The Software Engineer (SE-2) is a experienced role for developers who have established a solid technical foundation and are ready to take on more complex tasks with greater independence. At this tier, engineers are expected to deliver medium-sized features end-to-end, contribute to technical discussions, and begin mentoring junior team members. SE-2 engineers play a crucial role in ensuring the quality and scalability of the software they develop while collaborating effectively within a team.
This role marks a transition from learning to contributing independently, with a growing focus on ownership, problem-solving, and collaboration.
Requirements
Key Responsibilities
- Independently design, develop, and deliver medium-sized features and components.
- Troubleshoot and resolve moderately complex bugs, performance issues, and technical challenges.
- Contribute to code reviews, providing detailed and constructive feedback to peers and junior engineers.
- Follow and improve team coding standards, best practices, and software development workflows.
- Write and maintain comprehensive unit tests and contribute to improving overall code coverage.
- Document solutions, processes, and technical decisions for clarity and future reference.
- Participate in technical discussions and contribute ideas for solving project challenges and improving processes.
- Collaborate effectively with Tech Leads, product managers, designers, and QA engineers to clarify requirements and ensure feature delivery.
- Mentor and assist junior engineers (SE-1 and Interns), helping them improve their coding and debugging skills.
- Learn and apply new technologies, tools, and frameworks as required by the team or project.
Skills & Qualifications
- Proficiency in at least one programming language (e.g., JavaScript, Python, C#).
- Solid understanding of software development concepts:
- Data structures and algorithms.
- Debugging and problem-solving techniques.
- Write clean, maintainable, and efficient code following SOLID principles and team best practices.
- Experience working with relational and/or NoSQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MongoDB).
- Practical experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, or GCP).
- Experience implementing and maintaining CI/CD workflows (e.g., GitHub Actions).
- Familiarity with Agile methodologies (e.g., Scrum, Kanban) and tools like Jira, Azure DevOps.
- Understanding of RESTful APIs, HTTP protocols, and basic architectural patterns.
- Experience with version control systems, particularly Git.
- 2–4 years of professional experience as a software developer.
- Strong communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
- Exposure to front-end frameworks like React or Vue.js or Angular.
Additional Skills (Nice to Have)
- Experience optimizing software for performance, scalability, and reliability.
- Familiarity with containerization tools like Docker or orchestration tools like Kubernetes.
- Basic knowledge of security best practices for software development.
- Contributions to open-source projects or personal coding projects.
- Experience with React Native and mobile application development in general.
Career Path Recommendations
For SE-2 engineers aiming to advance to SE-3 (Senior Software Engineer), we recommend:
- Taking ownership of increasingly complex and critical projects.
- Developing deeper expertise in system design, architecture, and scalability.
- Expanding proficiency with cloud platforms, CI/CD, and performance optimization.
- Contributing to technical decision-making and mentoring junior team members more actively.
Evaluation Metrics
Managers will evaluate SE-2 engineers based on:
- Ability to deliver features with quality and growing autonomy.
- Proficiency with databases, cloud platforms, and CI/CD tools.
- Consistency in adhering to team processes, Agile practices, and coding standards.
- Effective collaboration with Tech Leads, peers, and stakeholders.
- Mentoring contributions and ability to help junior engineers grow.