How To Write A Software Engineer Job Description

If you’re trying to write a job description for a software engineer, you might find it’s a difficult task. You don’t want just to throw something together and then hope that the right person finds your job posting on Zippia.

A job description that appeals to just the right person and gets them to consider joining your company needs to stand out and be compelling. We’ll give you the basics of how to write a software engineer job description.

To make it shine, you’ll have to carefully consider your company and the person you would like to hire. These little touches will take your job description from ordinary to extraordinary. So, let’s take a look at the basics so you can get the easy part done.

What Does a Software Engineer Do?

Software engineers are very technically minded people who know how to develop and build computer systems and applications software. They know the ins and outs of programming, utilities, and operating systems. They might specialize in writing programs or software that applies to humans and are user-focused or work on the data collection and analysis side.

What a software engineer will do for your company depends on what you need them to do. This is where some specific knowledge and customizing will come in handy.

Duties and Responsibilities of a Software Engineer

What will your future software engineer do? Of course, that’s up to you, but the following list gives you some options to pick and choose from.

• Develop information systems

• Design and develop software solutions

• Install software

• Evaluate potential software solutions for feasibility

• Define problems, requirements, and concerns and then propose solutions

• Develop solutions based on needs

• Analyze market response and needs and apply data

• Study the use of the software while looking for flaws, bugs, or improvements

• Follow software through the development lifecycle

• Document the lifecycle of products which may include many different fields

• Improve operations by reviewing systems

• Remove redundancies in systems and create system synergy

• Obtain licensing necessary to create software

• Establish licensing protocol for users of your software

• Test and validate software solutions

• Perform servicing on software

Skills and Qualifications of a Software Engineer

To do all of those things or even just a handful of the responsibilities that people expect from Software Engineers, you need a very skilled professional with a lot of experience. You’re going to want to look for people with some of the following skills and qualifications.

• Ability to analyze data and raw information

• Programming skills

• Proven software design ability

• Software debugging knowledge

• Software documentation experience

• Software lifecycle mapping

• Software testing experience

• Problem-solving skills

• Can work in a team

• Has led or managed a team

• Understands at least one programming language

• Deep knowledge of computer operating systems

• Can apply engineering principles to software creation

• Understands software development fundamentals and the process

Objectives of Software Engineers

When you hire a software engineer, you might want one who starts at the beginning of the process and carries it through to the end. Other companies prefer to have many specialized software engineers.

Overall, the objective is to step in when there is a need and analyze the situation—conduct market research and analysis to understand the needs and possible solutions.

Review the current options available in the current market and determine if they can be improved or if a new solution is an answer. Then develop the software to solve the problem and follow that through development and testing until it’s a viable solution.

Often, the software engineer will have to evaluate and test the solution and adjust the final product.

Salary Expectations for Software Engineers

With all of those responsibilities and the potential to change entire processes and engage the world somehow, you’d expect that the salary of a software engineer would be pretty good. And it’s not too bad, at least when they have some experience under your belt.

The average salary of a software engineer is $86,157. The lower end of the market makes roughly about $65,000 per year, while the more experienced professionals make around $113,000 annually.

We have found that the higher end of the pay scale tends to occur in Washington, California, New York, Oregon, and Nevada, where software engineers make more. The fields that tend to pay the best would be telecommunications, technology, and finance companies.

Education Requirements for Software Engineers

Some people are simply gifted in technology and have an innate understanding of software and tech. They might even be self-starters who create software for fun and have done it since their youth.

Some of these people don’t have advanced educations, but that is the exception and not the rule. Most people who are serious about becoming a software engineer have achieved a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in computer science or a related field.

Experience Requirements for Software Engineers

Software engineers can go right from college into the position they want, they should be qualified, but a few years of experience might be essential, depending on the company’s needs.

Many times, that experience can be found while studying or through internships. If you’re looking for a software developer, then these might be some of the requirements you may find important.

• Proficiency in Java or C++

• Object-oriented design skills

• Application architecture and design patterns

• Experience as a technical lead

• Having gone through a full software development lifecycle

• Detailed design experience

• Delivery and maintenance of software

• Experience in a specific field or design applications

This is where the job description for a software engineer can vary from one job opening to another. It depends on the level of skill the company needs and their software requirements.

Example Job Description for a Software Engineer

Now that you have a deeper understanding of the position, it’s time to take stock of what the company needs. Creating a company-specific job description can draw in a great fit for your company. To help you get started, the following sample software engineer job description can pave the way, and then you can fill in the specific details that apply to your company.

Final Thoughts

After collecting all of the information about your company’s needs from their software engineer and what qualifications you’d like them to have. It’s important to look at the company and define what type of person will fit within the company culture and contribute to the company as a whole.

This might take a team effort, or perhaps you’ve already defined the profile of your ideal players.

This information will help you craft a job description that is appealing and that targets the characteristics you want most. It will also help you wade through the applicants and select the ones who most closely match your ideal image of a candidate.

Author

Kristin Kizer

Kristin Kizer is an award-winning writer, television and documentary producer, and content specialist who has worked on a wide variety of written, broadcast, and electronic publications. A former writer/producer for The Discovery Channel, she is now a freelance writer and delighted to be sharing her talents and time with the wonderful Zippia audience.