Software Engineer CV example (UK)
Tech CVs are screened twice: a recruiter keyword-searching the database, then an engineer skimming for signal. The example below works for both — exact technology names for the search, quantified impact for the skim.
Example CV
Professional Summary
Full-stack Software Engineer (5 years) building React/Node services on AWS. Cut p95 API latency 65% at a payments scale-up, took deploy frequency from weekly to daily by overhauling CI, and mentor two juniors. Comfortable owning features end-to-end from design doc to production monitoring.
Experience
- Built and own the merchant-onboarding service (Node, TypeScript, PostgreSQL) processing 12k applications/month.
- Cut p95 latency on the core payments API from 840ms to 290ms by query optimisation and Redis caching.
- Moved the team from weekly releases to daily deploys: rebuilt CI in GitHub Actions, added contract tests, halved flaky-test rate.
- Led incident response for two Sev-1s; wrote the postmortems and the alerting (Datadog) that caught the third before customers did.
- Mentor two junior engineers; run fortnightly code-quality sessions.
- Delivered 9 client web apps (React, Next.js, Node) from brief to launch; 100% on-time record across final 2 years.
- Introduced component library reused across 5 projects, cutting build time on new sites ~30%.
- Raised automated test coverage on the flagship account from 12% to 70% (Jest, Playwright).
Skills & Systems
TypeScript · JavaScript · React · Next.js · Node.js · PostgreSQL · Redis · AWS (Lambda, ECS, RDS, S3) · Docker · GitHub Actions · Jest / Playwright · Datadog · REST & GraphQL · Agile/Scrum
Qualifications
BSc Computer Science, University of Bristol (2019)
Why this CV works
- Numbers an engineer believes: p95 latency, deploy frequency, coverage percentages — credible, specific, verifiable in interview.
- Exact tech names, not categories. "AWS (Lambda, ECS, RDS)" matches recruiter searches; "cloud technologies" matches nothing.
- Scope markers everywhere — team size, request volume, Sev-1 ownership — they let a reader place your level in seconds.
- GitHub link in the header — expected at most UK tech employers; an empty profile is worse than none, so curate it.
Keywords ATS systems and recruiters search for
Tech recruiters search literal strings — if the advert says "Kubernetes" and you have it, the word must appear, not "container orchestration". Most UK tech employers screen through Greenhouse or Lever — humans read, knockout questions filter.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a Software Engineer CV be?
Two pages UK-standard; one is fine under ~5 years' experience. Cut old tech stacks you don't want to work in — listing them invites those roles.
Should I list every technology I've ever touched?
No — list what you'd pass an interview on today. A 40-item skills dump dilutes the keywords that matter and reads as padding.
Do side projects belong on a professional engineer's CV?
Early-career, yes — with links and one line of impact each. Past ~5 years' experience, only if genuinely notable (real users, open-source adoption).
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