Software developers: Who they are & what they do

Whether you’re planning to develop a website, an app, or a custom system, this guide will help you understand which experts to involve and what to expect from them.

What is a software developer?

Software developers — also known as coders, programmers, and software engineers — design, develop, and test computer applications. They have the technical skills and experience needed to build software for both private and business uses.

The nature of a software developer’s work is focused on creating digital solutions for clients. This process involves working with clients to understand their needs, building specific software functions, testing them, and modifying them as required.

Key software developer roles and responsibilities

So, what does a software developer do, exactly? Although their roles and responsibilities vary from company to company, we can pick a few major areas where software developers play a key role.

A software developer:

• Works with clients. Software developers meet with clients to define their goals and translate them into software requirements
• Writes code. This means creating clean, efficient software code for a product that meets the client’s goals and specifications
• Supports the product during testing. This duty includes eliminating errors, bugs, and other problems that might be discovered during software testing
• Compiles and evaluates user feedback. Developers work with testers and UX researchers to find and recommend product improvements
• Provides support with updates and fixes as needed. After the release, developers might also work on product updates to make it more competitive and fix performance issues as they occur.

The role of a software developer also varies according to their expertise. For example, an app developer builds mobile apps while a web developer works on websites.

Types of software developers at Globaldev

Want to take advantage of outsourcing to reduce project costs? Then you need to know what type of software developers you need to complete your project.

Below are some of the developer roles we have at Globaldev, along with what they do and when to hire them. Keep in mind, this is just a snapshot. We work with many other types of developers and tech experts.

Mobile app developers

A mobile app developer is a software engineer responsible for creating, deploying, and maintaining applications for mobile devices. While many developers specialize in a single platform like Android or iOS, we also have Flutter developers who build cross-platform apps that run seamlessly on both operating systems with a single codebase.

So, businesses typically hire mobile developers to develop an app for Android or iOS, or a cross-platform solution. The main roles and responsibilities of app developers in these projects include:

• Documenting the requirements and needs of clients
• Developing clickable prototypes of apps to help finalize the design
• Writing code to create the app within a predetermined timeline
• Testing the app before the release
• Fixing issues and bugs found during testing
• Writing documents representing the app’s code for maintenance

Web developers

A web developer is responsible for creating code that websites and web applications use to operate. Most web developers work exclusively on producing front-end and back-end code to ensure the highest quality of technical aspects, such as speed.

Essential responsibilities of web developers:

• Gather and structurethe requirements and needs of clients
• Write clean and efficient code by using various programming languages
• Create interfaces for websites and web applications using HTML/CSS practices
• Help other team members create product structure, content, and visuals
• Eliminate performance issues by making code fixes
• Maintain the highest performance of products after release

So, your project needs web developers if you're building a patient portal, an investment tracking platform, a digital storefront, or any web-based product tailored to your industry.

CRM developers

A CRM developer is a programmer who creates CRMs (systems that collect, store, and process user and customer data).

Since off-the-shelf products often don’t meet many requirements of businesses, they hire developers to create custom CRM systems that provide better analytics and more efficient processes.

Responsibilities of CRM developers:

• Meeting with clients to document their needs and requirements
• Helping other project stakeholders define CRM functions and workflows
• Creating a high-quality software code for the future CRM
• Migrate other company applications to the new CRM
• Develop custom functionality like real-time dashboards and workflows
• Ensuring that the CRM will work with other apps by building integrations
• Support and maintain the CRM’s code after the release

So, you need CRM developers to develop custom CRM software to improve the efficiency of your company’s operations.

AI/ML developers

AI/ML developers specialize in building intelligent systems that can learn from data and make predictions or automate decisions. These specialists design, train, deploy, and maintain machine learning models that power everything from recommendation engines to fraud detection and predictive analytics.

Their typical responsibilities include:

• Collecting, cleaning, and preparing large datasets for model training
• Designing, training, and fine-tuning models using algorithms such as neural networks or decision trees
• Evaluating model performance to ensure accuracy and robustness
• Integrating AI models into software systems or standalone tools
• Monitoring deployed models and retraining them to adapt to new data
• Collaborating with data scientists, engineers, and business teams to align solutions with real-world goals
• Staying up to date with new tools, frameworks, and ethical AI practices

Why consider hiring Globaldev’s programmers for your software project

We listed the types of software developers who work at Globaldev. Should you hire them to build software for your business?

Well, we have:

• 300+ successfully delivered projects
• 4.8 rating on Clutch
• 15 years in the software development game
• 85% of our specialists are of middle or senior level

But let us share a few extra reasons why you should consider us.

Empathy

Have you noticed that each type of software developer has almost the same first responsibility? It’s working with clients.

That’s why our hiring process ensures that our software development teams can understand the problems, needs, and goals of clients. This is a crucial quality that helps them see a business goal or a challenge from your point of view.

Besides, empathy has many benefits that speed up work. In fact, this quality improves speed-to-market and reduces project development costs — proven by research.

Empathetic developers:

• Improve collaboration with clients and other project stakeholders
• Try to eliminate more errors before passing their work to code testers
• Gather more requirements from clients to better understand their needs

Experience

When it comes to experience, we let the work (and our clients) speak for themselves.

Here’s what sets our software developers apart:

• We've delivered top-quality software to over 300 businesses across industries.
• Our teams are made up primarily of mid- and senior-level experts.
• More than 80% of new clients come from referrals.
• Many of our developers have the expertise to act as technical consultants or business analysts.
• We continuously invest in upskilling to keep pace with evolving technologies.
• We’ve been recognized as a Top Staff Augmentation Provider by Clutch, staff augmentation meaning we provide dedicated engineers or full dev teams to work as a seamless extension of your in-house resources.

Want the most honest take on our capabilities? Just visit our Clutch profile and see what our clients say about working with our experts.

Collaboration

Throughout projects, our software developers collaborate within their own team in addition to many other stakeholders. For them, sharing skills and solving problems together is the best way to move the project forward.

We also have a set of principles guiding collaboration in Globaldev:

• Even workload distribution
• Transparency in everything
• Communication is always ongoing
• Work and feedback should be shared

For clients, these principles mean regular meetings and communication with developers to ensure a constant flow of ideas.

Another great example of collaboration happens when software developers share their code with QA engineers early to speed up the testing process. This practice leads to increased efficiency and a faster time-to-market.

Communication

This might sound like a truism, but we’re going to say it. Communication is key to successful software development projects.

We value communication above all else because it sets clear expectations and eliminates misunderstandings, helping to speed up performance and efficiency.

That’s why Globaldev has clear communication guidelines for software projects. Besides, our software developers receive training on communication to know how to stay on top of things and share knowledge with others.

If you're thinking about next steps

No matter what kind of product you’re building, one thing’s for sure — it all starts with the right people. Developers who understand your goals, communicate well, and bring the skills your project actually needs.

If you're curious about how to bring those people into your team or want to explore what it takes to build a product with us, check out our services.

You can learn more about staff augmentation if you're looking to extend your team, or explore custom software development if you're starting from scratch (or want us to handle your project).

No pressure. Just the next step if it feels like the right time.