You might be wondering what we mean by “tech internship” or why we use that term instead of just “Software Engineering internship.” While SWE is a very large category of tech internship, the Playbook provides the necessary information to help you towards a variety of internship roles. The list of job titles we mention in this module isn’t exhaustive, but it should cover the majority of tech internship roles.

Software Engineering Roles

SWEs and SDEs architect, write, and develop software. That’s purposefully a very general definition, because there are many types of software engineers.

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Full-stack

Works on all aspects of a software, including database management, APIs, and frontend development.

Important Skills: Python/Java, React/Angular/Vue, SQL, APIs, debugging, communication

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Frontend

Focuses on user-facing software like websites, apps, etc.

Important Skills: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React/Angular/Vue, responsive design, debugging, communication

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Backend

Focuses on internal logic software, including APIs and databases

Important Skills: Python, Java, SQL, APIs, debugging, communication

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Mobile Engineer

Develops software for mobile devices, especially Android and IOS.

Important Skills: Android/IOS, Swift/XCode/Kotlin/Java, Android Studio, APIs, mobile design

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QA Engineer

Validates the functionality of software through testing and bug reporting.

Important Skills: Java/Python, software testing, testing frameworks, databases, code documentation

Data/ML Roles

Data Scientist/Data Analyst

Uses math, coding, and problem-solving to gain insights from data (often using ML algorithms).

Important Skills: Python, ML, Advanced Math (statistics, probability, etc.), Databases, Cloud Computing

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Data Engineer

Assists developers by creating data infrastructure including pipelines, warehousing, and database management.

Important Skills: Python, Java, SQL, Cloud Services 

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AI/ML Engineer

Creates, tests, and deploys models that implement AI/ML algorithms, including LLMs, Neural Networks, Unsupervised learners, and more.

Important Skills: Python, Advanced Math, Neural Networks, NLP, Reinforcement Learning

Other Technical Roles

Systems Engineer

Designs, implements, and manages operating systems and distributed systems, ensuring that various components work together seamlessly.

Important Skills: System Design, Windows, Linux, Unix, networking concepts, Python, cybersecurity

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Cloud Engineer

Manages cloud-based infrastructure such as database hosting, file hosting, remote servers, etc.

Important Skills: AWS/Azure/GCP, Cloud Security, infrastructure skills

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DevOps Engineer

Manage the software lifecycle by overseeing the code deployments of software developers, systems operators, and other IT staff.

Important Skills: communication, collaboration, Python/Java, infrastructure, system administration

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Product Manager

Leads teams within an organization in both technical and managerial aspects.

Important Skills: communication, programming, time management, infrastructure, delegation, leadership

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Security Engineer

Specializes in creating and testing secure software, including “white-hat” vulberability discovery.

Important Skills: Python, Cloud Security, information security knowledge, problem-solving

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Game Developer

Develops video games for platforms such as PC, console, mobile, and web (including graphics, game engines, etc.).

‍Important Skills: C++/C#/Java, Unity/Unreal Engine, 3D graphics, animation, physics engines, high-performance code