What does a Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist do?

Design objects, facilities, and environments to optimize human well-being and overall system performance, applying theory, principles, and data regarding the relationship between humans and respective technology. Day to day that includes work like collect data through direct observation of work activities or witnessing the conduct of tests and Conduct interviews or surveys of users or customers to collect information on topics, such as requirements, needs, fatigue, ergonomics, or interfaces.

What skills should a Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, and Speaking 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 Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe InDesign. 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 Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist work?

O*NET records 22 titles for this occupation, including Engineer, Ergonomist, Human Factors Engineer, and Occupational Ergonomist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 50% reported their level of education as "Master's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist 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.

Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist resume example

A resume for a Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist needs to show the work itself: design objects, facilities, and environments to optimize human well-being and overall system performance, applying theory, principles, and data regarding the relationship between humans and respective technology. Day to day that means work like this: collect data through direct observation of work activities or witnessing the conduct of tests; conduct interviews or surveys of users or customers to collect information on topics, such as requirements, needs, fatigue, ergonomics, or interfaces. 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.

Engineer
Ergonomist
Human Factors Engineer
Occupational Ergonomist
Board Certified Ergonomist
Certified Professional Ergonomist
Cognitive Engineer
Ergonomic Consultant
Ergonomics Technical Advisor
Human Factors Advisor
HMI Engineer
UI Designer
Engineering Psychologist
Ergonomic Specialist
Ergonomics Engineer
Human Factors Ergonomist
Human Factors Specialist
Human Machine Interface Engineer

O*NET records 22 titles for this occupation in total.

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.

Collect data through direct observation of work activities or witnessing the conduct of tests.
Conduct interviews or surveys of users or customers to collect information on topics, such as requirements, needs, fatigue, ergonomics, or interfaces.
Advocate for end users in collaboration with other professionals, including engineers, designers, managers, or customers.
Inspect work sites to identify physical hazards.
Prepare reports or presentations summarizing results or conclusions of human factors engineering or ergonomics activities, such as testing, investigation, or validation.
Recommend workplace changes to improve health and safety, using knowledge of potentially harmful factors, such as heavy loads or repetitive motions.
Perform functional, task, or anthropometric analysis, using tools, such as checklists, surveys, videotaping, or force measurement.
Provide technical support to clients through activities, such as rearranging workplace fixtures to reduce physical hazards or discomfort or modifying task sequences to reduce cycle time.
Assess the user-interface or usability characteristics of products.
Establish system operating or training requirements to ensure optimized human-machine interfaces.
Integrate human factors requirements into operational hardware.
Review health, safety, accident, or worker compensation records to evaluate safety program effectiveness or to identify jobs with high incidence of injury.

26 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.

Collect data through direct observation of work activities or witnessing the conduct of tests, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Conduct interviews or surveys of users or customers to collect information on topics, such as requirements, needs, fatigue, ergonomics, or interfaces, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Advocate for end users in collaboration with other professionals, including engineers, designers, managers, or customers, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Inspect work sites to identify physical hazards, 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.

Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Creative Cloud software
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
AEMC DataView
AJAX
Altia Design
Apple Safari
Atlassian JIRA
Autodesk AutoCAD
Bit Debris Solutions Usability Activity Log
C++

64 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.

Algometers
Anthropometers
Automated blood pressure measurement equipment
Body fat measurement calipers
Colorimeters
Computer laser printers
Desktop computers
Digital audio recorders
Digital force gauges
Digital video cameras
Electrocardiography EKG monitors
Electroencephalography EEG equipment

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.

Adobe Dreamweaver
AEMC DataView

What this job rates as most important

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

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

Knowledge areas

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

Psychology
English Language
Design
Engineering and Technology
Education and Training
Mathematics
Customer and Personal Service
Sociology and Anthropology

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.

50%Master's Degree
40%Bachelor's Degree
10%Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Extensive Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Common questions

What does a Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist do?: Design objects, facilities, and environments to optimize human well-being and overall system performance, applying theory, principles, and data regarding the relationship between humans and respective technology. Day to day that includes work like collect data through direct observation of work activities or witnessing the conduct of tests and Conduct interviews or surveys of users or customers to collect information on topics, such as requirements, needs, fatigue, ergonomics, or interfaces.
What skills should a Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, and Speaking 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 Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe InDesign. 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 Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist work?: O*NET records 22 titles for this occupation, including Engineer, Ergonomist, Human Factors Engineer, and Occupational Ergonomist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 50% reported their level of education as "Master's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomist 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.