How to hire a software leader

How to hire a software leader, step by step

Here's a step-by-step software leader hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a software leader job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new software leader
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a software leader do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The software leader hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a software leader to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a software leader that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of software leaders and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Software Leader	Description	Hourly rate
   Software Leader	Software developers are the creative minds behind computer programs. Some develop the applications that allow people to do specific tasks on a computer or another device... Show more	$44-79
   Software Engineer-Consultant	A software engineer consultant develops and recommends strategies to optimize a company's software engineering operations. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis to find new opportunities, performing software evaluations and risk assessments, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes, and developing solutions against problem areas... Show more	$40-73
   Software Engineering Manager	A software engineering manager oversees the team involved in computer and software development. Typically, it is their responsibility to design and create software applications in collaboration with fellow skilled engineers in the group... Show more	$48-95

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Java
   • Python
   • Cloud
   • Scrum
   • GIT
   • Linux
   • Jira
   • Database
   • C
   • C++
   • JavaScript
   • Software Design
   • Jenkins
   • Web Services

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage daily scrum meetings and plan sprint for agile development.
   • Post approval, manage projects and own end to end delivery responsibility working with BA, developers & QA.
   • Manage real-time mission critical software projects including entire SDLC (design, requirements, custom development, test and integration).
   • Work in the development operations team which oversee development of tools to automate continuous deployment and server monitoring in the cloud.
   • Implement code for Linux base embedded controller, including POSIX API for portability.
   • Implement user interfaces that leverage HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

   More software leader duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your software leader job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A software leader salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, software leaders' average salary in iowa is 44% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level software leaders earn 44% less than senior-level software leaders.
   • Certifications. A software leader with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a software leader's salary.

   Average software leader salary

   $124,694yearly

   $59.95 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level software leader salary

   $93,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 20, 2025

   Average software leader salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$171,424	$82
   2	Washington	$161,827	$78
   3	Nevada	$145,198	$70
   4	Massachusetts	$130,095	$63
   5	New York	$120,165	$58
   6	Michigan	$115,682	$56
   7	New Jersey	$114,445	$55
   8	Georgia	$113,794	$55
   9	Pennsylvania	$112,896	$54
   10	Virginia	$110,432	$53
   11	Texas	$110,266	$53
   12	Illinois	$108,060	$52
   13	Colorado	$104,905	$50
   14	District of Columbia	$104,396	$50
   15	Indiana	$103,510	$50
   16	Ohio	$101,991	$49
   17	Minnesota	$100,726	$48
   18	North Carolina	$99,814	$48
   19	Florida	$97,620	$47
   20	Tennessee	$91,486	$44

   Average software leader salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$211,278	$101.58	3,186
   2	Google	$203,221	$97.70	785
   3	Microsoft	$180,231	$86.65	890
   4	Apple	$173,966	$83.64	533
   5	Hulu	$171,543	$82.47
   6	Brocade Services Corporation	$166,338	$79.97
   7	VMware	$165,470	$79.55	1
   8	Zoom Video Communications	$163,563	$78.64	9
   9	Cardinal Intellectual Property	$157,967	$75.95
   10	Volvo Trucks	$152,359	$73.25
   11	Logitech	$152,111	$73.13	1
   12	Cisco	$152,057	$73.10	311
   13	BrightEdge	$151,449	$72.81
   14	Amd	$151,289	$72.74	74
   15	Fisher Investments	$151,014	$72.60	8
   16	Citi	$150,480	$72.35	16
   17	Securonix	$150,026	$72.13
   18	Tesla	$148,787	$71.53	144
   19	BorgWarner	$148,763	$71.52	1
   20	CyberCoders	$147,529	$70.93

4. Writing a software leader job description

   A software leader job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a software leader job description:

   Software leader job description example

   The healthcare industry is undergoing a massive shift in how patients and providers exchange and access data. That transformation is built on FHIR - Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, a standard data format and resource specification that allows innovative applications to flourish.
   
   As a hands on Technical Lead, you will report to our Manager of Data Ingestion to lead our Clinical Integrations platform development. The Clinical Integrations team is responsible for ensuring all of the products and services that 1upHealth offers run on the latest set of clinical data being captured at healthcare provider systems. We are looking for someone who enjoys taking ownership of new products and services, and the continuous improvement of our existing offerings. You will empower others throughout the organization to build great products for our customers.
   
   You will:Help create software that improves healthcare across the country Drive the technical vision for the Clinical Integrations team Develop and deliver functionality that meets technical and product requirements Create standard integrations with third-party vendors Lead the development of our APIs and services to scale our platform Collaborate with members across the organization to improve our products and services Advocate for engineering best practices throughout the organization Mentor engineers
   
   We are looking for people who have:5+ years of experience in a backend/fullstack software engineering role3+ years of experience in NodeJS with TypeScript2+ years of experience leading a team of engineers Experience architecting complex technical solutions Knowledge of modern Cloud Infrastructure (we use AWS) Proficiency in both relational and non-relational databases Experience securely building and consuming RESTful APIsExperience with Agile development methodologies
   
   You may also have:Knowledge of Healthcare data standards and communication (FHIR, HL7v2) Experience working with Electronic Health Record vendors Modern front end development knowledge (React and Tailwind preferred) Experience using event-driven systems (Kafka, RabbitMQ, etc) Prior experience with Apache NifiUnderstanding of CI/CD pipelines Terraform experience
   
   At 1upHealth, our mission is to unlock health data and improve industry outcomes. As leaders in FHIR interoperability, our platform makes it easier for partners to access, integrate, aggregate, and share data across a variety of systems. 1upHealth is building a data ecosystem to promote the digital transformation of the industry and encourage insight-driven healthcare.
   
   We are proud to announce that we have been named 2022 Best Places to Work in the Small Company and Best Paying Company categories by Built In Boston.
   Benefits 100% Paid BCBS Medical and Dental Insurance for Employees Vision Insurance Unlimited PTO Equity 401(k) Home Office Stipend Commuter Stipend Wellness Reimbursement Parental Leave (16 weeks for birthing parents, 6 weeks for non-birthing parents) Company Meetings with Free Lunch Interested in our work, but don't see an opening that fits your background? Apply here and let us know what you think we could do together.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find software leaders for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any software leaders they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level software leaders with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   To find software leader candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit software leaders, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   If your interviews with software leader applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new software leader

   Once you've selected the best software leader candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new software leader. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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