Software Engineer Resume Examples & Template (2026)
Software engineering recruiters skim for stack, scope, and impact. The best resumes show shipped systems, measurable outcomes, and the exact technologies in the JD — not generic 'collaborated on team projects' filler.
Software Engineer resume example
Alex Rivera
Senior Software Engineer · Backend & Distributed Systems
Backend engineer with 6 years building high-throughput services in Go and TypeScript. Shipped systems handling 40k+ RPS with sub-100ms p99 latency.
- Cut checkout API p99 latency 62% (480ms → 180ms) by introducing read-replica routing and an in-process LRU cache.
- Led migration of 18 services from EC2 to EKS, reducing infra spend by $310k/year and on-call pages by 47%.
- Designed event-driven order pipeline (Kafka, Go) processing 12M events/day with exactly-once semantics.
- Mentored 4 junior engineers; 2 promoted to mid-level within a year.
ATS tips for software engineer resumes
Top skills for software engineer resumes
Hard skills
Soft skills
Best templates for software engineers
Common software engineer resume mistakes
- Listing every framework you've ever touched — it dilutes signal. Pick the 8–12 most relevant.
- Writing tasks instead of impact: 'Wrote unit tests' vs 'Raised test coverage from 38% → 81%, cut prod incidents 30%.'
- Hiding GitHub or portfolio link in the footer — put it in the header next to your email.
- Using a creative two-column template that breaks ATS parsing.
Software Engineer salary insights
Entry-level
$85k – $115k
Mid-level
$130k – $180k
Senior
$190k – $290k+
U.S. base salary ranges, 2025 BLS + Levels.fyi data.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a software engineer resume be?
One page for under 10 years of experience. Two pages only if you have 10+ years and genuinely distinct, impact-heavy roles to show.
Do I need a separate 'Projects' section?
Only if you have less than 3 years of professional experience, or if a side project is more impressive than your day job. Otherwise, fold the best one into your work history.
Should I list every programming language I know?
No. List the 8–12 you'd be comfortable interviewing in. A long list signals beginner depth, not breadth.
Ready to build your software engineer resume?
Start with our ATS-tested template and let our AI suggest the bullets that get software engineers shortlisted.