Hiring software engineers

Your guide to finding and hiring the right person for your organization

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Job description

How to write a software engineer job description

Finding a qualified software engineer begins with the job description. The best job post is thorough and succinct and clearly conveys expectations for the role, along with relevant information about the company. Be sure to give potential candidates a good idea of what to expect if hired, and how their work will contribute to the company’s long-term success.

Software engineer job description template

This sample job post will introduce your organization’s culture and values, while helping potential candidates understand how they’ll contribute from Day 1.

Sample software engineer job description

At [Company X], our technology solves problems. We’ve established the company as a leading developer of innovative software solutions, and we’re looking for a highly skilled software engineer to join our program and network design team. The ideal candidate will have expert knowledge of software development processes, along with solid experience in testing and evaluating current networking systems. This person should be highly motivated in finding technical issues and fixing them with meticulous code.

Objectives of this role

Enhance existing platform and network capabilities to handle massive growth, enabling new insights and products based on data via self-serve computing, reporting solutions, and interactive querying
Visualize, design, and develop innovative software platforms as we continue to experience growth in the usage and visibility of our products
Create scalable software platforms and applications, as well as efficient networking solutions, that are unit tested, code reviewed, and checked regularly for continuous integration
Examine existing systems for flaws and create solutions that improve service uptime and time-to-resolve through monitoring and automated remediation
Plan and execute full software development lifecycle for each assigned project, adhering to company standards and expectations

Responsibilities

Design and build tools and frameworks to automate the development, testing, deployment, and management of services and products
Plan and scale distributed software and applications, using synchronous and asynchronous design patterns, writing code, and delivering with urgency and quality
Collaborate with global team to produce project plans and analyze the efficiency and feasibility of project operations, leveraging global technology stack and making localized improvements
Track, document, and maintain software and network system functionality, and leverage any opportunity to improve engineering
Focus on creating software and networking platforms that are free of faulty programming, and continuously keep developers in step without compromising site reliability
Work with product managers and user-experience designers to influence the strategy and delivery of next-wave product features and system capabilities

Required skills and qualifications

Five or more years of experience as engineer of software and networking platforms
Seven or more years of experience (professional and academic) with Java, Python, and C++
Proven ability to document design processes, including development, testing, analytics, and troubleshooting
Experience with rapid development cycles in a web-based environment
Strong ability in scripting and test automation
Desire to continue professional growth through training and education

Preferred skills and qualifications

Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in software engineering or information technology
Working knowledge of relational databases as well as ORM and SQL technologies
Proficiency with HTML5, CSS3, and content management systems
Web application development experience with multiple frameworks, including Wicket, GWT, and Spring MVC