Software Engineer CV Keywords: Skills & ATS Terms to Include

Software engineering roles are screened almost entirely on stack match. ATS filters and technical recruiters look for exact language, framework and cloud names from the job description, so a strong engineer with vague wording often scores below a weaker one who mirrors the job ad.

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Software Engineer hard skills

Core competencies recruiters and ATS filters search for.

Object-oriented programmingREST APIsMicroservicesSystem designData structures and algorithmsUnit testingCI/CDCode reviewDatabase designPerformance optimisationDistributed systemsTest-driven development (TDD)

Software Engineer tools & software

Use the exact product names from the job ad.

PythonJavaTypeScriptJavaScriptGoC#ReactNode.jsSpring BootPostgreSQLMongoDBRedisDockerKubernetesAWSAzureGCPTerraformGitGitHub ActionsJenkinsKafka

Software Engineer certifications & qualifications

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

AWS Certified Developer – AssociateAWS Solutions Architect – AssociateMicrosoft Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)Oracle Certified Professional: Java SE

Software Engineer soft skills

Show these through achievements rather than listing them alone.

Cross-functional collaborationTechnical communicationMentoringProblem solvingOwnershipAgile / Scrum

Software Engineer action verbs

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

ArchitectedBuiltEngineeredRefactoredMigratedOptimisedAutomatedDeployedScaledShipped

Weak vs strong software engineer CV bullets

Worked on the backend API.

Redesigned 14 REST endpoints in Node.js and PostgreSQL, cutting p95 latency from 1.2s to 180ms for 3M daily requests.

Helped move services to the cloud.

Migrated a monolith to containerised microservices on AWS EKS, reducing deploy time from 4 hours to 12 minutes.

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

ATS tip for software engineer CVs

List languages, frameworks and cloud services by their exact names in a dedicated Skills section, and repeat the most important ones inside experience bullets. Many ATS weight skills higher when they appear in context, not just in a list.

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. "Python", not a synonym).
  5. Keep formatting simple: single column, standard headings, no text inside images.

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