πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Software Engineer resume keywords the ATS is scanning for (US)

Over 97% of Fortune 500 companies and most mid-size US employers use an ATS (applicant tracking system) that ranks your resume against the job posting before a recruiter sees it. If your resume doesn't contain the right software engineer keywords, you're filtered out automatically β€” no matter how good you are. Here are the terms that matter, and a free way to check your resume against the exact job you want.

Scan my resume against a real job β€” free β†’

Keywords US employers filter software engineers by

These are the terms that appear most often in US software engineer job adverts β€” and therefore the terms applicant tracking systems are configured to score:

full-stack developmentREST APIsmicroservicesCI/CD pipelinesunit testingagile / scrumcode reviewcloud (AWS / Azure / GCP)containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes)version control (Git)system designSQL / NoSQL databasesdebuggingperformance optimisationTypeScript / Python / Javaobservability / monitoringsecurity best practicestechnical documentation

Important: never paste keywords in blindly. The filter ranks context, and interviewers check claims. Add only what you've genuinely done β€” the free scan below shows which of these the specific job you want actually asks for, so you don't guess.

How to get a software engineer resume past the ATS

  1. Mirror the stack in the job advert exactly β€” if they say "Node.js", write "Node.js", not just "JavaScript backend".
  2. Quantify impact: latency cut, uptime, users served, deploy frequency. Numbers survive ATS parsing and impress humans.
  3. Keep a skills section with plain-text technology names β€” logos and icons are invisible to an ATS.
  4. Link GitHub/portfolio as plain URLs; some parsers strip hyperlinks.
  5. One page per ~5 years of experience; recruiters spend seconds per CV after the ATS stage.
  6. US conventions: one page for most roles, no photo, no age or marital status, use "resume" spelling and US date formats.

Questions software engineers ask

Does the ATS read my GitHub?

No β€” it only parses your CV text. Put your key projects and technologies in the CV itself, with your GitHub URL as supporting evidence.

Should I list every language I have touched?

No. List what you can interview on. Padding dilutes your match score for the languages that matter.

How do I check my resume against a specific job?

Paste your resume and the job advert into the free scanner below. You'll see your ATS match score and the exact missing keywords for that job β€” first scan free, no sign-up.

Stop guessing β€” scan your resume in 30 seconds

Your match score, the missing keywords for a real software engineer job, and an ATS-safe rewrite. Free to try.

Check my resume free β†’

Related: Software Engineer CV keywords (UK) Β· All CV keyword guides Β· Free ATS CV templates Β· CVAutomate vs Jobscan