What the JDs actually ask for
Twenty junior backend postings from October 2026, counted requirement by requirement, and the five changes they force on the plan.
This page counts what junior backend job descriptions asked for in October 2026. It exists so the plan aims at the real bar, not at a guess. Every number below comes from the 20 postings listed on this page, opened on 19 October 2026.
How this was collected
I searched LinkedIn, Instahyre, Cutshort, Wellfound and Ashby-hosted career pages for backend SDE-1, junior backend engineer, software engineer 1, associate software engineer, graduate engineer and backend intern roles. Cities covered were Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram, Mumbai and remote India.
I opened 20 postings and read the requirement text of each one. Postings that block a full read, or that only show an application form, are marked "listing, not opened" and are not counted.
Read these numbers with care
A job description is a wish list, not a test. Recruiters paste requirements across roles, and postings expire or get filled within weeks. Six of the 20 below no longer accept applications, and one is a two-year-old snapshot. Treat the counts as a direction, not a verdict.
The postings
| Posting | City | Status | Top requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| AiPrise, Software Engineer I | Bengaluru | Open | 0 to 2 years, one backend language, REST and microservices, Postgres, Git, CI/CD, Docker, production debugging |
| Amazon, Software Development Engineer I | Hyderabad | Open | 1+ years non-internship, one language, data structures and algorithms, code reviews, operational support |
| TalentRabbit, Associate Software Engineer | Bengaluru | Open | DSA basics, one language, OOP, APIs, databases, unit tests, code reviews, agile |
| Reputation, Software Engineer I | Hyderabad | Open | 2+ years, Java, API design, SQL and NoSQL, microservices, JUnit, CI, code reviews |
| Truveta, Software Engineer, Backend Services | Hyderabad | Open | 2+ years, C# and .NET, REST, microservices, Azure, unit tests, CI/CD, logging, metrics, tracing |
| Cisco, Software Engineer | Bengaluru | Open | 2 years, junior full stack, unit and end-to-end tests, incident triage, on-call, postmortems |
| Prasanz, Java Spring Boot Backend Developer | Hyderabad | Open | 4+ years, Java 17 and Spring Boot, Hibernate, Kafka, JUnit and Mockito, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD |
| CGI, Software Engineer, Java API Developer | Hyderabad | Open | 3+ years, Core Java, concurrency, REST APIs, microservices, async and event-driven work |
| FactWise, Junior Backend Engineer | Mumbai | Open | No experience required, Python and Django, React, AWS, serverless, APIs, code reviews |
| HelioAI, Backend Engineer Intern | Remote | Open | Node and TypeScript, Postgres or Mongo, Redis caching, retries, rate limits, idempotency, logging |
| GoodScore, Backend Engineer | Bengaluru | Closed | 0 to 2 years, Java or Go, MySQL, high-level design, performance tuning, mentoring |
| Moolya, Junior Backend Engineer | Bengaluru | Closed | 0 to 2 years, C++, clean and performant code, analytical skill, clear writing |
| ZYOD, Backend Engineer (SDE) | Gurugram | Closed | 0 to 2 years, Node or Go or Java, OOP, algorithms, multi-tier systems, relational databases |
| Vcriate, SDE-1 Backend Developer | Pune | Open | 0 to 1 years, Java and Spring Boot, SQL, Mongo, Redis, AWS, Kafka, test strategy, ownership |
| Dicetech, Backend Developer (Java) | Pune | Old snapshot | 2 to 4 years, Java EE, multithreading, MySQL, REST, event processing, TDD, Git, Linux, Docker |
| ZOOP, Backend Engineer, Golang | Pune | Open | 4 to 7 years, Go microservices, Kafka, Cassandra, Elasticsearch, Docker, Kubernetes, observability |
| Khatabook, Backend Engineer SDE I and II | Bengaluru | Closed | 1 to 3 years, DSA, OOP, SQL schema design, message queues, caching, AWS, unit tests |
| 7-Eleven, Software Engineer I, Backend | Bengaluru | Closed | 1 to 3 years, Node and Express, REST APIs, MongoDB, unit tests, version control |
| PhonePe, Software Engineer, Backend | Bengaluru | Closed | 1 to 3 years, Java or C or C++, concurrency, design patterns, TDD, MySQL and NoSQL, Linux |
| Garnish, Backend Developer Intern | Hyderabad | Open | 1 to 2 years, Node and Express, Jest and Mocha, REST and GraphQL, OAuth and JWT, Mongo, SQL, AWS |
One more, Juspay, Software Development Engineer Backend, is a listing, not opened. The page is an application form with no requirement text.
Requirement frequency
Counted across the 20 postings above.
| Requirement | How often seen | Where the plan covers it |
|---|---|---|
| A relational database and schema design | 12 of 20 | Ledgerline schema, DBMS and SQL drills |
| REST or HTTP API design | 13 of 20 | Ledgerline endpoints, LLD designs |
| Unit tests or test-driven development | 13 of 20 | Every project milestone has tests, machine coding runs |
| NoSQL store or cache | 13 of 20 | Ledgerline caching notes, system design blocks |
| Java | 11 of 20 | Not covered, and deliberately so. See below. |
| A cloud platform (AWS, Azure, GCP) | 8 of 20 | Shiplane uses a VPS, not a cloud account |
| Microservices | 8 of 20 | Single services today, split is a planned change |
| A CS or engineering degree | 7 of 20 | In progress, finishing June 2027 |
| Message queue or Kafka | 6 of 20 | Logsmith is a queue, Ledgerline has an outbox |
| Git and version control | 6 of 20 | Daily commits, public repos |
| Go | 5 of 20 | All three flagship projects |
| Node or TypeScript | 5 of 20 | Logsmith clients, second language in the split |
| Docker | 5 of 20 | Shiplane builds and runs containers |
| CI/CD | 4 of 20 | Thin today: deploys are scripted, not gated |
| Python | 4 of 20 | Secondary, no project uses it |
| Observability: logs, metrics, traces, alerts | 4 of 20 | Shiplane /metrics, alerts and postmortem |
| Kubernetes | 3 of 20 | Not covered. Shiplane uses systemd and Docker. |
| Spring or Spring Boot | 2 of 20 | Not covered |
| Linux | 2 of 20 | Implied by the VPS work, never named as a skill |
Two things the table does not show. First, every posting states a years range, and only six accept a candidate with no full-time experience. Amazon's SDE I asks for 1+ years of non-internship work, which a 2027 graduate does not have. Second, only four postings name data structures and algorithms, yet every one of these companies screens on it. The JD is not the interview.
What this confirms
- SQL and APIs are still the core. 12 and 13 of 20 ask for them by name, and Ledgerline already answers both with numbers.
- The ownership language is everywhere. "End to end", "complete ownership", "design to deploy" and "debug production issues" appear in most postings.
- Go appears in 5 of the 20 postings in this sample. That supports keeping Go in the portfolio, but one small sample cannot show the whole market.
- Testing is a screening line, not a bonus. 13 of 20 name unit tests or TDD, and a repo with a test command and a coverage number clears it cheaply.
- Message queues separate you at this level. 6 of 20 name Kafka or a queue, and a fresher who has built one, with delivery semantics written down, is rare.
Gaps this exposes
The plan is strong on Go, Postgres, queues and ownership. It is thin in five places that JDs name directly.
- Java and Spring. 11 of 20 mention Java in this sample. Keep applying when your core skills fit, and decide whether to learn a second stack from current openings rather than assuming every Java role is out of reach.
- Kubernetes. Only 3 of 20 ask, so this is not urgent. It is still the difference between "used Docker" and "deployed on a cluster" at infra-heavy companies.
- CI/CD depth. Deploys exist, but nothing runs tests on every push and blocks a merge. That is what the phrase means in a JD.
- Observability tools. Shiplane writes
/metricsby hand, which teaches the concept. Employers ask for Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog and tracing. You can answer the concept and not the tool names. - Linux as a named skill. 2 of 20 list it, and you will use it daily on the VPS, but nothing in the plan says "explain systemd, permissions, processes". OS fundamentals is close, and it is not the same.
Cloud certifications remain a deliberate skip. No posting in this set asked for one, which supports the operating rules.
Five low-cost adjustments
-
Add continuous integration to the main project. Run tests and static checks on each change. Add a container build if the project uses Docker.
-
State the test command and include tests for normal behavior, invalid input, and one important failure case. Add a coverage figure only if you measured it.
-
Make the worker a separate process only if it improves the explanation or testability. Do not add a message broker or split a service to match a keyword.
-
Add Prometheus-compatible metrics or a local dashboard only if you can explain what each metric measures. Keep the deployment project small and reproducible.
-
If you are applying to Java roles, complete one small Java exercise that demonstrates the language and testing basics. Treat Kubernetes as optional unless your target roles repeatedly require it.
What stays the same
Use these as choices, not a new checklist. Do not take hours from DSA, interview practice, or a working project to add a technology that your target roles do not need.
See market findings for the loop, the money and the stack argument behind these numbers.
Common mistakes
- Count the requirement before you add a skill to the plan. Three of 20 is not a signal, 13 of 20 is.
- Lead with the requirement you can prove with a link and a number.
- Re-run this count in January. The market moves, and so should the plan.