Startups love chasing engineers with stacked GitHub profiles and expertise in the latest frameworks. But the real game changers bring more than just technical skills. The best software engineers know how to communicate, adapt, and collaborate. These soft skills keep teams running smoothly and products moving forward.
Soft Skills Matter More Than You Think
According to Deloitte Insights, 92% of companies say soft skills are just as important, if not more important, than technical abilities. Sure, coding skills might land an engineer the job, but it is communication, adaptability, and problem-solving that help them thrive in fast-moving startups. Teams that value these skills see smoother collaboration, quicker decisions, and better products.
But that is just the start. There are plenty of underrated soft skills that make software engineers truly invaluable to early stage startups. These are not just extras. They are what separate engineers who simply write code from those who help build a business.
Empathy: The Underrated Superpower
Empathy might just be the most overlooked soft skill for software engineers. The best engineers do not just write code. They think like users. They spot pain points before they even make it to user testing, which saves time and headaches down the road.
Engineers with strong empathy ask questions like:
- “How will this actually feel for the user?”
- “What challenges might someone run into using this?”
- “Which design makes things easier, not harder?”
By thinking ahead, empathetic engineers catch UX problems early, helping teams avoid wasted development time and keeping users happy.
Business Context Awareness: Seeing Beyond the Ticket
The best engineers do not just focus on writing code. They understand how their work impacts the startup’s bigger picture, including the business model, market positioning, and growth strategy. That awareness leads to smarter technical decisions that actually move the needle.
Engineers with business awareness:
- Focus on features that drive key metrics
- Build with the right level of scalability for the startup’s stage
- Question requirements that do not align with business goals
- Make smart tradeoffs when dealing with technical debt
This mindset turns an engineer from just another coder into a real strategic asset. On top of that, these engineers are often great at explaining technical decisions to non-technical stakeholders, making collaboration across teams much smoother.
Intellectual Humility: The Foundation for Continuous Growth
Another underrated trait in a great software engineer is intellectual humility. It is all about knowing that you do not know everything and staying open to feedback and new ideas. In a fast-moving startup, this mindset makes a huge difference.
Engineers with intellectual humility:
- Actively seek code reviews and feedback
- Ask questions instead of assuming they have all the answers
- Recognize when an approach is not working and pivot when needed
- Adapt quickly when new information or challenges arise
These engineers do not just improve their own skills. They lift up the entire team. Plus, they tend to write cleaner and more maintainable code because they know that their future selves or their teammates might need to understand and build on it later.
Productive Impatience: The Pragmatic Perfectionist
Patience is great and all, but the best engineers for startups have something even better. They have productive impatience, that itch to fix inefficiencies instead of just working around them. These engineers do not just accept clunky processes. They take the initiative to make things run smoother.
Engineers with this mindset:
- Automate boring, repetitive tasks
- Speed up deployment pipelines
- Improve documentation before anyone even asks
- Build internal tools that save everyone time
This kind of thinking pays off big time as the team grows. It also tends to show up in engineers who know their time is valuable and focus on what truly moves the needle.
Writing Clarity: The Multiplier Effect
Engineers do not just write code, they write clear commit messages, solid documentation, and technical specs that make life easier for everyone on the team.
Engineers who write well:
- Create documentation that answers questions before they are asked
- Leave commit messages that actually make sense later
- Explain technical decisions and tradeoffs in a way everyone understands
- Write bug reports and feature specs that cut down on confusion
This skill becomes even more important as the team grows or works across different time zones. Plus, engineers who write clearly tend to think more clearly, leading to better technical decisions in the long run.
Systems Thinking: Seeing the Forest and the Trees
Another overlooked programming soft skill is systems thinking. The best engineers do not just focus on individual features. They understand how everything connects and how one change can impact the whole system.
Engineers with strong systems thinking:
- Spot potential failures before they become major issues
- Build with resilience and fault tolerance in mind
- Think through how different systems and tools integrate
- Balance short-term fixes with long-term technical health
Startups that ignore this skill often end up drowning in technical debt as they grow. On the flip side, engineers who think this way not only build smarter systems but also make it easier to explain complex tech decisions to non-technical teams.
Constructive Dissent: The Courage to Push Back
One of the most valuable soft skills for programmers is knowing when to push back. The best engineers do not just take every requirement at face value. They ask questions, challenge assumptions, and make sure the team is heading in the right direction before diving into the code.
Engineers who do this well:
- Ask “why” before figuring out “how”
- Suggest better solutions instead of just pointing out problems
- Back up their concerns with logic and evidence
- Know when to challenge an idea and when to move forward
This skill is especially useful in early-stage startups where things change fast. Engineers who speak up at the right time do more than just write code. They help shape smarter product decisions.
Learning Agility: Adapting at Startup Speed
The best startup engineers are great at learning. In a fast-moving startup, new tools, frameworks, and challenges pop up constantly. The ones who thrive are the ones who can pick things up quickly and adapt without getting stuck.
Engineers with strong learning agility:
- Get up to speed on new languages and frameworks fast
- Apply concepts across different tech stacks
- Make sense of unfamiliar code without much hand-holding
- Learn from mistakes and iterate without hesitation
This skill keeps engineers valuable as a startup grows and pivots. On top of that, they are usually the ones who can tell which new tech is worth using and which is just hype.
How to Spot These Overlooked Soft Skills for Software Engineers
Traditional interviews often overlook the crucial soft skills software engineer candidates need to thrive in a startup. To spot these skills, consider adding these methods to your hiring process:
- Problem retrospectives: Ask about a tough technical problem they solved and focus on how they approached it, not just the final solution.
- Simulated debugging sessions: Give them unfamiliar code and see if they ask smart, clarifying questions.
- Cross-functional scenarios: Present a situation where they have to work with product or design teams and watch how they communicate.
- Technical writing samples: Ask them to explain a complex concept in writing or share past documentation.
- References from non-engineers: Talk to product managers or designers they have worked with to get insight into their collaboration skills.
These tactics help you find engineers who can do more than just code; they can think, communicate, and adapt in ways that drive real impact.
Building a Culture That Fosters These Traits
Hiring for these traits is just the start. Startups need to build an environment where these soft skills in software engineers can actually thrive:
- Show that intellectual humility matters by having leaders admit mistakes and adjust plans when new info comes in.
- Recognize systems thinking by giving credit to engineers who prevent problems before they happen.
- Encourage constructive dissent by listening to and acting on thoughtful pushback.
- Make writing clarity a priority by treating good documentation as a must-have, not an afterthought.
For more Insights:
10 Habits of Great Software Engineers (And How to Spot Them)
Conclusion
Technical skills are a given, but the engineers who truly make an impact bring more than just code. Startups that recognize, hire for, and develop these soft skills for software engineers build teams that do more than simply complete tasks. They help shape the overall direction of the company.
As your startup grows, these skills only become more important. Engineers who communicate clearly, think big-picture, and show empathy make an impact that goes way beyond their commits.
