Software engineer job description: template and real figures
A template for hiring a software engineer, with what employers in today’s 4,881 open postings for this work ask for and offer. Copy it, fill in the brackets, then post the job free.
- Open postings today
- 4,881
- Experience asked, median
- 5 years
- Postings that state pay
- 63%
- Median advertised pay
- $222K
- Open to remote work
- 20%
Software Engineer [Company] · [City, or Remote and the countries it is open to] · [Full-time] About us [Two sentences: what the company does, for whom, and one number that shows where it is now.] About the role Our Software Engineer writes and maintains the code a product is made of. You will report to [manager’s title] and work with [team]. What you will do - [The most important result of the first year, with a number] - Code review: [what this means in your team] - System design: [what this means in your team] - Automated testing: [what this means in your team] - [One more duty that is specific to this job] What we are looking for - [5]+ years of experience as a software engineer - Experience with Python - Experience with Go - Experience with Kubernetes - Experience with Java - [One or two must-haves that are specific to this job] Pay and benefits - Pay range: $[lowest] – $[highest] a year, [plus equity or bonus if any] - Parental leave - Equity - Learning budget - [Paid time off, health cover and the rest of your benefits] How to apply [What to send, the interview steps and how long they take. Name the date you will reply by.]
What today’s software engineer postings say
| Experience asked | Median 5 years; the middle half ask 3–7 years (3,079 postings name a number) |
|---|---|
| Pay advertised | $188K – $268K for the middle half; median $222K (2,649 postings with a yearly US-dollar range) |
| Skills named most | Python (46%), Go (30%), Kubernetes (28%), Java (27%) |
| Benefits named most | Parental leave (34%), Equity (23%), Learning budget (4%) |
| Most common level | Senior (34% of postings) |
| Titles employers use | Senior Software Engineer, Staff Software Engineer, Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer, Backend, Principal Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer - Backend |
Counted from the 4,881 open postings for this work on Nov 14, 2026, read from employers’ own careers pages. Recounted on every update.
Questions about hiring a software engineer
- What should a software engineer job description include?
- What the person will achieve in the first year, the duties, the must-have experience, the pay range and how the hiring steps work. For this work, today’s postings name Python, Go, Kubernetes most often.
- Should a software engineer job posting show the salary?
- Yes, if you can: 63% of today’s 4,881 open software engineer postings here do. A range filters out people who would turn the offer down, and several US states and EU countries now require it.
- How many years of experience should I ask for?
- The median in today’s software engineer postings is 5 years. Ask for what the work needs: every extra year you require shrinks the pool of applicants.
Everything about software engineer work
See also: 4,881 open software engineer jobs · software engineer pay · how to hire a software engineer · all job description templates