Resume example · Engineering
Senior Software Engineer resume example
The step from engineer to senior engineer is the step from writing code to being responsible for outcomes. A senior resume that reads like a mid-level one is the most common reason a strong candidate is screened out.
What we would lead with
- Decisions you owned, and what happened as a result
- Work that made a team faster, not only work you finished yourself
- Ambiguity you resolved: a senior engineer is hired for the unclear problems
The mistake we would warn you about
Describing tasks instead of judgement. "Built the notification service" is mid-level; "chose to build rather than buy after a two-week spike, cutting per-message cost 70%" is senior.
Bullet points that work for senior software engineers
Each one opens with an action verb, says what was done, and ends with a result.
- Led the re-architecture of the ledger service, cutting reconciliation errors from 40 a week to under 2.
- Chose to build rather than buy after a two-week spike, reducing per-message cost 70% at current volume.
- Ran incident command for 11 Sev-1s and turned the pattern behind four of them into a fix that closed the class.
- Mentored 5 engineers to their next level by pairing on design docs rather than reviewing finished code.
Skills to list as a senior software engineer
Languages
GoTypeScriptRust
Systems
Event-driven architecturePostgres at scalegRPC
Leadership
Technical design reviewMentoringIncident command