Senior Software Engineer Job Description, Duties, Salary and More

What is a Senior Software Engineer?

Like all software engineers, Senior Software Engineers use their programming skills to create and maintain the programming that allows computers to work. This code may be used to drive mobile, desktop, web, or other types of applications. In addition to this, as senior team members management becomes part of the job description. They're depended on to serve as project leads, determining the best methods for meeting design objectives and coordinating the efforts of other engineers. Compared to a typical software engineer, a Senior Software Engineer's resume usually includes a combination of extra years of experience, advanced technical skills in programming, and the ability to manage others.

What are the usual duties and responsibilities of a Senior Software Engineer?

Typical tasks performed by a Senior Software Engineer may include:

• Develop software based on product objectives and/or specific design documents.
• Recommend roadmaps for meeting coding objectives and estimate the resources necessary to fulfill them.
• Create software documentation that will allow future developers to understand the workings of the code.
• Support, maintain, and augment existing codebases.
• Recommend ways to streamline existing code and make other improvements.
• Coordinate efforts with project managers, quality assurance, company management, product support, and other departments.
• Recruit and train new engineering staff.
• Coordinate and manage other software engineers.

What is the average Senior Software Engineer salary?

Indeed.com reports that the average annual salary for a Senior Software Engineer in the United States is $122,620.

Glassdoor.com reports the average annual base pay for Senior Software Engineers at about $121,985 per year, with an estimated total pay of $137,352. They estimate that the average total pay usually ranges between $108k and $185k per year. Though it's not an entry-level position, they estimate total compensation for new Senior Software Engineers in their first year of experience to average around $120,403 per year.

These numbers will vary based on locale, experience, the type of employer, and other factors.

Top Cities to work in as a Senior Software Engineer

While by no means a comprehensive or definitive list, Indeed.com reports some of the highest salaries for Senior Software Engineer jobs in the following cities. Also included is the cost of living index and city populations as reported by Numbeo and World Population Review.

San Francisco, CA

Average Senior Software Engineer salary in San Fransisco, CA: $151,188 per year (based on 174 reported salaries).

Cost of living index: 76.58

Population: 480,871

San Diego, CA

Average Senior Software Engineer salary in San Diego, CA: $141,896 per year (based on 234 reported salaries).

Cost of living index: 78.81

Population: 1,429,650

Austin, TX

Average Senior Software Engineer salary in Austin, TX: $137,769 per year (based on 331 reported salaries).

Cost of living index: 69.94

Population: 1,028,220

Redmond, WA

Average Senior Software Engineer salary in Redmond, WA: $137,762 per year (based on 21 reported salaries).

Cost of living index: Not Listed

Population: 85,408

Seattle, WA

Average Senior Software Engineer salary in Seattle, WA: $136,827 per year (based on 176 reported salaries).

Cost of living index: 89.13

Population: 787,995

San Jose, CA

Average Senior Software Engineer salary in San Joae, CA: $135,797 per year (based on 73 reported salaries).

Cost of living index: 80.40

Population: 1,003,120

New York, NY

Average Senior Software Engineer salary in New York, NY: $128,630 per year (based on 452 reported salaries).

Cost of living index: 100

Population: 8,177,020

Atlanta, GA

Average Senior Software Engineer salary in Atlanta, GA: $126,422 per year (based on 259 reported salaries).

Cost of living index: 74.29

Population: 532,695

Chicago, IL

Average Senior Software Engineer salary in Chicago, IL: $124,514 per year (based on 263 reported salaries).

Cost of living index: 77.21

Population: 2,671,640

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