Useful terms.
Clear definitions.
Career and engineering language, with examples and important distinctions. Definitions describe our editorial usage; employer role definitions may differ.
API
An application programming interface defines how software components can interact.
Example: A web client requests a resource through a documented HTTP API.
Keep in mind: An API is a contract; it does not specify every internal implementation detail.
Frontend vs backend vs full-stack careersFrontend
The part of an application that presents information and handles user interaction.
Example: A browser form shows validation errors and loading states.
Keep in mind: Frontend work includes accessibility and behavior, not only appearance.
Frontend vs backend vs full-stack careersBackend
Application logic, services and data handling behind a client-facing interface.
Example: A service checks access before updating a record.
Keep in mind: Backend responsibility depends on the team and system boundary.
Frontend vs backend vs full-stack careersFull stack
Work spanning client-facing and server-side parts of an application.
Example: An engineer changes a form, API and data model together.
Keep in mind: The title does not prove equal depth across every layer.
Frontend vs backend vs full-stack careersDevOps
Practices that improve collaboration and delivery across development and operations.
Example: A team automates a repeatable deployment with rollback checks.
Keep in mind: DevOps is not defined solely by a job title or tool.
DevOps, SRE and platform engineering career pathsSRE
Site reliability engineering applies software engineering approaches to reliable service operation.
Example: An engineer reduces repeated operational work and studies failure patterns.
Keep in mind: On-call and operational ownership differ between employers.
DevOps, SRE and platform engineering career pathsCI/CD
Continuous integration checks frequent code changes; delivery or deployment practices prepare or release validated changes.
Example: A change triggers automated checks before a release decision.
Keep in mind: Continuous delivery and automatic production deployment are not identical.
DevOps, SRE and platform engineering career pathsSystem design
Reasoning about components, interfaces, data and tradeoffs needed to meet requirements.
Example: A candidate explains how a service handles peak load and recovery.
Keep in mind: A diagram without constraints does not establish a good design.
System design interviews: scope, tradeoffs and experience levelTechnical debt
A design or implementation choice that creates additional future work or constraints.
Example: A temporary data workaround makes later changes harder.
Keep in mind: Not every bug or old technology is automatically technical debt.
Software engineer career path: junior to staffStaff engineer
A senior individual-contributor role often involving broad technical influence across teams.
Example: An engineer coordinates a technical approach used by several teams.
Keep in mind: Scope and level names vary; a title alone is not comparable across companies.
Software engineer career path: junior to staffTotal compensation
A stated combination of pay components, which may include salary, bonus and equity.
Example: An offer lists base pay separately from a target bonus and an equity grant.
Keep in mind: Targets, vesting and liquidity affect what is actually received.
Software engineer salary data: role, location and compensationMedian
The middle value of an ordered distribution, or the midpoint between the two middle values.
Example: Half of measured workers are below the median and half above in the defined distribution.
Keep in mind: A national occupational median is not an entry-level salary estimate.
Software engineer salary data: role, location and compensationATS
An applicant tracking system stores and manages recruitment applications and workflow.
Example: A recruiter reviews a submitted resume in a hiring system.
Keep in mind: No universal score or keyword recipe guarantees selection.
Software engineer resume guide: make your contribution visiblePortfolio
A selected set of work examples with context about the problem, contribution and limitations.
Example: A project includes setup steps, tests and an explanation of design choices.
Keep in mind: A copied tutorial without attribution does not demonstrate original ownership.
Portfolio projects that demonstrate engineering skillsBehavioral interview
An interview using examples of past actions to explore how a candidate works.
Example: A candidate explains their role in resolving a difficult disagreement.
Keep in mind: A clear story should preserve truthful responsibility and outcomes.
Behavioral interview questions for software engineers