Explained by Experts: 18 Types of Software Developer Roles

The software development area is constantly changing. Every few months, new areas of expertise, technology, and methodology appear, which are forged by the unremitting innovation of the software industry. Consequently, new types of software developer roles and careers appear.

There are many types of software engineer roles in different engineering functions and, unfortunately, there is no universally accepted classification, terminology, or industry glossary yet. Job descriptions and required skills can differ from one software development company to another.

The article was extended with the 18th type of software developer: an AI engineer.

Our team made an attempt to systematize software development careers in the table below.

18 Types of Software Developer Roles

1. Front-End Developers

Front-end developers specialize in the visual user interface, aesthetics, and layout. They create web applications, websites, and app interfaces: for example, a front-end developer can build the interface of a complex eCommerce website or an Android or iOS app. Their role focuses on human-computer interaction and design. Their skills include user experience (UX) design, CSS, JavaScript, HTML, and UI frameworks.

There are two main types of front-end developers:

• Markup developers are those who work on more or less simple interfaces using HTML, CSS, and simple JavaScript.
• Frontend app developers are those who create complex frontend interfaces including the ones with business logic using more advanced technologies like ReactJS.

You may also like our previous article:

What is Software Development?

2. Backend (Server-Side) Developer

Backend developers specialize in the design, implementation, functional logic, and performance of systems. The backend of the website consists of servers, applications, and databases, and server-side developers help build and maintain these components. By doing so, they enable the user-facing side of the website to exist. Backend developers are also responsible for API development. Their development skills are .NET, Ruby, Java, C++, Python, Scala, and others.

3. Full-Stack Developer

Full-stack developers are responsible for both the front-end and back-end work of the application. They have the skills needed to create fully functional software. The skills of full-stack developers will include a combination of front-end and back-end developers. A full-stack developer role is one of the high-demand software development jobs.

4. Middle-Tier Developer

This is a developer who writes non-UI code that runs in the browser and often talks to non-core code that runs on the server. Usually, the middle layer is the “pipe” of the system. The term “middle-tier developer” is used to describe someone who does not specialize in front-end or back-end but can take care of both at the same time, without being a full-stack developer.

5. Mobile Developers

Mobile developers write code for iOS and Android applications. Mobile developers understand mobile operating systems and the environments and frameworks used to create software on these systems. They need development skills such as Kotlin, Java, Swift, and Objective-C, as well as experience with APIs and cross-platform frameworks.

Types of mobile developers:

• Native apps developers
  • iOS developers
  • Android developers
• Cross-platform / Hybrid apps developers
  • React Native
  • Flutter
  • Ionic
  • .NET MAUI (formerly Xamarin), etc.

6. Desktop Developers

This is a developer dedicated to developing software applications that run locally on desktop operating systems (such as macOS, Windows, and Linux). Desktop developers often use GUI frameworks and toolkits such as WPF/XAML, Cocoa, GTK, Qt, WinForms, etc.

Examples span everything from media editors to CAD/BIM tools used by architects.

7. Embedded Developers

Among types of software development roles, there are embedded developers, who write software for hardware that is not normally classified as a computer. For example, microcontrollers, real-time systems, electronic interfaces, set-top boxes, consumer devices, IoT devices, hardware drivers, and serial data transmission all fall into this category.

Embedded developers usually use languages such as C, C++, Assembly, Java, or proprietary technologies, frameworks, and toolkits for their work.

8. Database Developer

Database developers, also known as database programmers, are mainly responsible for creating and implementing computer databases. They determine the best database management system for a specific client, test the efficiency and performance of the database program, and troubleshoot and correct problems.

9. Cloud Developers

Cloud engineers are responsible for managing the organization’s cloud-based systems and processes. The specific tasks include: setting up the architecture using AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, or other cloud providers and managing the security and access of cloud-based systems. Cloud developers have experience using cloud-native applications, developer tools, managed services, and next-generation databases.

10. Security Developer

Security developers are about creating systems, methods, and processes to test the security of software systems and fix security vulnerabilities. They use various tools to complete their work, such as scripting languages such as Python and Ruby. They also use coding languages such as C and C++ to read and understand the operating system. The purpose of their work is to ethically hack the system to discover its vulnerabilities.

11. Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET)

An SDET is responsible for writing software to verify the quality of the software system. They create automated tests, tools, and systems to ensure that products and processes perform as expected. The technologies used by SDET include Python, Java, Selenium, and Playwright.

12. DevOps Developer

DevOps developers know technologies and tools to build, deploy, and integrate systems and manage backend software. To simplify the definition, backend developers create applications, while DevOps engineers build the pipelines and infrastructure to deploy and monitor them. DevOps requires experience with tools such as Kubernetes, Docker, Jenkins, Terraform, and other HashiCorp tools.

13. Data Science Developer

Data science developers write programs to analyze data sets. They are usually responsible for statistical analysis, machine learning, and predictive modeling. Their skills cover programming languages (R, Python), familiarity with machine learning methods, an understanding of multivariate calculus and linear algebra, and handling messy or incomplete data.

14. Big Data Developer

Big Data developers write software programs to store and retrieve large amounts of data in the system, such as data warehouses, ETL systems, relational databases, data lake management systems, etc.

Big data developers are usually familiar with frameworks and systems for distributed storage and processing of large amounts of data (such as MapReduce, Hadoop, and Spark). The languages used by big data developers include SQL, Java, Python, and R.

15. Game Developer

Game developers are those who make games. They have specific knowledge and skills in designing engaging interactive gaming experiences. They are often grouped by platform: web, mobile, desktop and console, and VR/AR developers.

16. Graphics Developers

Graphics developers write software for rendering, lighting, shadows, culling, and scene management. Graphic developers are usually responsible for integrating technologies in the gaming and video production industries. Frameworks and APIs include DirectX, Vulkan, OpenGL, WebGL, and engines such as Unity. For more advanced graphics developers, low-level development requires C, C++, and Assembly.

Graphics development used to be a form of low-level development, requiring advanced mathematics and computer science training. With the introduction of commercial and open-source frameworks and systems, it has become more and more accessible.

17. Customization Developers

This specialization belongs to the types of developer roles in the field of customizing various platforms and SaaS applications available on the market. These app developers are tasked with improving customer satisfaction and adding features that are not available in out-of-box solutions.

Samples of customization developers:

• SAP developers
• Salesforce developers
• Shopify developers
• Adobe Commerce (Magento) developers
• WordPress developers

18. AI Engineer

AI (Artificial Intelligence) Engineers are professionals who specialize in developing AI-based solutions, applications, and systems. They typically work on projects that involve advanced machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, large language models, computer vision, and other AI technologies.

AI engineers work with various programming languages, including Python, Java, R, and C++. They also work with frameworks and libraries such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, and Scikit-Learn. These tools allow AI engineers to design, train, test, and deploy complex AI models.

In addition to programming and AI-specific tools, AI engineers also work with big data technologies such as Hadoop, Spark, and NoSQL databases. These technologies allow AI engineers to process and analyze large volumes of data, which is essential for building effective AI models.