What is software engineering? A comprehensive guide

Introduction to software engineering

Definition and overview of the role

What is a software engineer? The term covers a large number of sub-roles, including those who design, develop, test and maintain software applications or systems.

They work with programming languages and other tools, such as frameworks, debugging tools, or version control systems, to collaborate together on building efficient and scalable solutions.

Brief history and evolution of software engineering

Software engineering rapidly evolved since its inception as a serious role in the 1960s. In the 1970s, structured programming had tremendously improved code clarity and maintainability, which allowed engineers to tackle more complex projects.

By the end of the 1980s, object-oriented programming changed the landscape of software engineering. In the following decade, new agile development methods emerged to improve flexibility and allow developers to work smarter, not harder.

Roles and responsibilities of a software engineer

Designing and developing software applications

One of the first steps of creating an application is design, where the development plan is defined and laid out in clear terms to ensure that the product will meet user and business expectations. This step includes planning the architecture and choosing the right tools for software development.

Then there’s the software development itself, in which engineers write clean and efficient code to implement the features as they’ve been planned.

Testing and debugging software

Testing and debugging are crucial to ensuring that the end users don’t face any issues with the software. Engineers can build various tests in code that run through the entire program, check different use cases, and ensure they work as intended.

Collaborating with cross-functional teams

Software engineers frequently collaborate with various teams that have an interest in the final product, including designers, managers, and the quality assurance team, to ensure that everything aligns with the organization’s main goals.

Maintaining and updating software systems

The roles of a software engineer don’t end once the product is done. In reality, many projects are never truly “complete” and require continuous development and maintenance to keep them working as intended.

These stages can include continuous testing, debugging, and bug fixing; improving security and compatibility; and adding new features.

Essential skills and qualifications for a software engineer

Strong programming knowledge

Programming knowledge is at the core of software engineering. After all, the entire line of work revolves around writing code, so if you’re a prospective engineer, you should be able to work with programming languages.

As to which languages you should know, the reality is that somewhere along the lines of “all of them, but not really.”

What we mean is that you don’t need to focus too much on knowing one language and using that as the basis of your career, as you’ll almost definitely find yourself working with different languages depending on the project.

At the same time, it’s important to be familiar with the most popular languages, such as C++, Java, and Python. Once you are, you won’t have issues picking up a new language since you’ll find there’s a lot of overlap.

Problem-solving and analytical abilities

Programming isn’t just about knowing a programming language and its syntax. Instead, think of languages and their functions as tools, and what you really need to know is how you can combine them to solve a problem or create more complex functions.

Typically, once you get a task, you’ll need to assess it and devise a solution, such as an algorithm. Then, with the right analytical mindset, you’ll keep optimizing the right parts until you get the results you need.

Understanding of algorithms and data structures

If you have a proper understanding of algorithms and data structures, you’ll combine that with your coding knowledge and problem-solving abilities to write clean code.

And it’s not just about knowing how to do it, but also doing it efficiently, and that’s where knowing data structures can help. You need to know how to store or retrieve data efficiently.

Continuous learning and adaptability

Software engineering is a massive field that also changes almost exponentially every few years. A software engineer from the mid-2010s is highly likely to struggle with development methods and technologies used in the mid-2020s, for example.

This is why you, as a software engineer, need to adopt a flexible learning mentality and be ready to try and test new technologies throughout your career, in order to constantly hone your software engineering knowledge.

You might be comfortable with a certain tool or technique, and one day you might find that it’s been made obsolete by newer ones that you now need to learn from scratch.

Career pathways in software engineering

Different career levels and specializations

Software engineering can be considered an umbrella term that encompasses various levels, roles, and specializations. For example, you can be a junior (level) front-end developer (role) who specializes in a framework like Angular or React.

Specializations aren’t that strict, though, as they mostly mean that you have plenty of experience with a particular technology. You can be a specialist with multiple technologies and switch your focus between them depending on your role.

Career progression opportunities

If you start out as a software engineer, you’ll have the opportunities to advance through several positions, such as a junior or senior-level developer, and you might eventually find yourself becoming a team leader or even a manager.

Beyond that, you can move up to senior management or consulting, where you’ll be responsible for entire projects.

Different career paths in software engineering

Front-end development

Front-end development is one of the most popular positions for aspiring programmers, mostly due to its demand and relatively low barrier to entry.

It focuses on developing the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) of websites and applications, using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and possibly their frameworks.

Back-end development

While front-end development focuses on creating the look of an application, the back-end focuses on the server side of things. This can include managing databases, servers, and APIs to make a website dynamic.

Back-end developers work with server-side languages like Python, C#, PHP, and Node.js to run everything efficiently behind the scenes.

Full-stack development

A full-stack developer works on both the front-end and back-end of an application, combining their knowledge of UI and UX design with server-side logic and database management to handle the entire project.

Mobile application development

Mobile application development is much younger than web development, but it quickly exploded in popularity due to the rise of smartphones around the year 2010.

Today, mobile developers design and build apps for smartphones and tablets. They can either specialize in technologies exclusive to one OS, such as Swift or Objective-C (for Apple devices) or Java (for Android).

However, cross-platform tools, like Flutter and React Native, have been getting popular over the past years as well.

DevOps and infrastructure

DevOps (development and operations) engineers are often responsible for what happens after the code is done. This can include things like releasing making the application more stable, releasing new features, and creating automations.

Software engineering best practices and methodologies

Agile development

Agile development is a way to write code, kind of like a programming philosophy.

It focuses on iterative development, where a project is broken down into smaller tasks (sprints), after which developers collaborate to finish and release a satisfying working version within a relatively short time frame.

Its nature also promotes frequent releases, continuous improvement, and flexible work.

Test-driven development

Test-driven development is another approach that revolves around building test cases before the actual code, then writing enough code to pass the test, and finally refactoring the code until you have an efficient and reliable program.

One of the biggest advantages of this approach is that it helps you catch bugs early in the development process and that it often results in clean code.

Version control systems

Version control systems are tools that allow software engineers to save and manage their code at different points in time, creating different versions. This also allows multiple developers to collaborate more efficiently and track their work, compare changes, or revert to a previous version if needed.

The most popular version control tool is Git, and most related jobs will ask you to work with it.

Code documentation and organization

As a software developer, being able to document your work through clear writing and comprehensive comments is a key skill that helps everyone with an interest in your projects, especially other developers who may take time to understand your code without assistance.

Software engineering at Shell USA

How software engineering fits into Shell’s operations

Software engineering plays a crucial role in Shell’s modern operations and IT infrastructure, which relies heavily on several software systems that need to work safely and efficiently.

These systems fulfill various functions within Shell’s larger goals, from managing the supply chain, distribution, finances, and production, to operating HR systems or back offices and streamlining production and drilling.

Unique opportunities and projects at Shell

At Shell, you can be part of our decades-long plan to become a net-zero emissions business while also furthering your career in software engineering through any of the various fields available in our company.

If you’re interested in finding a career as a software engineer at Shell, check out our graduate program application process, where you may be matched with the perfect position for your situation and receive the best possible training and mentorship to help you with your potential new role.

You can also explore our available roles

and apply today.

Future and emerging trends in software engineering

Artificial intelligence and machine learning

Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently at the forefront of the future of technology and innovation, especially after advances in the early 2020s.

AI and machine learning are changing software engineering as a role by allowing engineers to work smarter and more efficiently. This is because AI can be used to automate simple and repetitive tasks, which helps in many fields, such as data analysis.

Internet of things

The Internet of things (IoT) is another revolutionary technology that involves connecting everyday devices, such as gates, lamps, and fridges, to the Internet, effectively turning them into “smart” appliances.

While the best of IoT is yet to come, we’ve already seen some very promising products that rely on a mix of software and hardware (such as sensors) to result in things like locking your doors or controlling the lights from a smartphone.

Cloud computing

Cloud computing is another emerging technology that breaks the limits of traditional computing (such as storage or processing power) by allowing organizations and individuals to access off-site resources through the Internet.

This allows for more flexible, cost-effective, and scalable operations, as developers and companies aren’t held back by the physical limitations of their devices as much.

Blockchain technology

You might have heard of blockchain technology in relation to Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. In reality, it has the potential to completely alter the development landscape by offering a secure and decentralized framework for data, with transparent and tamper-proof records.

This could make it particularly useful for applications in finance, but any company could benefit from the added security and transparency, including Shell.

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