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Water/Wastewater Engineer resume example

A resume for a Water/Wastewater Engineer needs to show the work itself: design or oversee projects involving provision of potable water, disposal of wastewater and sewage, or prevention of flood-related damage. Day to day that means work like this: provide technical direction or supervision to junior engineers, engineering or computer-aided design (CAD) technicians, or other technical personnel; review and critique proposals, plans, or designs related to water or wastewater treatment 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.

  • Consulting Engineer
  • County Engineer
  • Engineer
  • Project Development Engineer
  • Dimensional Engineer
  • Hydraulics Engineer
  • Hydrologic Modeler
  • Remediation Engineer
  • Remediation Project Engineer
  • Wastewater Design Engineer
  • Wastewater Engineer
  • Wastewater Process Engineer
  • Wastewater Project Engineer
  • Water Engineer
  • Water Project Engineer
  • Water Resources Engineer
  • Water Resources Project Engineer
  • Water Systems Designer

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.

  • Provide technical direction or supervision to junior engineers, engineering or computer-aided design (CAD) technicians, or other technical personnel.
  • Review and critique proposals, plans, or designs related to water or wastewater treatment systems.
  • Design domestic or industrial water or wastewater treatment plants, including advanced facilities with sequencing batch reactors (SBR), membranes, lift stations, headworks, surge overflow basins, ultraviolet disinfection systems, aerobic digesters, sludge lagoons, or control buildings.
  • Evaluate the operation and maintenance of water or wastewater systems to identify ways to improve their efficiency.
  • Design or select equipment for use in wastewater processing to ensure compliance with government standards.
  • Design pumping systems, pumping stations, pipelines, force mains, or sewers for the collection of wastewater.
  • Design water distribution systems for potable or non-potable water.
  • Conduct water quality studies to identify and characterize water pollutant sources.
  • Analyze and recommend chemical, biological, or other wastewater treatment methods to prepare water for industrial or domestic use.
  • Identify design alternatives for the development of new water resources.
  • Design water runoff collection networks, water supply channels, or water supply system networks.
  • Design water or wastewater lift stations, including water wells.

28 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.

  • Provide technical direction or supervision to junior engineers, engineering or computer-aided design (CAD) technicians, or other technical personnel, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Review and critique proposals, plans, or designs related to water or wastewater treatment systems, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Design domestic or industrial water or wastewater treatment plants, including advanced facilities with sequencing batch reactors (SBR), membranes, lift stations, headworks, surge overflow basins, ultraviolet disinfection systems, aerobic digesters, sludge lagoons, or control buildings, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Evaluate the operation and maintenance of water or wastewater systems to identify ways to improve their efficiency, 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 Revit
  • Bash
  • Bentley GEOPAK Civil Engineering Suite
  • Bentley InRoads Suite
  • Bentley MicroStation
  • Bentley SewerCAD
  • Bentley StormCAD
  • Bentley WaterCAD
  • Business software applications
  • Computer aided design and drafting software CADD
  • DHI MIKE URBAN
  • Eagle Point LANDCADD

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.

  • Computer data input scanners
  • Computer laser printers
  • Desktop computers
  • Digitizers
  • Laptop computers
  • Large-format plotters
  • 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.

  • 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. 02Judgment and Decision Making
  3. 03Reading Comprehension
  4. 04Writing
  5. 05Active Listening
  6. 06Complex Problem Solving
  7. 07Mathematics
  8. 08Systems Analysis
  9. 09Systems Evaluation
  10. 10Speaking

Knowledge areas

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

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

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.

  • 70%Bachelor's Degree
  • 26%Master's Degree
  • 4%First Professional Degree, awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.

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 Water/Wastewater Engineer do?
Design or oversee projects involving provision of potable water, disposal of wastewater and sewage, or prevention of flood-related damage. Day to day that includes work like provide technical direction or supervision to junior engineers, engineering or computer-aided design (CAD) technicians, or other technical personnel and Review and critique proposals, plans, or designs related to water or wastewater treatment systems.
What skills should a Water/Wastewater Engineer put on a resume?
O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, Reading Comprehension, Writing, 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 Water/Wastewater Engineer list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D, Autodesk Revit, Bash, and Bentley GEOPAK Civil Engineering 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 Water/Wastewater Engineer work?
O*NET records 22 titles for this occupation, including Consulting Engineer, County Engineer, Engineer, and Project Development Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Water/Wastewater Engineer need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 70% 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 Water/Wastewater 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.