SDE stands for Software Development Engineer. SDE 1, SDE 2 and SDE 3 are the junior, mid and senior levels at companies such as Amazon, Flipkart and Swiggy, but the years of experience behind each level differ by company. In October 2026 Amazon India's SDE I postings asked for 1 or more years of non-internship experience, and Microsoft, Google, Atlassian and Meta use Software Engineer titles instead of SDE. "SDE 1 means fresher" is not true everywhere.
Almost every figure on this page comes from a live job posting or an official hiring page read on 4 November 2026, with the date noted. Pay figures are from levels.fyi, which is self-reported, and are shown as the medians the site displays.
SDE full form
SDE = Software Development Engineer. Amazon uses it as the formal job title, with Software Development Engineer I, II and Senior (or III). Flipkart's official interview guide also says SDE stands for Software Development Engineer, and Swiggy uses SDE-I, SDE-II and SDE-III, with an Associate SDE (aSDE) role below SDE-1 for freshers and early-career hires.
Many large employers do not use the title. On 4 November 2026 Microsoft India listed Software Engineer, Software Engineer II and Senior Software Engineer. Google uses Software Engineer II, III and Senior, Atlassian uses Software Engineer II and Senior, and Meta and Uber use Software Engineer. Some postings still say SDE in the body: an Apple Hyderabad posting titled Software Engineer asks for a strong Software Development Engineer.
What SDE 1, SDE 2 and SDE 3 mean
| Level | Typical meaning | Amazon label |
|---|---|---|
| SDE 1 (junior) | Builds well-defined features and fixes bugs, with guidance from senior engineers | SDE I, level L4 |
| SDE 2 (mid) | Designs and owns features or components end to end, and reviews others' code | SDE II, level L5 |
| SDE 3 (senior) | Leads design across a team or system, makes architecture decisions and mentors | Senior SDE or SDE III, level L6 |
| Beyond | Sets direction for many teams | Principal SDE, level L7 |
This is a typical reading, not a rule. Flipkart's guide says SDE-1s and SDE-2s create features from product requirements and design and code components in their area. Level labels such as L4 for SDE I come from levels.fyi, not from Amazon, which does not publish a level page.
Experience actually asked for, from 2026 postings
| Company and title | Experience in the posting | Posting date |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon, Software Development Engineer I (Hyderabad) | 1+ years of non-internship professional software development | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Amazon, Software Development Engineer (generic title, Hyderabad) | 3+ years of software development and 2+ years of design or architecture | 30 Oct 2026 |
| Amazon, SDE II, Prime Benefits (Bengaluru) | 3+ years of development and 2+ years of design or architecture | 22 Oct 2026 |
| Amazon, SDE II, Amazon Pay (Bengaluru) | 2+ years of non-internship development | 2 Nov 2026 |
| Amazon, Sr. SDE (Bengaluru) | 5+ years of development, 5+ years of programming and 5+ years of leading design | Oct 2026 |
| Microsoft, Software Engineer (Bengaluru) | Bachelor's and 2+ years of technical engineering experience | 3 to 4 Nov 2026 |
| Microsoft, Software Engineer II (Hyderabad) | Bachelor's and 4+ years, preferred 3 to 4 | 3 Nov 2026 |
| Microsoft, Senior Software Engineer (Hyderabad) | 7+ years of industry experience | 4 Nov 2026 |
| Google, Software Engineer II, Early Career | Bachelor's and 1 year in an industry setting (listed US locations) | Retrieved 4 Nov 2026, no date shown |
| Google, Software Engineer III | 2 years, or 1 year with an advanced degree | Retrieved 4 Nov 2026 |
| Atlassian, Software Engineer II (Bengaluru) | 4+ years of backend development in production | Feed updated 28 Oct 2026 |
| Atlassian, Senior Software Engineer (Bengaluru) | 8+ years of backend development | Feed updated Oct 2026 |
| Meta, WhatsApp Software Engineer (Bangalore) | 8+ years of programming, or 4+ with a PhD | Retrieved 4 Nov 2026, no date shown |
For Flipkart and Swiggy the live postings could not be read. levels.fyi's self-reported typical experience for Flipkart is SDE 1 at 1 to 2 years, SDE 2 at 4 to 5 and SDE 3 at 7 to 8. Treat that as indicative only. The lesson: read the posting, not the title.
What interviews test at each level
- Amazon SDE II: an online assessment of about 90 minutes with two coding questions, about 20 minutes of system design scenarios and a work-style survey linked to its Leadership Principles, then a loop of four 55-minute interviews. Amazon says to expect at least one software system design question and that code must be correct, scalable, tested and handle bad input.
- Amazon Senior SDE: a 60-minute phone screen with a senior leader, half Leadership Principles and half coding and design, then five 55-minute interviews.
- Amazon new-graduate SDE: an online assessment averaging about 70 minutes of coding plus work-style and simulation sections.
- Microsoft: problem solving, design, coding and testing. It lists arrays, strings, queues, linked lists, trees, hash maps and graphs, and asks you to explain complexity in big-O.
- Flipkart (2020 guide): a 120-minute machine-coding round, then a problem-solving round on structures such as arrays, hash maps, trees, graphs and heaps.
- AI in interviews differs: Meta says candidates are expected to use a built-in AI assistant in many interviews, while Google's candidate guide says using AI during an interview to answer questions is not allowed. Check each company's rule.
Prepare with the DSA learning path, hash maps, recursion and dynamic programming. For a deeper guide see Masai's SDE levels explained and cracking an SDE-1 role.
Reported pay by level (self-reported, India)
These are median total compensation figures per year, base plus stock plus bonus, as displayed by levels.fyi on 3 to 4 November 2026. They are self-reported, not official, and vary with experience and city.
| Company | Level and median total compensation |
|---|---|
| Amazon India | L4: Rs 29.7 lakh; L5: Rs 63.7 lakh; L6: Rs 1.29 crore |
| Google India | L3: Rs 45.1 lakh; L4: Rs 72.7 lakh; L5 (Senior): Rs 1.25 crore |
| Microsoft India | Level 59: Rs 27.4 lakh; 60: Rs 32.7 lakh; 61: Rs 43.2 lakh; 62: Rs 58.6 lakh; 63 (Senior): Rs 66.7 lakh |
| Flipkart | SDE 1: Rs 22.2 lakh; SDE 2: Rs 36.5 lakh; SDE 3: Rs 57.1 lakh |
| Atlassian India | P30: Rs 44.0 lakh; P40: Rs 71.0 lakh; P50 (Senior): Rs 1.05 crore |
| All software engineers in India | Median Rs 30.6 lakh across 21,679 salaries; 25th percentile Rs 17.6 lakh, 75th Rs 49.7 lakh |
The all-India median is dominated by experienced engineers at larger companies, so it is not a fresher's expected pay.
How to move from SDE 1 to SDE 2
- Own a feature end to end, from design to release and support.
- Write design documents and get them reviewed before you code.
- Review other people's code and raise the quality of your team's tests.
- Learn the system around your feature: data, scale, failure modes and cost.
- Mentor newer engineers, and make your impact measurable in numbers.
Common myths
- "SDE 1 is always a fresher role." Not at several companies, as the postings above show.
- "SDE 2 means exactly 3 years." It depends on the company, and Amazon's own postings range from 2 to 3 or more.
- "Every big company says SDE." Most use Software Engineer titles.
- "Pay depends only on level." It also depends on company, city and negotiation, and the figures above are self-reported.
Frequently asked questions
What is the full form of SDE?
Software Development Engineer. It is the job title used by Amazon, Flipkart and Swiggy.
What is the difference between SDE 1, SDE 2 and SDE 3?
SDE 1 builds well-defined features with guidance, SDE 2 owns features or components end to end and designs them, and SDE 3 leads design across a team or system and mentors others. Years of experience differ by company.
Is SDE 1 a fresher role?
Sometimes, but not always. Amazon India's SDE I postings in October 2026 asked for 1 or more years of non-internship experience, and Swiggy has a separate Associate SDE role for freshers.
What is the salary of an SDE 1 in India?
It varies by company. On levels.fyi, self-reported medians are about Rs 22 lakh at Flipkart SDE 1 and Rs 29.7 lakh at Amazon L4. Treat them as indicative.
What is SDE 2 full form?
Software Development Engineer II, the mid-level engineer who owns features and designs components.
Do Google and Microsoft have SDE titles?
Not in their 2026 postings. Google uses Software Engineer II, III and Senior, and Microsoft uses Software Engineer, Software Engineer II and Senior Software Engineer.
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