Senior Software Engineer Resume Examples in 2023

Senior Software Engineer Resume Examples

Years of Experience

Common Key Skills and Action Verbs for Senior Software Engineers

Hiring managers often use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to assess resumes. The ATS scans and evaluates your resume based on the number of keywords and phrases included. Applicants that have a high number of matches are highlighted for further consideration by hiring managers. Including a higher number of skill keywords in your resume can greatly improve the chances of a hiring manager seeing it and inviting you for an interview.

Tips for Writing a Better Senior Software Engineer Resume

Highlight Your Technical Expertise Using Professional Achievements

Although it’s important to highlight your technical knowledge using the skills section on your resume, you’ll also want to feature key examples of you putting your software expertise into practice. In the example below, the candidate features a number of key projects that will grab the attention of prospective employers. This is more effective than just listing the skills, as it provides the hiring manager with insights into how the applicant utilized their technical knowledge to create value for clients and internal teams:

• Manage a software engineering team of 15+ personnel to build innovative web applications using Agile-Waterfall methodologies, oversee all aspects of full-stack development, and identify opportunities to enhance the user experience
• Identify creative solutions and workflow optimizations to improve deployment timelines and reduce project roadblocks during development lifecycles
• Serve as the Microsoft Azure SME for the software engineering department and resolve escalated software issues from junior team members

Quantify Your Software Engineering Experience

Hiring managers value candidates who have a strong track record of generating results for their organizations. The best way to demonstrate your history of success is by incorporating hard data, numbers, and monetary figures to augment your bullet points. This will help prospective employers gain a clearer understanding of the impact you’ve had over the course of your career, which can help to differentiate you from the competition during your job search. In the example below, the candidate is effective in establishing a sense of scope for their contributions and backing it up with hard data:

• Coordinated with a team of 30+ software engineers to re-engineer the system into a PHP-based 3-tier application for a global rideshare company with 300M users
• Supported projects to improve geo transit data application tools for drivers and customers, which contributed to a 20% increase in user satisfaction

How to Align Your Resume with the Job Description

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that jobs for software engineers, also known as software developers, are set to grow 25% from 2021 to 2031. This equates to over 162,900 new jobs on the open market. Although these projections are encouraging, you’ll still need to align your resume with the job description to secure the most lucrative opportunities.

Hiring managers use job descriptions to define their needs and develop a picture of their ideal job candidate. When they look at applicants, they compare each resume to the job description to see who would fit best. Taking the time to tailor your resume so it mirrors the skills and experiences detailed in the job description can help you stand out from your competition.

To determine what skills and experience you should feature, start by highlighting the requirements that are listed first or mentioned more than once in the job description. These are generally the most important attributes. Make sure your resume details how you can meet the company’s key priorities and focus on your notable contributions. A generic resume is often overlooked, so steer clear of copy and pasting any bland descriptions.