Imagine a theatrical or opera performance. If you’re part of the audience, you know that what you see on the stage as the final production takes a lot of behind-the-scenes efforts – from lighting and sound to costumes, make-up, scripts, acting, and rehearsals. 

In the world of technology, when it comes to the “performance” of apps that you see online, you may be wondering who brings these technologies to you. The answer is full-stack engineers. If this job title is new to you and you want to find out more, keep reading below.

Who they are and what they do

Full-stack engineers look at the full “performance” or technological stack of an app – from its initial design and architecture to the final finished product that the customer sees. As such, they are considered specialists in both front-end and back-end requirements when creating an app from start to finish, enabling a user to interact and use it effectively. 

In technical language, two of the most popular “stacks” are MEAN and MERN. MEAN contains the following web frameworks: MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, and NodeJS. MERN, on the other hand, stands for MongoDB, Express, React, and NodeJs. 

Each of these web frameworks builds onto each other, much like a bricklayer builds a foundation, lays the bricks for the walls, and adds the roof as the finished product. The entire web infrastructure is structured in a similar way with full-stack engineers having capacities to handle across the entire “stack” while understanding every part of it.

Common full-stack engineer skills

Because of the diversity that goes into performing the job well to create a complete and usable finished product, a full-stack engineer needs to possess a wide array of skills to ensure that they excel. Some of these skills include the following:

• HTML and CSS: these are languages for front-end technologies or how the user sees and interacts with the final, finished app. 
• JavaScript: although it is also used for enhanced front-end development, it has server-side components, too. It is considered a dynamic language.  
• Git and GitHub: Git is a “distributed version control system” for developers. It allows them to handle every small step of the development process. Meanwhile, GitHub is a platform that allows developers to work, manage, and review simultaneously on many projects.
• Back-end development languages: examples of these include Python, Java, PHP, Ruby, Perl (Practical Extraction and Report Language), C++, SQL, and others.
• Web architecture: a full-stack engineer also needs to know the structural elements and user interface elements of the web application such as Domain Name System (DNS), Database Servers, Cloud Storage, and more.
• Database management systems: this means being well-versed with systems like Oracle, MySQL, SQLite, Microsoft Access, etc.
• Fundamentals of designs: knowing the basics of design can help make the front-end side of development more appealing and interactive as it requires understanding user psychology when developing the client side of the app. 
• REST and SOAP: a full-stack engineer should have proficiency in working with web services or application program interfaces (APIs) like REST and SOAP. They allow for the sharing of data between two different systems thereby making operations efficient and productive.
• Technology stacks: depending on the organization and its needs, a full-stack engineer may need to have knowledge of stacks, among which include LAMP stack and Django stack, among others.
• Soft skills: and last but not least, a full-stack engineer also needs to possess a myriad of soft skills, among which include communication, multitasking, time management, an inquisitive nature, be a team player and effective leader, be patient and have a creative mindset as well as pay careful attention to detail. 

Their roles and responsibilities

Because of the extensive requirements for full-stack engineers to have a broad range of knowledge that bridges the gaps between front-end and back-end needs, they also have many responsibilities to shoulder. Among these responsibilities, these professionals may be required to do the following as part of their daily duties:

• Meet with the software development team to define the scope and scale of software projects.
• Design software system architecture.
• Complete data structures and design patterns.
• Design and implement scalable web services, applications, and APIs.
• Develop and maintain internal software tools.
• Write low-level and high-level code.
• Engage in troubleshooting and bug fixing.
• Identify bottlenecks and improve software efficiency.
• Collaborate with the design team on developing micro-services.
• Write technical documents.
• And a whole lot more!

Final remarks

Need a full-stack engineer for your organization? You know where to find the best talent for your needs. That’s right! At our experts hub or talent database, you can find the best full-stack engineers for your requirements and budget. And if you need any help, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.