What does a Electronics Engineer do?

Research, design, develop, or test electronic components and systems for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use employing knowledge of electronic theory and materials properties. Day to day that includes work like design electronic components, software, products, or systems for commercial, industrial, medical, military, or scientific applications and Operate computer-assisted engineering or design software or equipment to perform electronics engineering tasks.

What skills should a Electronics Engineer put on a resume?

O*NET rates Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, and Active Listening among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Electronics Engineer list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Agile Product Lifecyle Management PLM, Ansoft Simplorer, Apache Subversion SVN, Autodesk AutoCAD, and C. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Electronics Engineer work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Electronics Engineers, Except Computer, Design Engineer, Integrated Circuit Design Engineer, and IC Design Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Electronics Engineer need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 83% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Electronics Engineer role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Electronics Engineer resume example

A resume for a Electronics Engineer needs to show the work itself: research, design, develop, or test electronic components and systems for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use employing knowledge of electronic theory and materials properties. Day to day that means work like this: design electronic components, software, products, or systems for commercial, industrial, medical, military, or scientific applications; operate computer-assisted engineering or design software or equipment to perform electronics engineering tasks. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Electronics Engineers, Except Computer
Design Engineer
Integrated Circuit Design Engineer
IC Design Engineer
Product Engineer
Test Engineer
Compatibility Test Engineer
Electronics Design Engineer
Engineer
Evaluation Engineer
Radio Frequency Engineer
RF Engineer
Research and Development Engineer
R and D Engineer
AV Engineer
EDA Engineer
FPGA Verification Engineer
FPGA Engineer

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

Integrated Circuit Design Engineer (IC Design Engineer)
Radio Frequency Engineer (RF Engineer)
Research and Development Engineer (R and D Engineer)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Design electronic components, software, products, or systems for commercial, industrial, medical, military, or scientific applications.
Operate computer-assisted engineering or design software or equipment to perform electronics engineering tasks.
Evaluate project work to ensure effectiveness, technical adequacy, or compatibility in the resolution of complex electronics engineering problems.
Direct or coordinate activities concerned with manufacture, construction, installation, maintenance, operation, or modification of electronic equipment, products, or systems.
Confer with engineers, customers, vendors, or others to discuss existing or potential electronics engineering projects or products.
Provide technical support or instruction to staff or customers regarding electronics equipment standards.
Recommend repair or design modifications of electronics components or systems, based on factors such as environment, service, cost, or system capabilities.
Prepare documentation containing information such as confidential descriptions or specifications of proprietary hardware or software, product development or introduction schedules, product costs, or information about product performance weaknesses.
Develop or perform operational, maintenance, or testing procedures for electronic products, components, equipment, or systems.
Analyze electronics system requirements, capacity, cost, or customer needs to determine project feasibility.
Prepare, review, or maintain maintenance schedules, design documentation, or operational reports or charts.
Inspect electronic equipment, instruments, products, or systems to ensure conformance to specifications, safety standards, or applicable codes or regulations.

20 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Design electronic components, software, products, or systems for commercial, industrial, medical, military, or scientific applications, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Operate computer-assisted engineering or design software or equipment to perform electronics engineering tasks, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Evaluate project work to ensure effectiveness, technical adequacy, or compatibility in the resolution of complex electronics engineering problems, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Direct or coordinate activities concerned with manufacture, construction, installation, maintenance, operation, or modification of electronic equipment, products, or systems, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Agile Product Lifecyle Management PLM
Ansoft Simplorer
Apache Subversion SVN
Autodesk AutoCAD
C
C++
Cadence PSpice
Canu
Dassault Systemes CATIA
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
Embarcadero Delphi
ESRI ArcGIS software
Extensible markup language XML
Field programmable gate array FPGA design software

52 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Communication bus analyzers
Desktop computers
Electronics counters
Electronics probes
Function generators
High-power pulsed lasers
Inductance capacitance resistance LCR meters
Logic analyzers
Microprocessors
Multimeters
Oscilloscopes
Personal computers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

C
C++
Python

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Complex Problem Solving
02Critical Thinking
03Reading Comprehension
04Speaking
05Active Listening
06Judgment and Decision Making
07Systems Analysis
08Mathematics
09Writing
10Monitoring

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Engineering and Technology
Computers and Electronics
Design
Mathematics
English Language
Mechanical
Physics
Education and Training

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

83%Bachelor's Degree
14%Associate's Degree
3%Master's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Electronics Engineer do?: Research, design, develop, or test electronic components and systems for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use employing knowledge of electronic theory and materials properties. Day to day that includes work like design electronic components, software, products, or systems for commercial, industrial, medical, military, or scientific applications and Operate computer-assisted engineering or design software or equipment to perform electronics engineering tasks.
What skills should a Electronics Engineer put on a resume?: O*NET rates Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, and Active Listening among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Electronics Engineer list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Agile Product Lifecyle Management PLM, Ansoft Simplorer, Apache Subversion SVN, Autodesk AutoCAD, and C. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Electronics Engineer work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Electronics Engineers, Except Computer, Design Engineer, Integrated Circuit Design Engineer, and IC Design Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Electronics Engineer need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 83% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Electronics Engineer role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.