10 Essential Software Engineer Skills

A software engineer is a technical position focusing on designing, developing, and maintaining software applications using engineering practices. Software engineers build software that solves problems for end users during every stage of development, including design, development, testing, maintenance, quality control, and retirement.  

Software engineer is a technical job that requires you to possess a range of software development skills, programming and coding knowledge, relevant technical abilities, and workplace skills essential for working with others. Discover ten technical engineering skills you can hone to help you get started in this exciting career.

Core competencies and software engineer skills

To make a start as a software engineer, ensure you develop the core competencies for this position. A software engineer job has a solid grounding in computer programming, the ability to write code, an understanding of the software development life cycle, and the skills to debug and troubleshoot. 

1. Proficiency in programming languages

Programming is a big part of your software engineer role, and your proficiency in a number of programming languages will allow you to select the one that is most suitable for each project and application. The programming languages you choose to learn might depend on your interests and the needs of your employer. Examples of programming languages essential for software engineering include:

• Java

• JavaScript

• Python

• C++

• C#

• CSS

• SQL

• R

• HTML

2. Software development life-cycle knowledge

Working in software engineering means you’ll have an excellent understanding of the software development life cycle, which is a map of the tasks you’ll need to complete a software product or application. As a software engineer, you’ll be involved in every stage of the cycle, so it’s essential that you understand each one:

• Strategy: Gathering information from users, customers, and stakeholders; completing cost-benefit analysis; and creating a schedule

• Design: Analyzing requirements and creating a software design from scratch or integrating preexisting modules and using existing IT infrastructure

• Development/Implementation: Implementing the design stage by writing the code necessary for developing a product or software application 

• Testing: Using automation and manual testing to check for any bugs in the software and to ensure the product meets the requirements

• Deployment: Rolling out the code to users in the production and monitoring changes as you deploy it to users

• Maintenance: Fixing any bugs, security issues, and customer issues as a way to make any necessary improvements 

3. Debugging and troubleshooting skills

Debugging and troubleshooting are a big part of your role as a software engineer, and these skills are used in operation at several stages of the software development life cycle. You’ll use debugging to help catch any errors in your code. Specialist software will help you pick up any errors and then trace them back so you can troubleshoot and determine which code is at fault. 

Technical skills

Software engineering is a technical profession that requires a good grasp of frameworks and libraries, database management, and version control systems. These aid your ability to develop and maintain the code you produce for products and software applications. 

4. Familiarity with frameworks and libraries

As a software engineer, software frameworks and libraries are integral to your work, and you’ll want to have a working understanding of both to enhance your code quality and reduce your development time. A software framework is the structure of components you already have that you can reuse to create new applications. These might be APIs, which allow software to communicate; compilers, for converting source code; and debugging tools. A library is a collection of components that you can use within your code.

5. Understanding of database management

Databases help you organize and store information that’s important to the applications you build. You’ll want a solid understanding of how to search databases, add data, and implement system updates. You’ll also be responsible for ensuring the information stored on databases is secure and backed up.

6. Experience with source control systems

Source control, or version control systems, are tools to help you track changes and updates to the code you write. They take snapshots of the changes you make so you can recall them later. This prevents you from having to save multiple versions of your code, which can get confusing and may cause you to make mistakes. You’ll want to develop your experience with version control to create workflows, helping you to work collaboratively with others in your team.

Problem-solving and analytical skills

Developing strong software engineering skills relies on your ability to problem solve and apply analytical thinking, which includes troubleshooting, debugging, designing code to solve real-world problems, and understanding algorithm design. Honing your problem-solving skills is important preparation for a role as a software engineer.

7. Algorithm design

An algorithm is a list of instructions necessary to achieve a task. In software engineering, you know a range of algorithms to sort, search, and display information, and you can determine which ones to use for different tasks. You may also develop skills in machine learning to add to algorithm development.

8. Critical thinking in software design

When designing software, critical thinking is key to helping you find the cause of a problem and to develop ways to solve it. Critical thinking is an essential skill in a technical role and is highly valuable for understanding a problem, designing applications, writing code and software, testing, and debugging.

Communication skills

Essential software engineer skills go beyond the technical, with workplace skills playing an important part in successfully operating in this position. Communication skills are integral to your performance as you use them daily to collaborate with team members, customers, and stakeholders, and when documenting software specifications.

9. Collaborating with cross-functional teams

As a software engineer, you’ll likely be part of a team that includes software developers, designers, project managers, and quality assurance professionals. To work effectively with others in your team, you’ll want to have the confidence to speak about potential problems and present your ideas to solve them while maintaining positive relationships with your team. You’ll also want to adapt your communication style to any situation, actively listen and ask questions, and give and respond to feedback.

10. Documenting software specifications

In addition to having excellent verbal communication skills, as a software engineer, you’ll want to develop strong written communication skills. You’ll need to document software specifications and code in a way that colleagues can understand and use and translate complex technical concepts into information that a stakeholder or customer can more easily understand. 

How to gain more software engineering skills

Technology is constantly evolving, and to keep up with trends and developments, it’s important to continually upgrade your skills. Whether you are already in a software engineer job or still at the start of your career, you’ll find several ways to achieve this:

Self learning: Read books in your field or take online courses.

Get certified: In addition to academic study, earning a certification or Professional Certificate relevant to your industry or participating in a boot camp can help boost your resume.

Network: Attend seminars and workshops where you can meet other industry professionals. Join technical forums and take on side projects to bolster your portfolio.

Putting your software engineer skills into practice

Experience is an important factor to take into account as you assess job opportunities. If you are at the start of your career, it’s a good idea to build your experience through internships and entry-level positions. Working in the industry can also offer you opportunities to network with people who can help you gain further experience.

Documenting your software engineer skills and experience is helpful when applying for jobs. Consider putting together a portfolio detailing your work experience, personal projects, and examples of your coding work.

Excel in software engineering with Coursera

Software engineering is a technical career combining skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and technical abilities relating to algorithm design, coding, and database management. If you’d like to advance as a software engineer, consider upgrading your skills with an online course or Professional Certificate. Check out the IBM Full Stack Software Developer Professional Certificate or the IBM Back-end JavaScript Developer Professional Certificate, both available on Coursera.