Top 10 software engineer jobs & who's hiring

Are you a software engineer on the hunt for new opportunities or an aspiring developer looking for a place to make your mark in the tech world? If so, you’ve come to the right place.

Software engineers — the people responsible for creating our digital world — take on many roles. They create the software that powers the applications you use daily and help build the infrastructure that keeps them running.

And with so much growth in the software industry — with an expected 26% growth in the next ten years — it’s a great choice for people looking for stable careers.

Whether you’re looking for Perl jobs, PHP jobs, Ruby jobs, Python jobs, QA jobs, or machine learning jobs, there are many roles you can take on that will help you improve your skills and make an impact in the tech world. This guide will cover the top software engineer jobs available.

So, buckle up, and let’s look at your top choices.

1. Full-stack engineer

Average salary: $95,345 per year

A full-stack engineer is a software professional who designs, tests, and implements software applications. They don’t focus on a single area such as front-end or back-end development. Instead, they take part in the entire software development process.

Having the right technical skills is crucial for this role. You’ll need to understand programming languages for every part of the application. These skills include HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript for the front end. It also includes Python, PHP, and Ruby for the back end.

Many full-stack engineering jobs require a bachelor’s degree in computer science or software engineering — with entry-level and senior full-stack engineering positions available.

2. Sales engineer

Average salary: $75,716 per year

Sales engineers combine a deep knowledge of technical topics with sales savvy to sell technology services. Their duties vary from creating technical presentations, discussing product needs with customers, and generating leads for tech businesses.

Since the sales engineer’s goal is to make sales, they need to be great with people. They must be able to distill complex information into easy-to-understand presentations and connect it with the problems someone has.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all path to a sales engineer. Some sales engineers have technical backgrounds with computer science degrees, while others have marketing and sales backgrounds.

In either case, you’ll likely need experience with your product or experience in marketing to land a sales engineer job — which means you’ll need some work experience before landing this role.

3. Senior software engineer

Average salary: $124,326 per year

Senior software engineers lead the development process of applications. They are deeply involved in designing, developing, and implementing software products.

Senior engineers are software experts with several years of experience. They must understand how to develop software in business environments and be able to adapt to changes to meet changing demands. They also work with business leaders to develop program requirements and manage change.

Developing the skills for the senior software engineering role can take at least five years. Additionally, senior engineers often have degrees in computer science and other relevant degrees.

4. DevOps engineer

Average salary: $102,432 per year

DevOps engineers play a key role in keeping software online. They bridge the gap between software developers and IT operations — helping maintain the IT operations that keep software online for customers.

The ultimate goal of a DevOps professional is to automate and streamline IT operations. To do this, they must understand software development, system administration, networking, monitoring, and scripting. Additionally, they may use DevOps services like Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure.

Because of the level of knowledge required for this work, DevOps jobs aren’t usually entry-level roles. It requires a few years in IT with software development, or IT work.

5. iOS or Android software engineer

Average salary: $99,406 per year

iOS and Android developers create applications for mobile devices. They focus on Apple and/or Android ecosystems to build, maintain, and update apps for those devices.

To be a mobile developer, you need to understand the programming languages these applications are built in. For example, iOS developers may need to be familiar with Object-C, Swift, or Cocoa. Android developers might need to know Java, Kotlin, or the Android SDK. And if you use cross-platform environments, you should know frameworks like Ionic, Flutter, and React Native.

There are entry-level and senior-level positions available for iOS and Android engineers, but you’ll need a degree in software engineering, a related field, or relevant experience developing mobile applications.

6. Software developer

Average salary: $76,401 per year

Software developers create computer software. They research design patterns, learn algorithms, and write programming code to bring software ideas to life.

You can expect to collaborate with other team members such as engineering managers, user interface designers, and other software developers. You’ll use your knowledge of programming languages and software architecture to build software based on specific requirements, such as accessibility features.

Getting a software development engineer job typically starts with getting a bachelor’s degree in computer science or software engineering. At that point, you can get an entry-level job and transition to a mid- to senior-level role once you have enough experience.

7. Systems engineer

Average salary: $85,424 per year

Systems engineers watch over all the technical aspects of an organization to ensure efficient and effective operations across its systems and infrastructure. They handle everything from hardware management to software installation and troubleshooting as well as designing, implementing, and managing vital business systems.

For this role, you’ll need problem-solving skills and a deep understanding of technical systems to create solutions. You’ll also need excellent communication skills to communicate with different departments to understand their needs and implement viable resolutions.

Since this role requires a deep technical understanding, it isn’t usually an entry-level role. Many organizations require at least five years of relevant technical and project management experience. You could start working as a system administrator to gain relevant experience.

8. Machine learning engineer

Average salary: $114,417 per year

These engineers design and develop applications that learn from data. They create machine learning algorithms, gather data sets, and run experiments on that data. They work with proprietary and open-source solutions to run these tools for their machine learning applications.

Some key things machine learning engineers should know are how to work with data structures, data modeling, and software architecture. They need to have good analytical and communication skills to work with stakeholders so they can understand their needs and requirements to develop the solutions that align with their goals.

Machine learning jobs usually require a degree in data science or computer science. Jobs in the field also require experience and want candidates to show relevant machine learning projects or past work experience.

9. Site reliability engineer (SRE)

Average salary: $120,225 per year

Site reliability engineers (SREs) are responsible for monitoring and maintaining an organization’s IT infrastructure. They must have a deep understanding of coding, databases, deployment pipelines, and overall IT infrastructure. They often act as intermediaries, striking a balance between maintaining reliability and introducing new application features.

Many site reliability engineers start their careers with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related field. They then work as developers and IT professionals until they have the skill to take on this role — often after gaining at least two years of experience.

10. Automation engineer

Average salary: $81,841 per year

This type of engineer works to increase the efficiency of business systems by automating processes and decreasing the need for manual tasks. But this isn’t always a software engineering role; automation engineers also work on hardware to improve the efficiency of physical systems.

An automation engineer must understand scripting, programming, testing, and deployment. Many automation jobs also use AI today to handle tasks where there may not be clear rules. Automation jobs today often require a bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, electrical engineering, or a similar discipline and at least one year of experience working with automation.

Who’s hiring software engineers on Handshake?

Your software engineering job awaits

Software engineering is a rewarding career that gives you the ability to build better products for the world. The great thing about the field is that there isn’t a single way to get into it — as seen by the ten different types of jobs above.

Whether you want to get in on the ground floor of a startup working full-time or start a part-time career while in school, plenty of opportunities are available to you. Take the first step toward your software career with Handshake, where you can explore your job options and set up job alerts so that you never miss one.

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Top 10 software engineer jobs & who's hiring