Salesforce Platform Specialist & Analyst - Remote Role with Maryland State Client

Hope you're doing well. We have an open position for a Salesforce Platform Specialist & Analyst. See the details below and let me know your interest. If interested, please share a copy of your resume to hr@vinsysinfo.com along with your salary / rate expectations and the best time to reach you. Role: Salesforce Platform Specialist & Analyst Client: Maryland State Client Location: College Park, Maryland (Remote Role) Job ID: 92248 Description As a Salesforce Platform Specialist & Analyst, you will leverage advanced administration and development skills to optimize and enhance the Salesforce ecosystem while ensuring alignment with institutional goals. This dual role involves configuring, customizing, and building scalable solutions using declarative tools and programmatic development, as well as integrating external systems to drive operational success. You will also gather and document business requirements, collaborate with stakeholders, and produce clear, high-quality documentation to support end-users, administrators, and developers. By combining technical expertise with analytical and communication skills, you will play a key role in maintaining Salesforce Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Education Cloud, improving student engagement, and fostering a sustainable, high-performing CRM environment. Responsibilities BUILDING ENHANCEMENTS (40%) • Flow Development: Design, develop, and optimize Salesforce Flows to create scalable, maintainable, and efficient business processes while adhering to Salesforce best practices. • Custom Development: Build sophisticated solutions using APEX, Lightning Web Components (LWC), and other programmatic tools to address complex business needs. Ensure all customizations are secure, efficient, and compliant with Salesforce standards. • Integration Design: Develop and maintain seamless integrations between Salesforce and external systems using APIs or middleware, ensuring smooth data exchange and automation. • Comprehensive Documentation: Create and maintain clear, detailed documentation for technical solutions, processes, and configurations. Foster a culture of knowledge sharing to promote system sustainability and ease of future enhancements. DEFECT RESOLUTION (40%) • Root Cause Analysis: Perform thorough investigations to identify underlying causes of issues and implement permanent solutions to prevent recurrence. • Troubleshooting and Debugging: Diagnose and resolve defects in existing Flows, APEX classes, and LWCs, ensuring platform stability and a seamless user experience. • Performance Optimization: Continuously review and refine existing code and configurations to enhance performance, scalability, and maintainability. • Expert Technical Support: Provide advanced troubleshooting expertise and resolve platform issues promptly. Support team members in handling technical challenges, offering guidance and solutions when needed. REFINEMENT AND REQUIREMENT GATHERING (20%) • Requirement Analysis: Collaborate with business stakeholders to gather, analyze, and refine requirements for new enhancements and system changes. Translate business needs into clear and actionable technical specifications. • Solution Design: Work closely with stakeholders to propose and document technical solutions that align with business goals, considering scalability, maintainability, and user experience. • Backlog Grooming: Participate in backlog refinement sessions to ensure user stories and tasks are well-defined, estimated, and prioritized. • Documentation and Communication: Document requirements, acceptance criteria, and design considerations thoroughly. Communicate effectively with stakeholders to manage expectations and ensure alignment on deliverables. PROCESS & DOCUMENTATION • Leads refinement workshops with key stakeholders to understand business objectives, problem statement and targeted goals and outcomes, current use of the platform, and any other customer centric data and processes • Collaborate with institutional stakeholders to gather and document business requirements for CRM enhancements. As needed write use-cases and stories in conversation with customers. • Design business processes by analyzing stakeholder requirements; constructing business process models, workflow charts and diagrams; evaluating system capabilities; writing specifications/user stories • Create data business flow diagrams and process maps using tools like Lucid chart, Visio, or Draw.io. • Translate functional needs into clear technical and business process documentation. • Develop and maintain end-user guides, administrator manuals, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and training materials for Salesforce users in higher education institutions. • Work with Salesforce administrators, developers, and solution architects to define system functionalities, integrations, and automation. • Document Salesforce configurations, custom objects, workflows, reports, and dashboards in a clear and structured format. • Ensure documentation remains current with Salesforce configurations and development updates and institutional process changes. • Cross-Team Collaboration: Serve as a liaison between business functional users (admissions, student success, alumni relations, finance, etc.) and technical teams (Salesforce administrators, developers, IT support). Education & Experience MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS, EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES: • Experience: 5+ years of Salesforce experience, with at least 2 years in a development role. Certifications • Strong proficiency in Salesforce declarative tools, including Flow and Process Builder. • Expertise in programmatic tools such as APEX, SOQL, and Lightning Web Components. • Familiarity with Salesforce data model, security model, and governor limits. • Experience with system integrations using REST/SOAP APIs. • Ability to troubleshoot and resolve complex technical issues independently. • Experience with CI/CD tools such as Git, Copado, or Gearset. • Familiarity with Agile and Scrum methodologies, including an understanding of key roles such as Scrum Master, Product Owner (PO), and Business Analyst (BA). Experience working in an Agile environment is a plus. • Knowledge of Salesforce best practices for scalability and performance optimization. • 3+ years of experience as a Technical Writer and/or Business Analyst working with Salesforce in a Higher Education environment. • Familiarity with Salesforce Education Cloud, Student Success Hub, Experience Cloud, Admissions Connect, or HEDA (Higher Education Data Architecture). • Experience working with enrollment, student records, academic advising, alumni relations, or advancement teams. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities • Salesforce Best Practices: Deep understanding of Salesforce architecture, best practices, and security protocols, ensuring solutions are scalable, maintainable, and compliant. • Custom Solution Development: Expertise in developing custom apps, objects, workflows, formula fields, and flows of intermediate complexity that align with business requirements. • Cross-Functional Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage with both technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels of the organization. • Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking: Analytical thinker with strong problem-solving skills, capable of troubleshooting issues and identifying innovative solutions. • Information Evaluation: Ability to critically evaluate information gathered from multiple sources, reconcile conflicts, translate high-level information into detailed solutions, abstract up from low-level information to broader understanding, and distinguish user requests from the underlying true needs. • Self-Motivated & Independent: Self-driven and able to work both independently and as part of a team, including in a remote environment, taking ownership of tasks and ensuring high-quality results. • Continuous Learning: Proactive in staying up-to-date with Salesforce releases, emerging technologies, and platform capabilities to drive improvements. • Data Impact Assessment: Ability to assess the impact of new requirements on Salesforce and its associated systems, ensuring solutions are future-proof. • Agile Methodology Expertise: Strong experience with Agile methodologies and tools, including Jira, Azure DevOps, or similar, ensuring successful project delivery. • Focus Areas: In-depth experience in Service Cloud, Omni-Channel, Case Management, Knowledge, CTI, SMS, and Chat integration. • Added Plus: Familiarity with Education Cloud, Experience Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Health Cloud and Einstein Analytics. • Strong understanding of Salesforce objects, flows, reports, dashboards, permissions, and integrations. • Experience with Salesforce documentation tools (Confluence, Google Docs, Lucidchart, Visio, etc.). • Basic understanding of Salesforce APIs, SOQL, Apex, or integration tools like MuleSoft (preferred but not required). Certifications (Preferred But Not Required) • Salesforce Advanced Administrator and Platform Developer 2 certifications. • Salesforce Certified Business Analyst • Salesforce Certified Administrator (ADM-201) • Salesforce Certified Education Cloud Consultant