What Is a Full-Stack Engineer? Job Description

If you are technically inclined, a career as a full-stack engineer could be a fulfilling path for your future. The position is in high demand, with Naukri listing tens of thousands of job openings for full-stack developers in India. Learn more about the duties and responsibilities of a full-stack engineer and explore routes to get started in this field.

What is a full-stack engineer?

A full-stack engineer is a high-level software engineer who works to design, test, and implement various software applications. They create software, applications, and scalable web services, whilst also providing leadership for coding teams. Full-stack engineers usually possess prodigious skills and are involved in each stage of software development. This can include data structure completion, architecture design, code review, performance evaluation, internal tool management, and updates. The term “full-stack” refers to the engineer’s ability to work on both the front-end and back-end development of an application.

What does a full-stack engineer do?

At the beginning of a project, full-stack engineers may meet with members of the software development team in order to lay out the scale and scope of the software project. After that, they will begin designing and building the software. Full-stack engineers write various high-level and low-level code. They troubleshoot errors, help design the user experience (UX), resolve bugs, and improve the overall efficiency of the software. Full-stack engineers need excellent collaboration skills because they work with front- and back-end development team members.

Full-stack engineer tools and skills

Full-stack engineers possess advanced coding skills. They are typically familiar with both front-end and back-end programming languages, such as:

• Python

• JavaScript

• C

• Node

• HTML/CSS

• SQL

• PHP 

Often, full-stack engineers obtain a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science or a related field. However, you may find employers that accept professional certifications or relevant work experience instead of a degree. The job duties of full-stack engineers and software engineers can overlap, and the specific differences between these roles may vary across industries.

Work environment

A wide variety of companies hire full-stack developers. For example, software companies commonly hire them, as well as social media companies, cybersecurity companies, and others. Considering the fact that companies in a wide variety of niches have software applications, there are jobs available in many different industries. However, it is most common for full-stack developers to work in the tech industry.

Full-stack engineer salary and job outlook

The outlook for software engineering remains robust in India, with anticipated year-on-year growth of 15 to 19 per cent, spanning both IT and non-IT sectors [1]. 

The average yearly pay for a full-stack developer is ₹9,06,797 [2]. The exact salary that you can earn will depend on your experience, your skills, and the company that you are working for. For example, if you are a full-stack software engineer early in your career with one to four years of experience, you typically earn an average total compensation of ₹665,650 [3]. For mid-career full-stack software engineers with five to nine years of experience, the average total compensation increases to ₹1,469,728 [3]. 

How to become a full-stack engineer

The first step toward a career in full-stack engineering is typically a bachelor's degree or a Master of Technology in Computer Science. A degree in computer science or a related field is one way to gain the skills you need to handle the responsibilities of a full-stack engineer.

You can also gain practical experience and professional qualifications through Professional Certificates in full-stack engineering. For example, you can earn a certificate in Full Stack Software Development with IBM's online course:

Build a portfolio.

Another way to demonstrate your abilities is to build a portfolio. A portfolio is a collection of work that highlights your expertise. Full-stack engineers can use open-source or free development tools to independently create projects, applications, and websites. A few examples of open-source development tools include GitHub and React. With a portfolio, you have a tangible demonstration of your skills along with your resume.

Take the next step with Coursera

Full-stack engineers excel as senior-level computer programmers, adept in coding for front and back-end systems. Besides maintaining and enhancing the software, full-stack developers also undertake responsibilities such as evaluating and refining programs’ functionality.

Start building your portfolio and work toward gaining the skills you need to become a full-stack engineer with an industry leader like Meta with the company’s Back End Developer professional certificate, offered on Coursera. This course offers you the chance to learn key technical skills to become a qualified back end developer, and includes lessons using important platforms such as Python Syntax, Linux commands, Git, SQL, Version Control, cloud hosting and APIs.