Template guide

The Software Engineer resume template

Built for engineering applications specifically. A tinted sidebar holds languages, frameworks, tooling and certifications; the wide main column is left for experience and projects, so the stack stops eating the top of page one.

  • Best forBackend, frontend, full-stack, DevOps, data
  • StructureTinted sidebar for stack, wide column for work
  • LengthOne page under ~8 years, two after
  • ATSExports real text; pair with a plain version for portals
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The problem it solves

Most engineering resumes open with a thirty-item technology list, and by the time the reader reaches your work they have already spent their attention. Moving the stack into a sidebar means the first thing in the main column is something you built.

Filling the sidebar

Group by category and order by strength:

Languages     Go, Python, TypeScript, SQL
Frameworks    FastAPI, React, Next.js
Data          Postgres, Redis, Kafka, dbt
Infra         AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform

Four or five groups, five or six items each. Only list things you would happily be interviewed on — everything in that sidebar is an invitation. Drop version numbers unless they carry real signal.

Certifications go underneath: AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, security. Skip the ones that are a day of clicking through videos.

Writing the main column

The pattern that works is what you built, the constraint, the measured result.

Weak:

Worked on the payments service using Go and Kafka. Participated in code reviews and sprint planning.

Strong:

Extracted payments from the Rails monolith into a Go service handling 4k req/s, with a zero-downtime cutover across 11 regions. Cut p99 latency 900ms to 210ms and reduced failed-charge retries 38%.

The second one shows scale, a real constraint, and two numbers. Aim for three to five bullets like that on your current role, one or two on older ones.

If the numbers are confidential, give the shape instead: request volume in orders of magnitude, number of regions, team size, or a relative percentage change. Relative change is almost never sensitive.

Projects

Two or three, described like job entries: what it is, the stack, why it exists, what happened. A link if it is public and worth opening.

Early career, put projects above employment. Once you have shipped production work professionally, one strong project is plenty — and a tutorial to-do app on a senior resume works against you.

When to pick something else

  • Terminal if a person definitely reads it and you want the file itself to signal developer. Dark, monospace, // headings. Not for portals, and heavy on ink.
  • Impact if your titles and numbers are the strongest thing you have.
  • Startup if your best work was not a job.
  • ATS Friendly or Chronological for portal uploads.

See the whole developer collection for the rest.

If this one is not right

Three close alternatives, and every one carries your content across untouched when you switch.

Terminal

New

Dark IDE aesthetic in monospace with a code-comment section style. Made for developers.

Use this template

Impact

New

Recruiter-first layout: oversized role titles, heavy accent bars and a highlighted summary block.

Use this template

Tech

Free

Two-column technical layout that puts your stack and projects up front.

Use this template

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

One page under roughly eight years of experience, two after that. Engineering managers skim quickly, and a tight page reads as better judgement than a padded two.

It should be easy to find, which is what the sidebar achieves, but it should not be the first thing in the main reading column. Lead with what you shipped.

Give the shape rather than the figure: orders of magnitude for traffic, number of regions or services, team size, or a relative percentage improvement. Relative change is rarely confidential.

No, and it hurts. Anything in the sidebar is fair game in an interview, so list what you can defend and leave the rest out.