Your Salesforce Org Is a Rube Goldberg Machine of Process Builders and Flows. It's Time for Real Engineering.
Salesforce is the undisputed center of gravity for customer data in the enterprise. But as business processes become more complex, the declarative, "clicks-not-code" tools like Process Builder and Flow hit a hard ceiling. To build truly sophisticated, scalable, and custom logic, you need Apex, Salesforce's strongly-typed, object-oriented programming language. It is the key to unlocking the full power of the platform, allowing you to build custom business logic, integrations, and complex automations that are impossible with declarative tools alone.
However, Apex development comes with a unique and brutal set of constraints. Because it runs in a multi-tenant environment, Salesforce enforces strict governor limits on everything: the number of SOQL queries, the number of DML statements, the total CPU time. An engineer who approaches Apex with the mindset of a traditional backend developer—without a deep, obsessive understanding of these limits—will not build a scalable application. They will build a system that works perfectly in a developer sandbox with 10 records and then collapses completely in production with 10 million.
This playbook explains how Axiom Cortex finds the engineers who have internalized the discipline of "governor-limit-aware" development.
Traditional Vetting and Vendor Limitations
A nearshore vendor sees "Salesforce" and "Apex" on a résumé and assumes competence. The interview consists of asking a few syntax questions. This process completely fails to test for the most critical skill in Apex development: the ability to write bulkified, efficient code that will not crash in a production environment.
The predictable and painful results of this superficial vetting are a daily reality for many Salesforce customers:
- The "SOQL Query in a For Loop" Catastrophe: A developer writes a trigger that iterates over a list of 200 records and performs a separate SOQL query inside the loop for each one. The code works for a single record but immediately hits the "Too many SOQL queries: 101" governor limit when a user tries to perform a mass update.
- Mixed DML Errors: An attempt to update a User record and a Contact record in the same transaction fails because the developer does not understand the restrictions on mixing sObject types in DML operations.
- Untestable Code: The Apex code is a monolithic block of logic with no separation of concerns, making it impossible to write a focused unit test. The team struggles to meet the mandatory 75% code coverage requirement for deployment.
How Axiom Cortex Evaluates Apex Developers
Axiom Cortex is designed to find engineers who think in terms of bulkification, efficiency, and the unique constraints of the Salesforce platform. We evaluate candidates across four critical dimensions.
Dimension 1: Bulkification and Governor Limits
This is the absolute, non-negotiable core of Apex expertise. A developer who cannot write bulkified code is a liability.
We present candidates with a business requirement and a dataset of 200+ records. We evaluate their ability to:
- Write Bulkified Triggers: Can they write a trigger that correctly handles a batch of records, using maps and collections to query and process data in a single, efficient operation?
- Manage Heap Size and CPU Time: Do they write code that is conscious of memory usage and execution time?
Dimension 2: Asynchronous Apex
To perform complex operations that would otherwise hit governor limits, an Apex developer must master the platform's asynchronous tools.
We present a long-running process requirement and evaluate if they can:
- Choose the Right Async Tool: Can they explain the difference between Future methods, Queueable Apex, Batch Apex, and Scheduled Apex, and choose the right tool for the job?
- Design a Chained Asynchronous Process: Can they design a solution that chains multiple asynchronous jobs together to process a large volume of data?
Dimension 3: Testing and Deployment
The Salesforce platform enforces a strict 75% code coverage requirement. An elite developer writes tests that not only meet this requirement but also provide real confidence.
We evaluate their ability to:
- Write Comprehensive Unit Tests: Can they write tests that cover bulk operations, positive and negative scenarios, and assert on the correct outcomes?
- Manage Test Data: Do they know how to create test data programmatically and how to use `@isTest(SeeAllData=false)` to ensure their tests are isolated and reliable?
Dimension 4: Integration and Platform Features
An elite Apex developer understands how Apex fits into the broader Salesforce ecosystem.
Axiom Cortex assesses a candidate's understanding of:
- Calling External Services: Can they make a callout to an external REST API from Apex? Do they understand the security implications and how to manage named credentials?
- Exposing Apex as a REST API: Can they write an `@RestResource` to expose their custom logic to external systems?
From Fragile Automations to a Robust Platform
When you staff your Salesforce team with Apex developers who have passed the Axiom Cortex assessment, you are investing in a team that can build custom solutions that are as robust and scalable as the core Salesforce platform itself. They will not just solve today's business problem; they will build a foundation that can support your business as it grows.