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23 Engineering Resume Examples...

23 Engineering Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

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Elon Musk once said that a true expert can solve a problem on several levels.

He was talking about your engineering resume.

To land you a dream engineering job, your resume has to pass several robotic checks, get approved by non-technical and technical recruiters, and, lastly, impress your department lead.

If you are tired of taking chances every time you send your engineering resume, then this guide is for you.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

  • How to land more engineering interviews with your engineering resume
  • What do recruiters want to see in your engineering resume the most
  • Expert resume tips for specific engineering jobs and industries
  • How to properly structure your resume to emphasize your winning qualities
  • 12 engineering resume examples and why they work

I don’t spend my time pontificating about high-concept things; I spend my time solving engineering and manufacturing problems.

How to write an engineering resume that gets interviews

  • Show complete project experience.

If you want to get a dream engineering job, listing your projects and inserting buzzwords is not enough. Explain how your role was critical to these projects. Be specific about your results.

Bad example: Reviewed company SOPs

Good example: Reviewed company SOPs to reduce non-productive time by 15% by conducting senior personnel surveys and troubleshooting operational glitches.

  • Show your ability to work within a modern engineering environment

The modern engineering environment is about multidisciplinary distributed teams, open-source tools, and agile frameworks. Show recruiters that you don’t just bear within it. You prosper.

Bad example: Led a team of engineers to develop a new distillation process.

Good example: Led a cross-functional team of engineers, analysts, and contractors to design and implement a new distillation system that is currently operational on 80% of facilities with 58% improved cost efficiency.

  • Guide recruiter’s attention where you want it to be with a smart resume format.

Use bold text to emphasize your results in a sentence. Use custom sections and headers to improve the scannability of your resume. Use a custom resume layout to guide the recruiter’s attention.

Make sure your resume can be easily printed and exported in PDF format so that recruiters can study it even during their lunch break.

Scroll back to the header for a resume example that combines the most effective resume formatting practices to get an engineering interview more often.

Engineering resume format: Which one should you choose

No single engineering resume template or format will suit every scenario. But keep in mind the following tips:

  • Each engineer is different. Mechanical engineering and civil engineering are two totally different disciplines, so one design cannot fit both. We’ll share more advice in the later sections.
  • Don’t get too creative. You want to find that perfect balance of professionalism and uniqueness without being boring or average.
  • Be sure that your engineering degree is featured at the top of your engineering resume template - relevant education is extremely important in this field.
  • Your engineering skills, projects, and achievements should be visible. Don’t just write them down, focus on getting the numbers behind them.
  • Leave enough room for a solid resume summary. Most engineers don’t focus on writing a summary, so making yours a little longer can help you really stand out.
pro tip icon
Pro tip

If you feel that you don’t have the right amount of engineering experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. Even though your experience section might be short, a unique engineering resume format might help you get noticed and chosen for an interview.

Engineering resume header: when details matter

Your engineering resume header is the first thing a recruiter or HR department will see on your resume.

Remember they're looking at hundreds of engineering resumes a day, so you need to be sure you’re conveying all the right details, especially at a quick glance.

So let’s make sure you’ve got it in good shape!

An engineering resume header should have:

  • Your name - include next to it if you have the following certificates - B.Eng, M.Eng, etc. This way the HRs can see in the first seconds that you’re qualified.
  • Your engineering resume title - What kind of engineer are you? How many years have you been at it? Do you have a masters? Here’s where you highlight that.
  • Phone number and email address - make sure your voicemail is professional sounding and that your email address is easy to type. Contact information is the most important thing in the header, at least from your point of view. Check twice, if you are giving the correct phone and email with no typos!
  • Your LinkedIn profile - you might have several social media accounts but LinkedIn is likely the only one you want to put on your engineering resume.
Michael Harden B.Eng
Chemical engineer with 4+ years of experience at BASF
RIGHT
Chris Spencer
Engineer
WRONG

Put yourself in the shoes of the person reading your resume and consider the message your header is giving

pro tip icon
Pro tip

Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.

Engineering resume summary: do you need it?

In short, yes.

This is one of the most underrated and impactful sections an engineering resume can have. It shows that you can write effectively (by including plenty of valuable information in a short format), and gives the reader a quick and valuable snapshot of who you are.

Let’s see how you should be creating and using a resume objective and summary.

4 great tips on writing your engineering resume objective

  • First, You need to make sure the person reading your resume knows who you are and what you want as efficiently as possible.
  • Include just a short personal description in your resume header. This could be something like “An electrical engineering graduate looking for an internship” or “A senior civil engineer looking to manage larger projects”. This gets the basics across very efficiently.
  • Add a short paragraph (emphasis on short) which includes the basic information the person reading your resume needs about who you are and what your goals are
  • Finally, tell them something personal from your experience - make it sound that it’s not copy pasted from the thousands of engineering resume examples around the web

So now that you have them looking at your resume, what they read in your resume objective is going to either make them read on or put your resume in the “no” pile.

This is why the resume objective or summary is so important.

Summary
An experienced engineer who works well in a team..
WRONG

The problem? It doesn’t tell the reader anything very useful. It’s also not specific to the position, which makes it read as generic.

Summary
Project Engineer who is well versed in all construction methodologies, procedures, and disciplines with 6+ years experience with direct administrative support for all phases of commercial and public works construction.
RIGHT

Or, for an entry level engineering resume:

Summary
Recent B.Eng recipient with internship experience at Sacramento Public Works, looking for a position with a focus on municipal or state construction.
RIGHT

In both “right” examples the reader knows who you are, what you’ve done and what your career is focused on.

If you’d also like to add more context on your engineering background or objective, this can be included in a cover letter. If you won’t be using a cover letter and still want to add more detail you can include a summary.

An engineering resume objective should

  • Be specific
  • Express your short and long-term career goals
  • Say something about who you are and what you’re good at
  • Be addressed to the specific job you’re applying for

For more tips on crafting an attention-grabbing resume summary, check out our guide Resume Summary: How-To Guide (30+ Examples You Need To See)

Engineering resume experience section: the most effective approach

Let’s say you’re up against one other person for a job.

You’ve got the better experience, but they know how to present it better than you do.

Guess who’s getting hired?

Probably not you.

That’s because, for better or worse, the way you present your engineering experience is tremendously important.

Have a look at these examples to see what we mean.

Experience
Industrial Engineer
ASELSAN
New York, NY
  • Created and developed 2D/3D preliminary drawings and designs setting the framework for manufacturing projects,
  • Provided expert judgment and analysis for the design, development, and implementation of technical products and systems.
  • Recommended key alterations to the development and design to improve the quality of products and procedures
  • Responsible for designing new products using computer-aided design software applications such as AutoCAD, Pro/ENGINEER, Solid Works, Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop.
RIGHT

By using action words such as created, provided and recommended you give the impression that you were involved in your past work. This is the kind of engineer companies are looking for.

Experience
Industrial Engineer
ASELSAN
New York, NY
  • Adhered to product design and manufacturing standards
  • Worked as a part of $12 million of CAPEX projects
  • Part of a team consisting of 2 engineers and 3 workmen for production modelling, drafting and execution
WRONG

Notice how lifeless and generic that second example is? Hiring managers certainly will notice.

Beyond telling them what type of work you did, it gives them no real sense of whether you were successful or what you accomplished.

You could have done a terrible job or an excellent job and this experience section could look identical.

So, if someone reads that section, they feel like you just wasted their time making them read something that gave them almost no new information.

pro tip icon
Pro tip

The person reading your resume will be busy, so make sure you write your engineering resume in a way that is not only informative but interesting too!

Engineering resume education: what to include?

How many engineers do you know who didn’t go to school?

So while the answer to that question is obvious, what isn’t obvious is how important it is to make your education on an engineering resume stand out.

Every engineer that is applying for your job has a degree or certification in engineering.

So you need to make your education stand out, especially if you’re looking for an entry level engineering position with no experience.

While senior engineers with years of experience shouldn’t devote as much space to their education (just a listing of where you went, your degrees, etc. should be sufficient), younger engineers need this section to make an impression.

Here’s what you can add to your education section:

  • Relevant courses (here you can mention projects, skills acquired, lessons learned, etc.)
  • Awards
  • Your GPA (if you think it’s relevant)
  • All of the regular information mentioned above

Here’s an example of a senior engineer’s engineering education on a resume:

Education
Masters of Mechanical Engineering
University of Illinois
WRONG

This person graduated 10 years ago, so it’s not necessary to include many details about their education.

Here how to put education on an entry level engineering resume with no experience:

Education
Masters of Mechanical Engineering
University of Illinois
  • Successfully completed studies in a broad spectrum of engineering including civil, mechanical and industrial engineering
  • Two summer internships at Chicago Public Works assisting a 10 person team on municipal construction projects
  • Made the Dean’s List for 6/8 semesters with a final GPA of 3.87
  • Served as Vice President and Secretary of the Engineers of Tomorrow undergraduate organization
RIGHT

You can see how your years at school created a wealth of experience that is going to be valuable and interesting to your potential employers.

So don’t take for granted how including engineering education on a resume matters.

It could be the reason your engineering resume gets picked for the job!

Engineering resume skills: How to forge the winning combination

For most engineering resumes you will want to focus on technical skills for engineers.

Below we’re going to break down the difference between technical and soft skills on engineering resumes.

How to include technical skills on an engineering resume

Skills
Solidworks
Mathcad
Unigraphics
Autodesk
ANSYS
Nastran
MATLAB
Visual Basic
Python
RIGHT

Displaying engineering skills this way is excellent for technical skills like software and programming languages.

This kind of a skills section is important because many ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) will screen your resume for certain keywords before a human ever sees it). A simple list of relevant technical skills required in the job description does the job perfectly.

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The technical skills for an engineering resume

  • Mathcad
  • Solidworks
  • Unigraphics
  • Autodesk
  • ANSYS
  • Nastran
  • MATLAB
  • Visual Basic
  • Python
  • Catia
  • ZW3D
  • MechDesigner
  • PTC Creo
  • BricsCAD
  • Solid Edge
  • Rhino
  • SolidFace
  • Geomagic Design
  • TurboCAD
  • COMSOL Multiphysics
  • CircuitLab
  • IronCAD
  • Eagle PCB

How to include soft skills on an engineering resume

Too many engineers think soft skills just aren’t important in their field.

But that’s just plain wrong.

In fact, soft skills are often what can distinguish an engineer, especially for someone with no formal work experience.

Below, you can see an example of valuable engineering soft skills and examples to show that you actually possess them.

Strengths
Creative problem solving
Spent a summer volunteering to build houses in Honduras, during which time I had to constantly improvise with the tools and building materials that were available to solve a variety of engineering problems.
Verbal and written communication skills
Wrote the Engineering for Non-Engineers column in my university paper and gave presentations about engineering to general audiences as a representative of our department.
Teamwork
Led a team of 4 colleagues to 2nd place in my university’s 2017 annual Engineering Challenge
RIGHT

You can see that someone scanning your resume can quickly see which soft skills you possess and that you’re serious about backing them up. Right away, this is going to distinguish you from most of the other engineering resumes they’ve seen.

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The top soft skills for engineering resumes

Are you still not sure what skills will win recruiters over? Check out our guide on How to Create A Resume Skills Section To Impress Recruiters (+10 Examples You Need to See)

Choosing the right technical and soft skills

Always remember, your resume doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it’s an answer to a specific job.

So, you should tailor it to that job.

Let’s take some text from a Mechanical Engineer job offered by the SGB Enterprises:

The qualified candidate will possess the following:

  • Must be customer focused
  • Must be deadline driven
  • Must be resourceful and unrelenting
  • Must be capable of multi-tasking and have the self-drive to get things done on schedule
  • Must be well organized and detail oriented!
  • Good communication skills, both verbal and written
  • Must have at least 5 years of experience in a design/engineering work environment
  • A BSME/Industrial Design degree or higher is preferred
  • Must have strong CAD skills - experience with Solidworks is required
  • Good concept sketching and rendering skills are a plus
  • Knowledge of ASME Y14.5 is a plus.
  • Industrial design experience is a plus

Now let’s pick out the keywords and skills that someone applying to this job should mention:

customer focused, deadline driven, resourceful, multi-tasking, self-drive, detail oriented, communication skills (all of these should be backed up with examples)

BSME/Industrial Design degree, strong CAD skills, ASME Y14.5,Industrial design experience (these can put in both technical skills and emphasized in your experience section of your engineering resume)

This is only a portion of the requirements, but it’s already clear that you’ll have a lot of soft skills to demonstrate. When this happens, you can go beyond simply listing them in their own section and try to ensure they are mentioned and backed up in your experience, education, or other resume sections.

Adding certifications to your engineering resume

There are so many different types of engineering that it’s important to be clear on what engineering certifications you have on your resume. This can be done similar to your technical skills section, or you can add B.Eng or MCSE after your name at the top if that’s your only relevant certification. Just be sure to mention any and all engineering certifications the job offer specifically asks for or mentions.

From degrees to software certifications for engineering has the widest variety of accreditations for your resume.

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The top 16 engineering certifications for your resume

  • Bachelors of Engineering (B.Eng)
  • Masters of Engineering (M.Eng)
  • Bachelors of Civil Engineering (B.C.Eng)
  • Bachelors of Electrical Engineering (BEEng)
  • Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering (BMEng)
  • Certified Manufacturing Engineer (CMfgE)
  • Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE)
  • Certified HVAC Designer (CHD)
  • Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP)
  • Certified Software Development Associate (CSDA)
  • Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP)
  • Certified Plant Maintenance Manager (CPMM)
  • Expert Systems Engineering Professional (ESEP)
  • Certified Automation Professional
  • APMO Mechanical Plans Examiner
  • Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional

Other engineering resume sections you might want to consider

There’s definitely a perception amongst engineers that “it’s not okay to have some personality on your resume.”

The reality is: it’s all about who you are and where you are applying.

Your resume is going to be read by a human with their own preferences and biases. As much as possible, you have to craft your resume to match that person.

If you know the company you’re applying to is very traditional, then keep your resume that way. If the company pushes culture and personality a lot on its website and in the way it presents itself, it makes sense to reflect this on your own resume.

One way to approach it is to consider culture fit. Emphasize elements of your personality that match with the company. Just like with the experience above, you want the person reading your resume to get the feeling “This person seems perfect for us.”

For example, if you see the company likes to participate in local charities, mention similar volunteering you’ve done. Small details like this can help make you feel like the perfect candidate.

Or, if there were specific books which had a major impact on how you approach engineering, listing them is a great way to combine a bit of personality and some insights into what kind of engineer you are.

Key takeaways: what does an engineering resume need to get you hired?

  • Choose a resume layout that sends the message you want and fits your engineering experience level.
  • Make sure your header tells the reader who you are and what certifications you have.
  • Use an objective or summary to showcase your writing skills and explain what you have to offer.
  • Be as detailed as possible throughout, using exact examples and metrics to showcase the impact you’ve had and the skills you possess.
  • Check that the skills you list match the skills asked for in the job description as closely as possible
  • Include a bit of personality to show culture fit and to stand out from the typical engineering resume

Engineering resume examples

Explore additional engineering resume samples and guides and see what works for your level of experience or role.

By Experience

Engineering Student

As a student, prioritize coursework, projects, and practical experiences that show your grasp of engineering concepts. Detail any relevant software skills and how you've used them in projects. Your academic achievements should also be a part of your resume.
View Engineering Student Resume

Sophomore Engineering

As a sophomore, the primary focus should be on relevant academic projects, coursework, technical skills, and internships. At this level, demonstrating that you understand and can implement engineering fundamentals in projects is key.
View Sophomore Engineering Resume

Engineer In Training

For Engineer In Training roles, the focus will be learning and adaptation. Highlight relevant coursework or projects, including any practical experience you have. Though you may lack work experience, display enthusiasm and potential to grow through your knowledge of fundamental engineering principles.
View Engineer In Training Resume

Engineering Intern

For intern applications, highlight academic achievements, related coursework, and any projects you've been a part of. Show your willingness to learn new technologies and engineering principles. An important tip is to demonstrate your problem-solving aptitude.
View Engineering Intern Resume

Entry-Level Engineering

If you're applying for an entry-level position, your resume should detail your technical skills, relevant coursework, internships, and projects. Don't forget to include software skills, and most importantly, demonstrate your problem-solving ability through examples.
View Entry-Level Engineering Resume

Senior Engineer

When applying for a Senior Engineer position, emphasize your technical knowledge, project management experience and results. Showcase your soft skills as well, like communication and team leadership. Concrete examples of your abilities driving project results are weighty.
View Senior Engineer Resume

By Role

Aerospace Engineering

Aerospace Engineering roles often pivot on specific aviation and space tech knowledge. Highlight your technical skills, showing how they impacted a project. For instance, you might have used CAD software to optimize a drone design, thereby improving its flight time. Avoid stating your skills; rather, detail how you used them to generate results. Include experiences with methodologies like Lean Processing and Six Sigma.
View Aerospace Engineering Resume

Audio Engineer

Your experience with important audio tools like Pro Tools, Cubase, or Ableton should be evident in your resume for an Audio Engineer role. Don’t just list these ; illustrate cases where they helped you achieve specific outcomes in your past roles. Don't forget to tally relevant certifications and instances you've used different sound mixing techniques.
View Audio Engineer Resume

Automotive Engineering

Automotive Engineers should be showcasing their familiarity with design software like CATIA and AutoCAD, not just mentioning them. Use specific instances where you used these skills to improve a vehicle's design or performance. Knowledge of Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) and other production protocols is also beneficial.
View Automotive Engineering Resume

Biomedical Engineer

Biomedical Engineer resumes should display proficiency in medical software like MATLAB and LabVIEW and how it helped design or test medical equipment. Also, make tangible the value you've gained through hands-on experience. Details of project management methodologies you are familiar with should also appear.
View Biomedical Engineer Resume

Chemical Engineer

A Chemical Engineer resume should highlight your knowledge of chemical reactions and the safety processes involved. How they played out in your work, leading to safety or efficiency improvements, should be clear. Experience running simulations and using relevant software such as PRO/II must be quantified.
View Chemical Engineer Resume

Civil Engineer

Civil Engineers must highlight CAD software skills and specific projects where these were crucial. If you were able to improve a building's design or reduce cost, mention it. Compliance with construction methodologies and safety protocols is also key.
View Civil Engineer Resume

Director of Engineering

As a Director of Engineering, your resume should spotlight strategic leadership and decision-making instances that improved processes or drove innovation. Talk about projects you handled that had a significant impact on your organization. Technical skills matter, but in this role, your leadership capabilities are more important.
View Director of Engineering Resume

Engineering Manager

Experience with team management, project completion, and budget organization are key for Engineering Manager resumes. Highlight cases where your leadership led to project success. Your technical expertise isn’t the primary concern, but how you coordinate a team and optimize resources is.
View Engineering Manager Resume

Entry Level Mechanical Engineer

For Entry Level Mechanical Engineer roles, skills in CAD and CAE software as well as IPC standards should be emphasized. Give examples of how you've applied them in projects or coursework. Mention any internships, workshops, or certifications that show you can apply theory to practical problems.
View Entry Level Mechanical Engineer Resume

Mechanical Engineer

Technical expertise in areas such as CAD/CAM, thermodynamics, structural analysis is the mainstay of a Mechanical Engineer's resume. Provide concrete instances where these skills contributed to project accomplishments. Certifications or experience related to Six Sigma or Lean processes can also be a plus.
View Mechanical Engineer Resume

Geotechnical Engineering

For a Geotechnical Engineer position, spotlight your skills in geology-related software like PLAXIS and how they've impacted your projects. Additionally, your experience with site investigations, soil and rock sampling and subsurface investigations should be quantified.
View Geotechnical Engineering Resume

Hardware Engineer

Competencies in hardware languages (e.g., VHDL, Verilog), PCB Layout, and simulation software must be displayed on a Hardware Engineer resume. Again, don't just list your skills, provide examples of projects or roles where these skills were utilized effectively.
View Hardware Engineer Resume

Industrial Engineer

For an Industrial Engineer position, demonstrable experience with process improvement techniques like Lean and Six Sigma is crucial. Detail instances where you applied them to enhance efficiency or reduce cost. Also, emphasize your abilities in analytical and quantitative problem-solving.
View Industrial Engineer Resume

Petroleum Engineer

In a resume for Petroleum Engineer, detailing proficiency in petroleum software like PROSPER and GAP is important. Moreover, experience with reservoir simulation, drilling operations, and oil extraction methods should be detailed.
View Petroleum Engineer Resume

Structural Engineer

A Structural Engineer resume should feature proficiency in design software like ETABS or SAP2000 and how this contributed to a project's success. Experience with inspections, audits, or compliance with building regulations can also add value to your resume.
View Structural Engineer Resume

VP of Engineering

For a VP of Engineering role, it's strategic abilities and leadership experience that take center stage. Detail times where innovative thinking, resource optimization, or your guidance led to significant milestones being achieved. While technical knowledge matters, how you lead and inspire is more important.
View VP of Engineering Resume

Electrical Engineering

  • Learn more about your target company workflows and tools. Chances are, your target company uses a unique set of tools for its projects: open-sources tools, or niche platforms. Study company’s LinkedIn and blogs to learn more. If you have relevant experience with the same or similar tools, make sure to include it in your resume. While a non-technical hiring manager will probably ignore this information, you might get bonus points with a technical recruiter or a tech lead when your electrical engineer resume moves further down the funnel.
  • Use a targeted resume.When a company searches for an electrical engineer, they have a very clear idea of what their ideal candidate looks like. There are serious budgets at stake, and no one would trust someone who has not proven themselves before. So when a company writes: “We are looking for individuals who are very innovative with a proven track record both in development and volume manufacturing,” they mean it. Study job requirements. Study company blogs. Make sure to target your electrical engineering resume to the company’s needs. Put the most relevant experience first, and frame the rest accordingly to maximize your chances.
View Electrical Engineering Resume
engineering resume example

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