What Staff Software Engineering Jobs Ask For
Across 3,399 open Staff Software Engineering postings that list skills, the ones mentioned most often are ai, cloud, api.
Updated October 28, 2026
3,432 open Staff Software Engineering postings. The percentages below are measured over the 3,399 of them that list skills at all.
| Skill | Mentioned in |
|---|---|
| ai | 71% |
| cloud | 50% |
| api | 43% |
| python | 43% |
| distributed-systems | 37% |
| observability | 34% |
| aws | 30% |
| automation | 26% |
| machine-learning | 26% |
| kubernetes | 26% |
| ci-cd | 25% |
| typescript | 24% |
| agentic-ai | 24% |
| java | 24% |
| cpp | 22% |
| llm | 20% |
| gcp | 19% |
| react | 18% |
| networking | 18% |
| azure | 16% |
| postgresql | 14% |
| cloud-native | 14% |
| analytics | 13% |
| agile | 13% |
| sql | 12% |
| event-driven-architecture | 12% |
| docker | 12% |
| kafka | 12% |
| linux | 11% |
| microservices | 11% |
| terraform | 11% |
| javascript | 11% |
| infrastructure-as-code | 11% |
| rust | 10% |
| nodejs | 10% |
| github | 10% |
| data-pipelines | 9% |
| test-automation | 9% |
| saas | 8% |
| devops | 8% |
"Mentioned in" counts postings that name the skill anywhere — including as a nice-to-have — so treat it as the ceiling, not the bar.
Browse 3,432 open Staff Software Engineering jobs →
Across all Software Engineering levels
Most Software Engineering postings never state a level. This wider list covers them too.
- ai 27,910
- cloud 27,426
- python 21,949
- api 20,639
- ci-cd 17,448
- automation 17,389
- java 16,800
- agile 15,746
- aws 15,083
- cpp 11,610
- kubernetes 11,411
- sql 11,185