Software Engineer resume example
Built from the O*NET occupation Software Developer, which is how this job is recorded officially.
A resume for a Software Engineer needs to show the work itself: research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs. Day to day that means work like this: analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan installation of a new system or modification of an existing system; analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints. 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.
- Application Developer
- Application Integration Engineer
- Software Architect
- Developer
- Infrastructure Engineer
- Network Engineer
- Software Development Engineer
- Software Engineer
- Systems Engineer
- AI Specialist
- CNE
- CCIE
- CCNP
- DevOps Architect
- DevOps Developer
- EDP System Engineer
- ETL Developer
- SOA Developer
O*NET records 40 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 information to determine, recommend, and plan installation of a new system or modification of an existing system.
- Analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints.
- Confer with data processing or project managers to obtain information on limitations or capabilities for data processing projects.
- Confer with systems analysts, engineers, programmers and others to design systems and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements and interfaces.
- Consult with customers or other departments on project status, proposals, or technical issues, such as software system design or maintenance.
- Coordinate installation of software system.
- Design, develop and modify software systems, using scientific analysis and mathematical models to predict and measure outcomes and consequences of design.
- Determine system performance standards.
- Develop or direct software system testing or validation procedures, programming, or documentation.
- Modify existing software to correct errors, adapt it to new hardware, or upgrade interfaces and improve performance.
- Monitor functioning of equipment to ensure system operates in conformance with specifications.
- Obtain and evaluate information on factors such as reporting formats required, costs, or security needs to determine hardware configuration.
19 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 information to determine, recommend, and plan installation of a new system or modification of an existing system, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
- Analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
- Confer with data processing or project managers to obtain information on limitations or capabilities for data processing projects, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
- Confer with systems analysts, engineers, programmers and others to design systems and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements and interfaces, 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.
- 3M Post-it App
- A programming language APL
- ABC Compiler
- ABC: the AspectBench Compiler for AspectJ
- Ada
- ADO.NET
- Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe ActionScript
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Dreamweaver
- Adobe Flex
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
425 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.
- Application servers
- Computer servers
- Desktop computers
- Digital cameras
- Directory servers
- Flash disks
- Graphics processing unit GPU
- In circuit emulators ICE
- Logic analyzers
- Mainframe computers
- Multi-core central processing unit CPU
- Notebook 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.
- JavaScript
- Python
- Java
- SQL
- Git
- REST APIs
- CI/CD
- unit testing
- system design
- Agile
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 Software Engineer do?
- Research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs. Day to day that includes work like analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan installation of a new system or modification of an existing system and Analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints.
- What software should a Software Engineer list?
- Software recorded for this occupation includes 3M Post-it App, A programming language APL, ABC Compiler, ABC: the AspectBench Compiler for AspectJ, and Ada. 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 Software Engineer work?
- O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Application Developer, Application Integration Engineer, Software Architect, and Developer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
- Will this resume pass an ATS for a Software 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.