Salary: $111,000+ per year
Education Required: Bachelor’s degree
Number of Jobs: 781,000+
Job Growth 2020 – 2030: 7% (average)
The Bottom Line
We bet you feel more confident in your ability to write a technical lead job description. So, once you’re happy with the content, post your role on ZipRecruiter! Then, maximize the reach of your job advertisement by submitting it to one or more of our selections for the best free job posting sites.
