Mechanical Engineer CV Keywords: Skills & ATS Terms to Include

Engineering CVs are filtered on CAD and analysis software, standards and chartership. Hiring managers then look for designs that shipped and the savings or reliability gains they delivered.

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Mechanical Engineer hard skills

Core competencies recruiters and ATS filters search for.

Mechanical designCAD modellingFinite element analysis (FEA)GD&TDesign for manufacture (DFM)Root cause analysisPrototypingTolerance analysisFMEATechnical drawingsProduct lifecycle managementThermal analysis

Mechanical Engineer tools & software

Use the exact product names from the job ad.

SolidWorksAutoCADCATIASiemens NXCreoANSYSMATLABFusion 360TeamcenterMinitab

Mechanical Engineer certifications & qualifications

Write the full name and the acronym, with the year.

Chartered Engineer (CEng, IMechE)Incorporated Engineer (IEng)Professional Engineer (PE)CSWP (SolidWorks)Lean Six Sigma Green Belt

Mechanical Engineer soft skills

Show these through achievements rather than listing them alone.

Problem solvingCollaboration with manufacturingTechnical communicationAttention to detailProject ownershipSupplier liaison

Mechanical Engineer action verbs

Start each bullet with one of these instead of "Responsible for".

DesignedDevelopedReducedTestedValidatedOptimisedPrototypedRedesignedSpecifiedCommissioned

Weak vs strong mechanical engineer CV bullets

Designed parts in SolidWorks.

Redesigned a pump housing in SolidWorks and validated it in ANSYS, cutting unit cost by 18% and weight by 1.2kg.

Solved production problems.

Led an 8D root cause investigation that eliminated a recurring seal failure, saving £210k a year in warranty claims.

Examples are illustrative. Only use figures you can back up in an interview.

ATS tip for mechanical engineer CVs

Match CAD package names exactly. A company using CATIA may not match "3D CAD" or even "SolidWorks", so list every package you are genuinely proficient in.

How to use these keywords

  1. Start from the job description, not this list. Keywords that appear in the ad matter most.
  2. Only include skills you genuinely have. You will be asked about them.
  3. Put the most important keywords in both your Skills section and your experience bullets.
  4. Use the employer's exact wording (e.g. "SolidWorks", not a synonym).
  5. Keep formatting simple: single column, standard headings, no text inside images.

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