This software engineer job description is a starting point you can copy, edit and post today, for free. It's written the way engineers read posts: stack first, real work second, no wish list of 15 languages. Further down you'll find what the job involves at different company sizes, 2025 U.S. salary data from O*NET, and questions for the first interview.
Software engineer job description template
What a software engineer does
Writing code is the center of the job, but it's rarely more than half of the week. A typical software engineer also reads other people's code in reviews, writes or comments on design docs, debugs a production issue, talks with a product manager about scope, and updates tests that broke for reasons nobody expected. O*NET's task list for Software Developers frames it the same way: analyzing user needs, modifying existing software to fix errors or improve performance, conferring with other engineers on design, and reporting on project status.
Engineers work daily with product managers, designers and QA, and with other engineering teams whose services they depend on. More senior engineers spend more time on design, mentoring and cross-team decisions, and less on individual tickets.
At a startup, a software engineer is often full-stack by necessity: they ship a feature, set up the deploy pipeline, answer a customer bug and pick the database, sometimes in the same week. Speed matters and process is light. At a large company, engineers usually go deeper in one area, such as a single service or platform, with more formal code review, design review and on-call practices. The right candidate for one setting can struggle in the other, so be specific about which you are.
Skills and qualifications
Most software engineering jobs list a bachelor's degree. In O*NET's survey for Software Developers, 85% of respondents said new hires need a bachelor's degree, 5% said an associate's degree and 5% said a master's. No license or certification is required, and many teams now accept equivalent experience in place of a degree, which widens the pool without lowering the bar.
Salary
O*NET's matching occupation is Software Developers (15-1252.00). Its list of reported job titles includes Software Engineer, so this is a direct match, though it covers every level from new grad to staff. Based on 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, the U.S. median is $135,980 a year ($65.38 an hour). The 10th percentile is $82,460 and the 90th percentile is $214,670.
These are base wages and don't include equity or bonuses, which can be a large part of pay at tech companies. Location matters too: O*NET shows a California median of $174,410. Post your range by level, because a growing number of states and cities require pay ranges in job ads, and engineers compare offers closely.
Interview questions for software engineer candidates
- "Walk me through a bug you chased that took more than a day." Strong answers show a method: reproduce, narrow down, form a hypothesis, test it, then add a test so it can't come back.
- "An endpoint got 10x slower after a deploy. Where do you look?" Listen for checking what changed in the deploy, then metrics and traces, then database queries (a missing index or an N+1 pattern) before guessing.
- "When would you choose a queue over a direct API call between two services?" Good candidates talk about decoupling, retries and spikes in load, and also the cost: harder debugging and eventual consistency.
- "Tell me about a code review where you disagreed with a teammate." Look for a STAR story about evidence, compromise and keeping the relationship intact.
- "How would you design a URL shortener for a few million links a day?" For senior roles. Strong answers start with requirements and scale, then the data model, then caching and failure cases.
Our full software engineer interview questions page has 20+ questions with model answers and a scoring rubric. For senior hires, add a round from our system design interview questions.
Writing tips for this role
- Cut the language wish list. Asking for six languages and four frameworks tells candidates you don't know what the job is. Name your main stack and say you'll teach the rest.
- Drop the computer science degree requirement. Plenty of strong engineers came through bootcamps, other sciences or self-teaching. "Degree or equivalent experience" keeps them in.
- Say the level plainly. "Senior" means different things at different companies. Describe the scope (owns a service, leads projects, mentors others) so candidates can self-select.
- Describe on-call honestly. How often, how many pages a week on average, and whether it's paid or comped. Engineers ask about this early.
- Show the interview process in the post. Engineers often skip companies with long or unclear loops. Our job description guide covers what else belongs in the post.
Screening software engineer candidates with AI
Engineering teams lose many hours to first-round calls that could have been structured once and run the same way for everyone. NTRVSTA's AI interviewer runs that first round live, as a video avatar or audio only, and candidates take it on their own schedule. The questions adapt to each answer, so difficulty rises for a strong candidate and eases for one who is struggling. The exam library includes Java, Python, C++, JavaScript and more, plus frameworks such as React and Node.js, and system design interviews come with an interactive whiteboard. A hint system lets you see how a candidate takes guidance.
Your engineers get a score breakdown, video snippets of key moments and a shareable report before they spend time on the onsite. Our roundup of AI interview software compares NTRVSTA with other tools if you want to see the alternatives.
Questions
What's the difference between a software engineer and a software developer?
In most job posts, nothing. The titles are used interchangeably, and O*NET lists Software Engineer as a reported title under Software Developers. Some companies use "engineer" to signal more design and systems work. Pick the title your competitors use for similar roles, since that's what candidates search for.
Should a software engineer job description list years of experience?
A rough range helps candidates judge the level, but describe the scope too. Two engineers with five years can be at very different levels. Writing "owns features end to end and reviews others' designs" says more than a number.
How long should a software engineer interview process take?
Aim for two to three weeks from first interview to offer, with three or four stages. Strong engineers often have several processes going at once, and long loops lose them to faster teams.
Curious how an adaptive AI first round would screen your engineering pipeline? Book a 20-minute demo, or run a sample interview yourself. Hiring for data roles as well? See our data scientist job description.
