Senior Software Development Engineer Jobs

Explore senior software development engineer jobs with Ladders, where you can find vetted professional opportunities paying $100,000 or more. Senior software development engineers design, build, and maintain complex software systems while helping teams deliver reliable, scalable products. Browse roles across industries, technologies, and levels of technical leadership.

What Senior Software Development Engineers Do

These experienced engineers translate product and business needs into robust technical solutions. Their work may include designing system architecture, writing and reviewing code, improving application performance, troubleshooting production issues, and guiding engineering teams through complex projects. Many roles also involve mentoring developers and partnering with product, design, security, and operations teams.

Skills and Experience Employers Seek

Employers commonly look for strong software design and programming experience, expertise in relevant languages and frameworks, and a record of delivering production systems. Depending on the role, useful qualifications may include cloud infrastructure, distributed systems, databases, API design, automated testing, DevOps practices, and security. Communication, technical judgment, and the ability to lead through influence are also important at the senior level.

Industries and Career Opportunities

Senior software development engineers work in technology, financial services, healthcare, e-commerce, media, and other sectors. Opportunities may focus on backend services, mobile or web applications, data platforms, infrastructure, machine learning systems, or developer tools. With experience, engineers can grow into staff or principal engineering roles, architecture positions, or engineering management.

Find Senior Software Development Engineer Jobs on Ladders

Use Ladders to search vetted professional openings with salaries of $100,000 or more. Compare roles by technology, industry, location, and scope, then focus on opportunities that match your experience and career goals.

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$88K - $154K *

Lead the charge in high-quality process design for complex industrial projects, collaborating across disciplines to ensure effective delivery from concept to detail, while driving execution in a dynam...

United StatesRemote

4 weeks ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Real Estate & Construction

$108K - $125K *

Champion innovative solutions as a Full Stack Engineer, delivering impactful features and enhancing systems across projects. Collaborate, design, and optimize applications with a focus on performance...

United StatesRemote

Reposted yesterday

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Healthcare

$135K - $160K *

Contribute to the vision and strategy of AI-powered products, managing their lifecycle and delivery. Leverage AI tools for decision-making and mentor fellow Product Managers to enhance team capabiliti...

New York, NYRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$135K - $160K *

Champion the vision and strategy for AI-powered products, driving their roadmap and delivery while mentoring peers. Leverage AI tools to enhance decision-making and product lifecycle management, ensur...

United StatesRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$120K - $145K *

Lead the development of a data catalog for AI consumption, ensuring quality and accessibility. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to onboard domains, manage readiness assessments, and drive align...

Utah, USRemote

6 days ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$150K - $175K *

Lead the charge in architecting and managing robust cloud platforms, driving modernization efforts, and automating infrastructure solutions for large-scale enterprises. Collaborate with top engineers...

RemoteRemote

1 week ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$200K - $275K *

Join a team that's scaling innovative distributed systems across our platform, shaping technical frameworks, and driving organizational growth while collaborating with talented engineers in a dynamic...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 3 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Finance & Insurance

$132K - $198K *

Elevate quality assurance practices by leading test strategy and execution for customer implementations. Collaborate with teams to enhance product quality, mitigate risks, and establish scalable testi...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 2 days ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Consumer Technology

$160K - $175K *

Pioneer secure, scalable backend solutions as a Senior Developer, integrating AI capabilities within AWS GovCloud. Collaborate across teams to enhance enterprise applications and ensure robust securit...

Arlington, VARemote

1 week ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Manufacturing & Automotive

$186K - $236K *

Lead the design and development of scalable payment solutions, shaping the future of money movement for small businesses. Collaborate cross-functionally to deliver resilient engineering solutions whil...

Washington, DCRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$85K - $130K *

Elevate your career by leading structural design projects, collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams to create innovative 3D models and drawings. Utilize advanced software to ensure high-quality del...

United StatesRemote

Today

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Technical Services

$153K - $166K *

Join a team that's shaping the future of AI governance in software development. As a Senior Engineer, you'll design policies and tools that ensure safe, effective use of AI coding agents, empowering d...

United StatesRemote

1 week ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Education, Government & Non-Profit

$120K - $145K *

Elevate application performance by leading the design and development of API proxies on the Google Apigee platform. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure robust integration services and ad...

RemoteRemote

Yesterday

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Business Services

$152K - $259K *

Transform security analysis by leading the development of a static analysis engine. Shape technical direction, mentor engineers, and drive initiatives that enhance code security and performance across...

RemoteRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$140K - $158K *

Partner with us to enhance design systems by building shared components and patterns. Collaborate with designers and engineers to create accessible, user-friendly interfaces that elevate product exper...

RemoteRemote

5 days ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Finance & Insurance

$132K - $264K *

Drive innovation by leading software development initiatives, mentoring teams, and delivering scalable, cloud-native solutions. Collaborate across functions to ensure alignment with business goals whi...

Bellevue, WARemote

1 week ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Retail & Consumer Goods

$168K - $240K *

Join us to define and deploy autonomous AI agents at scale, transforming cutting-edge LLM capabilities into reliable, high-availability products while mentoring a team of engineers and setting industr...

Seattle, WARemote

2 weeks ago

  •   11 - 15 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$133K - $223K *

Lead the design and operationalization of ML/AI solutions, ensuring production readiness and supportability. Collaborate with IT teams to solve business challenges and drive innovation through scalabl...

Reading, MARemote

Reposted yesterday

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Manufacturing & Automotive

$125K - $150K *

Drive platform architecture and strategy, owning scalable production environments. Lead cross-team collaboration, mentor engineers, and advocate for DevSecOps practices while solving complex technical...

United StatesRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$135K - $160K *

Champion modernization initiatives by designing and overseeing transformation solutions, integrating cutting-edge GenAI technology, and ensuring alignment with business objectives to drive impactful m...

United StatesRemote

Reposted 2 weeks ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Information Technology

$112K - $193K *

Shape the future of healthcare technology by leading software development initiatives, driving AI integration, and enhancing operational efficiency across multiple teams while maintaining hands-on cod...

Eden Prairie, MNRemote

4 days ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Healthcare

$93K - $139K *

Explore the intersection of technology and strategy as you drive complex, cross-functional initiatives. Collaborate with diverse teams to enhance project delivery, leveraging AI tools to optimize proc...

CanadaRemote

2 weeks ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Education, Government & Non-Profit

$150K - $180K *

Champion the development of an AI platform by leading a team to architect and build essential systems for AI-driven applications, ensuring reliability and scalability while collaborating with cross-fu...

RemoteRemote

3 weeks ago

  •   8 - 10 years exp.  •   Enterprise Technology

$80K - $95K *

Transform engineering productivity by developing and optimizing tools, modernizing workflows, and integrating automation within cloud platforms for enhanced operational efficiency...

New Hampshire, USRemote

Reposted yesterday

  •   Less than 5 years exp.  •   Manufacturing & Automotive

$96K - $154K *

Accelerate progress at our company by designing and building automated regression capabilities. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to enhance testing efficiency and reliability, ensuring faster r...

RemoteRemote

5 days ago

  •   5 - 7 years exp.  •   Finance & Insurance

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

  • What does a senior software development engineer do?question toggle

    A senior software development engineer designs, builds, tests, and maintains software systems. They often make architecture decisions, solve complex technical problems, review code, mentor teammates, and coordinate with other departments to deliver reliable products.

  • What qualifications are typically required for senior software development engineer jobs?question toggle

    Requirements vary, but employers generally seek substantial professional software engineering experience, proficiency in one or more programming languages, and a history of delivering production applications or systems. Familiarity with system design, cloud platforms, databases, testing, and technical leadership may also be expected.

  • How much do senior software development engineer jobs pay?question toggle

    Compensation depends on factors such as location, industry, experience, and technical specialty. Ladders focuses on vetted professional jobs paying $100,000 or more, including senior software development engineer opportunities.

  • What is the difference between a senior software engineer and a senior software development engineer?question toggle

    The titles often describe similar work, and employers may use them interchangeably. Responsibilities typically include designing and developing software, though the exact emphasis depends on the company and team.

  • What career paths can follow a senior software development engineer role?question toggle

    Experienced engineers may advance to staff or principal engineer, software architect, or other technical leadership positions. Those interested in people management may move into engineering manager or director roles.