What skills should a Photonics Engineer put on a resume?

O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Active Listening, and Active Learning 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 Photonics Engineer list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adept Scientific GRAMS, Apollo Photonics APSS, Autodesk AutoCAD, BPM_CAD, 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 Photonics Engineer work?

O*NET records 19 titles for this occupation, including Laser Engineer, Optical Design Engineer, Optical Engineer, and Optical Systems Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Photonics Engineer need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 52% 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 Photonics 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.

Photonics Engineer resume example

A resume for a Photonics Engineer needs to show the work itself: design technologies specializing in light information or light energy, such as laser or fiber optics technology. Day to day that means work like this: analyze system performance or operational requirements; develop optical or imaging systems, such as optical imaging products, optical components, image processes, signal process technologies, or optical systems. 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.

Laser Engineer
Optical Design Engineer
Optical Engineer
Optical Systems Engineer
Algorithm Developer
Optical Specialist
Optoelectronics Engineer
Research and Development Engineer
R and D Engineer
Research Engineer
DWDM Optical Network Engineer
Electro-optical Engineer
Electro-optics Engineer
Fiber Optics Engineer
Laser Systems Engineer
Optical Network Engineer
Optical Test Engineer
Optics Engineer

O*NET records 19 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.

Analyze system performance or operational requirements.
Develop optical or imaging systems, such as optical imaging products, optical components, image processes, signal process technologies, or optical systems.
Develop or test photonic prototypes or models.
Design, integrate, or test photonics systems or components.
Assist in the transition of photonic prototypes to production.
Read current literature, talk with colleagues, continue education, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in the field.
Write reports or proposals related to photonics research or development projects.
Conduct testing to determine functionality or optimization or to establish limits of photonics systems or components.
Determine applications of photonics appropriate to meet product objectives or features.
Conduct research on new photonics technologies.
Design electro-optical sensing or imaging systems.
Document photonics system or component design processes, including objectives, issues, or outcomes.

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.

Analyze system performance or operational requirements, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Develop optical or imaging systems, such as optical imaging products, optical components, image processes, signal process technologies, or optical systems, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Develop or test photonic prototypes or models, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Design, integrate, or test photonics systems or components, 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.

Adept Scientific GRAMS
Apollo Photonics APSS
Autodesk AutoCAD
BPM_CAD
C
C#
C++
Computer-aided drafting or design software
Dassault Systemes CATIA
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
Debugging software
ESRI ArcGIS software
ESRI software
Facebook

51 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.

Argon-ion lasers
Atomic force microscopes AFM
Autocorrelators
Bench refractometers
Biosafety cabinets
Chemical hoods
Chemical mechanical polishing CMP systems
Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering CARS microscopes
Confocal fluorescence microscopes
Contact lithography systems
Cryostats
Current monitors

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++
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks

What this job rates as most important

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

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

Knowledge areas

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

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

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.

52%Bachelor's Degree
38%Master's Degree
5%Associate'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 Photonics Engineer do?: Design technologies specializing in light information or light energy, such as laser or fiber optics technology. Day to day that includes work like analyze system performance or operational requirements and Develop optical or imaging systems, such as optical imaging products, optical components, image processes, signal process technologies, or optical systems.
What skills should a Photonics Engineer put on a resume?: O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Active Listening, and Active Learning 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 Photonics Engineer list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adept Scientific GRAMS, Apollo Photonics APSS, Autodesk AutoCAD, BPM_CAD, 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 Photonics Engineer work?: O*NET records 19 titles for this occupation, including Laser Engineer, Optical Design Engineer, Optical Engineer, and Optical Systems Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Photonics Engineer need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 52% 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 Photonics 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.