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Software Engineer

Software Engineer Job Description

Candidates for a software engineer position should have broad information systems experience and strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills. They should be adept at programming and working in a team environment and possess excellent communication skills. They’re expected to quickly produce well-organized, optimized and documented source code. Most jobs require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in computer science, electrical engineering, computer engineering or a related discipline. Several years’ experience in specific programming languages, such as C#/C++, Java or .NET, depending on what the employer is using, also is valuable.

Typical software engineer duties:

Designing and creating engineering specifications for software programs and applicationsWorking with quality assurance to develop software test plansCollaborating with hardware engineers to assess and test hardware and software interactionImplementing a specific development methodologyDocumenting software specifications

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Salary for Software Engineer
109250 - 175500
Low
109250
The candidate is new to the role or has limited experience and is building necessary skills.
Mid
142000
The candidate has moderate experience in the role, meets most requirements or has equivalent transferable skills, and may also have relevant certifications.
High
175500
The candidate has extensive experience and advanced skills for the role, and may also have specialized certifications.
Projected salaries for related positions Job title Low Mid High Software Architect 140750 167000 199750 Software and Applications Manager 124750 156500 181500 DevOps Engineer 118000 145750 173750 Site Reliability Engineer 114250 140000 170500 QA Manager 97000 117500 140750 QA Automation Engineer 84250 102500 118750 QA Analyst 73500 89250 104500 Technical Writer – Technology 69250 87250 102250

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Our starting salary projections come from a rigorous, multistep process so that our numbers accurately reflect the marketplace. They are based on actual compensation for professionals Robert Half has matched with employers across the country and third-party job posting data from Textkernel that we use to independently validate the salary levels. Starting compensation—pay for someone new to a role—can vary significantly based on a candidate’s skills, experience and certifications, as well as other factors including industry, company size and revenue, and demand for the role. To reflect this variability, we report our salary data in three levels: low, mid and high.