Software Developer onboarding at a glance

Week one covers orientation, safety and shadowing. Days 1–30 build vocabulary and supervised practice on core procedures; days 31–60 move to independent work with competency sign-offs; days 61–90 focus on full productivity, cross-training and a credential plan.

Before day one

Confirm start date, schedule, pay and supervisor in writing
Verify required credentials: AWS Certified Developer – Associate, Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (as applicable)
Prepare equipment and access: code editors such as VS Code or IntelliJ; git and GitHub or GitLab; cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud; issue trackers such as Jira
Assign a buddy or preceptor
Enroll the new hire in Software Developer training so foundations are covered before or during week one

Week one: orient and protect

Workplace tour, emergency procedures and incident reporting
Protect credentials and never commit secrets to code
Follow secure coding practices
Use ergonomic setups and take screen breaks
Test changes before deploying to production
Shadow an experienced software developer through a full shift
Training modules 1–3: role foundations, a day on the job and essential vocabulary (15 terms)

Days 1–30: learn

Goal: perform core tasks safely under supervision.

Supervised practice: fix a bug systematically
Supervised practice: open a good pull request
Supervised practice: write a unit test
Training modules 4–7: duties, step-by-step tasks, tools and safety
30-day check-in: confidence, questions and early wins

Days 31–60: contribute

Goal: handle a regular workload independently.

Gather requirements and design software features: independently
Write clean, maintainable code: independently
Write and run automated tests: independently
Debug and fix defects: independently
Competency sign-offs completed (see checklist below)
Training final knowledge check and certificate of completion
60-day check-in

Days 61–90: own

Goal: full productivity and a growth plan.

Meet productivity and quality targets for the role
Begin cross-training on a secondary task
Agree on a credential goal (for example, AWS Certified Developer – Associate)
Discuss the career path: Junior Developer → Software Developer → Senior Developer or Tech Lead
90-day review

Competency checklist

Skill or task	Trained	Observed	Signed off
Fix a Bug Systematically
Open a Good Pull Request
Write a Unit Test
Programming languages such as Python, JavaScript or Java
Data structures and algorithms
Version control with Git
Testing and debugging

How to measure onboarding success

Time to first independent ticket or deployment
First-contact resolution or defect rate
Security incidents caused by user or configuration error
90-day retention

How Software Developer training maps to this plan

Introduction to the Software Developer Role
A Day on the Job
Essential Software Developer Vocabulary
Core Duties and Responsibilities
Common Tasks, Step by Step
Tools, Equipment and Technology
Safety, Compliance and Professional Standards
Skills Employers Look For
Launching Your Software Developer Career
Final Knowledge Check

Get team pricing

Software Developer Onboarding Plan (30-60-90 Days)