Senior Software Developer Job Description: All Key Roles & Duties

Craft a targeted resume that will get past the ATS and impress a hiring manager.

It’s job-searching time, and dead-set on landing a Senior Software Developer role. The first thing you have to do is get your resume ready. 

That’s easy! You read a Senior Software Developer job description.

What is the function of a Senior Software Developer?

The short version is that you’ll analyze the company’s needs to build software that solves problems. The Senior part involves leading teams through software development projects, which means you’ll need a balanced mix of hard and soft skills. All of which you’ll find detailed in the Senior Software Developer job description. 

In order to ensure your professional resume will support your goals, use this Senior Software Developer job description to inform what you should highlight on your resume.

By reviewing job description examples, you’ll be able to identify what technical and soft skills, credentials, and work experience matter most to an employer in your target field.

Senior Software Developer Job Description

Determine and identify high-level functional and technical requirements on the basis of interactions with the user community and knowledge of enterprise architecture. Design architectures, including the software, hardware and communications, to support the total requirements, as well as to provide for present and future cross-functional requirements and interfaces.

Interact with project management to plan project schedules and technical direction. Provide quality assurance review and the evaluation of existing and new software products. Develop high-level system design diagrams for program design, coding, testing, debugging and documentation. Develop and implement moderate to complex web applications on one or more platforms.

Requirements:

• Has mentored junior software developers on design patterns, development best practices, and DevOps trade-offs

• Bachelor’s Degree in appropriate field of study or equivalent work experience

• Understand emerging web and mobile development models

• Experienced with all ancillary technologies necessary for Internet applications: HTTP, TCP/IP, POP/SMTP, etc.

• High-scalability projects involving cloud-based infrastructure design and implementation

• Working knowledge of object-oriented design and development skills

• Successful track record of developing quality software products and shipping production-ready software

• Good understanding of Web Services protocols such as REST, SOAP and API design for extensibility and portability

• Experience debugging distributed systems with high data loads

• Deep understanding of distributed data model

• Solid understanding of the Software as a Service (SaaS) model in the online environment

• Design, develop, and implement unit and scenario testing for the existing code base and for new functionality under development

• Experience with Scrum/Agile development methodologies

• Java/JEE, Spring, JSON, XML, REST, NoSQL Database(MongoDB, Cassandra), Distributed System, RDBMS, ePub3, MVC frameworks, Design Patterns, Javascript, JQuery, GWT, JSON

• Extensive knowledge of C# using Visual Studio using Webforms, MVC, and Entity Framework

• Ability to use version control software such as GIT and SVN

• Working knowledge of IIS

• Experience as an applications programmer on large-scale database management systems.

• Experience writing SQL queries for SQL Server or another Relational Database is required

• Knowledge of computer equipment and ability to develop complex software to satisfy design objectives.

• Experience in LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Python/Perl) and/or server-side Java programming with Web 1.0 MVC frameworks and experience in JEE technologies like Servlets, JSPs, EJBs, Web Services, JMS, JAXB.

Why is the job description such a big deal?

The first thing your resume goes through after you submit it to a job opening is the applicant tracking system. (Just a note: Some companies can pull a resume from an email directed at a person to run the resume through the ATS, too.) Because the resume is being scanned by a computer system before it gets to a human being, keywords have to become your best friend. 

Tailor your resume

Using the Senior Software Developer job description to extract keywords and phrases to include on your resume ensures that you’ll get past the ATS. This is called ‘tailoring your resume’ to the job. 

The boring part is that you want to use the language exactly as it appears in the job description so that the ATS will recognize that you possess the right skills and proficiencies. 

Senior Software Developer skills & proficiencies

To give you a jump start on dissecting ATS-friendly keywords and phrases from the Software Developer job description, here is a list that you can use.

• Teamwork

• Analyze User Needs

• Analytical Thinking

• Comfortable Writing and Analyzing SQL Queries

• Critical Thinking

• Document Application Process

• Troubleshooting

• Programming Experience

• Attention to Detail

• Backend Development

• Problem-Solving

• Verbal and Written Communication

• Software Design

Most of these, and probably others, will be easily found in almost all Senior Software Developer job descriptions. They may be worded differently though. For example, ‘analytical thinking’ may be coined ‘critical thinking.’ When you use the phrase ‘critical thinking’ in your resume, you’re tailoring it to the job at hand. 

How to dissect a Senior Software Developer job description

By aligning your resume with the specific responsibilities and requirements of the job description, you can effectively demonstrate that you are a strong candidate for the position.

If you refer to the sample job description in this article, you’ll find that there are several responsibilities and qualifications that need to make it onto your new resume:

For example:

• Interact with project management for scheduling and technical direction.

• Quality assurance review of software products.

• Development of high-level system design diagrams.

• Implementation of complex web applications on multiple platforms.

The keywords from these bullets would be: 

• Project management

• Scheduling

• Technical direction

• Quality assurance

• Software products

• System design diagrams

• Complex web applications

• Multiple platforms

By using these keywords in your resume, you align your qualifications and experiences with the job description, making it more likely to catch the attention of hiring managers and pass through ATS.

Use keywords throughout your resume

As you are probably aware, your resume will have a particular structure with information from your career broken into sections:

• Contact information

• Headline

• Profile paragraph

• Core competencies

• Work history 

• Education

Technically speaking, you can weave keywords from the Senior Software Developer job description anywhere in your resume if they make sense. A lot of people will make the mistake of cramming a bunch of keywords into the skills section (a/k/a Core Competencies) and calling it a day. This is a mistake. 

Instead, you need to integrate them naturally into various sections. Here’s how you can incorporate the keywords in a structured manner:

1. Headline

Create a headline that includes relevant keywords to quickly convey your qualifications. 

Example:

Senior Software Developer with Expertise in Project Management, Quality Assurance, and Complex Web Applications

2. Profile Paragraph

Use the profile paragraph to provide a concise summary of your experience and skills, incorporating key terms.

Example:

Seasoned Senior Software Developer with over 10 years of experience in interacting with project management for scheduling and technical direction, conducting quality assurance reviews of software products, and developing high-level system design diagrams. Proven track record of implementing complex web applications on multiple platforms. Adept at mentoring junior developers and ensuring the delivery of high-quality, scalable software solutions.

3. Core Competencies

List your core skills and competencies using keywords from the job description.

Example:

• Project Management

• Scheduling and Technical Direction

• Quality Assurance

• Software Product Evaluation

• High-Level System Design

• Complex Web Applications

• Multi-Platform Development

• Cloud-Based Infrastructure

• Object-Oriented Design

• Web Services (REST, SOAP)

• Distributed Systems

• SaaS Model

• Agile/Scrum Methodologies

4. Work History

Detail your professional experience, making sure to quantify achievements using relevant keywords. This will help you stand out from even the largest crowd of rival job seekers. 

Example: 

Senior Software Developer at XYZ Corp January 2016 – Present

• Interacted with project management to plan project schedules and technical direction, ensuring alignment with overall strategic goals.
• Conducted comprehensive quality assurance reviews of existing and new software products, leading to a 20% reduction in post-release defects.
• Developed high-level system design diagrams for program design, coding, testing, debugging, and documentation, resulting in streamlined development processes.
• Implemented complex web applications on multiple platforms, enhancing user experience and performance.

5. Education

You can even use relevant keywords in your education section, especially if you have pertinent certifications.

Example: 

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science University of Technology 

Certifications:

By strategically incorporating keywords throughout your resume, you ensure that your qualifications are clearly aligned with the job description, improving your chances of catching the attention of hiring managers and passing through ATS filters.

Land your dream job of Senior Software Developer

The key to a successful job search is tailoring your resume to reflect the specific roles and duties outlined in the Senior Software Developer job description. By doing so, you increase your chances of not only passing the ATS but also capturing the interest of hiring managers, ultimately moving one step closer to securing your desired role.

Want to make sure your resume makes the cut? TopResume will review it against Senior Software Developer job descriptions for you for free. Not only do you get the free resume review, but you’ll also get expert feedback from a pro resume writer. 

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