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Transportation Engineer resume example

A resume for a Transportation Engineer needs to show the work itself: develop plans for surface transportation projects, according to established engineering standards and state or federal construction policy. Day to day that means work like this: design or prepare plans for new transportation systems or parts of systems, such as airports, commuter trains, highways, streets, bridges, drainage structures, or roadway lighting; check construction plans, design calculations, or cost estimations to ensure completeness, accuracy, or conformity to engineering standards or practices. 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
  • Project Engineer
  • Traffic Engineer
  • Rail Engineer
  • Roadway Designer
  • Roadway Engineer
  • State Roadway Design Engineer
  • Traffic Operations Engineer
  • Airport Engineer
  • Civil Transportation Engineer
  • Highway Civil Engineer
  • Highway Engineer
  • Highway Project Engineer
  • Road Engineer
  • Transportation Analyst
  • Transportation Consultant
  • Transportation Design Engineer
  • Transportation Planning 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 or prepare plans for new transportation systems or parts of systems, such as airports, commuter trains, highways, streets, bridges, drainage structures, or roadway lighting.
  • Check construction plans, design calculations, or cost estimations to ensure completeness, accuracy, or conformity to engineering standards or practices.
  • Prepare administrative, technical, or statistical reports on traffic-operation matters, such as accidents, safety measures, or pedestrian volume or practices.
  • Plan alteration or modification of existing transportation structures to improve safety or function.
  • Confer with contractors, utility companies, or government agencies to discuss plans, specifications, or work schedules.
  • Present data, maps, or other information at construction-related public hearings or meetings.
  • Prepare final project layout drawings that include details such as stress calculations.
  • Investigate traffic problems and recommend methods to improve traffic flow or safety.
  • Estimate transportation project costs.
  • Design or engineer drainage, erosion, or sedimentation control systems for transportation projects.
  • Evaluate traffic control devices or lighting systems to determine need for modification or expansion.
  • Prepare project budgets, schedules, or specifications for labor or materials.

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.

  • Design or prepare plans for new transportation systems or parts of systems, such as airports, commuter trains, highways, streets, bridges, drainage structures, or roadway lighting, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Check construction plans, design calculations, or cost estimations to ensure completeness, accuracy, or conformity to engineering standards or practices, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Prepare administrative, technical, or statistical reports on traffic-operation matters, such as accidents, safety measures, or pedestrian volume or practices, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Plan alteration or modification of existing transportation structures to improve safety or function, 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.

  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
  • Autodesk Land Desktop
  • Bentley GEOPAK Civil Engineering Suite
  • Bentley InRoads Suite
  • Bentley MicroStation
  • Citilabs Cube
  • Computer aided design and drafting software CADD
  • Cubic Synchro Studio
  • ESRI ArcGIS software
  • McTrans Center TSIS-CORSIM
  • McTrans HCS+
  • McTrans TRANSYT-7F
  • Microsoft Excel

32 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.

  • Computer laser printers
  • Desktop computers
  • Digital cameras
  • Laptop computers
  • Laser facsimile machines
  • Mobile radios
  • Multi-line telephone systems
  • Personal computers
  • Photocopying 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.

  • AutoCAD
  • AutoCAD Civil 3D
  • Bentley MicroStation

What this job rates as most important

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

  1. 01Critical Thinking
  2. 02Reading Comprehension
  3. 03Speaking
  4. 04Writing
  5. 05Complex Problem Solving
  6. 06Judgment and Decision Making
  7. 07Mathematics
  8. 08Time Management
  9. 09Active Listening
  10. 10Systems Analysis

Knowledge areas

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

  • Engineering and Technology
  • Design
  • Transportation
  • Building and Construction
  • Mathematics
  • English Language
  • Physics
  • Administration and Management

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.

  • 77%Bachelor's Degree
  • 9%Associate's Degree
  • 9%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 “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 Transportation Engineer do?
Develop plans for surface transportation projects, according to established engineering standards and state or federal construction policy. Day to day that includes work like design or prepare plans for new transportation systems or parts of systems, such as airports, commuter trains, highways, streets, bridges, drainage structures, or roadway lighting and Check construction plans, design calculations, or cost estimations to ensure completeness, accuracy, or conformity to engineering standards or practices.
What skills should a Transportation Engineer put on a resume?
O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Writing, and Complex Problem Solving 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 Transportation Engineer list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D, Autodesk Land Desktop, Bentley GEOPAK Civil Engineering Suite, and Bentley InRoads Suite. 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 Transportation Engineer work?
O*NET records 18 titles for this occupation, including Engineer, Project Engineer, Traffic Engineer, and Rail Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Transportation Engineer need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 77% 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 Transportation 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.