Backend Engineer Resume Example

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Backend Engineer Resume Sample

Sarah Martinez
sarah@martinez.dev
•
(650) 555-0215
•
linkedin.com/in/sarah-martinez-backend
•
github.com/sarahmartinez
Backend Engineer
Backend Engineer with 5 years designing and building scalable distributed systems. Led development of 20+ microservices processing 5M+ daily transactions, reduced infrastructure costs by 30%, and improved system reliability to 99.95%. Expert in Python, Go, AWS, and event-driven architecture. Strong in system design, performance optimization, and cross-functional collaboration.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Backend Engineer
Jan 2022 – Present
FinTech Unicorn
  • Microservices Architecture: Architected and built 15 microservices in Python/Go processing 5M daily transactions, achieving 99.95% uptime and <100ms P95 latency
  • Cost Optimization: Reduced AWS infrastructure costs by 30% ($200K annually) by optimizing database queries, implementing caching, and right-sizing instances
  • Event-Driven Systems: Designed event-driven architecture using Kafka handling 50K events/sec, enabling real-time data processing and system decoupling
Backend Engineer
Jun 2019 – Dec 2021
E-Commerce Scale-up
  • API Development: Built REST and GraphQL APIs serving 10M+ monthly users, implementing rate limiting, auth, and comprehensive monitoring with Datadog
  • Database Performance: Optimized PostgreSQL database reducing query times by 60% through indexing, query tuning, and implementing Redis caching layer
  • System Reliability: Improved service reliability from 99.5% to 99.9% by implementing circuit breakers, retry logic, and comprehensive error handling
SKILLS & COMPETENCIES
Python (Django, FastAPI) | Go (Golang) | Microservices Architecture | RESTful & GraphQL APIs | AWS (EC2, Lambda, RDS, S3) | PostgreSQL & MySQL | Redis & Memcached | Kafka & Event-Driven Systems | Docker & Kubernetes | CI/CD (GitHub Actions) | Monitoring (Datadog, Prometheus) | System Design
CERTIFICATIONS
AWS Certified Solutions Architect
Aug 2023
Amazon Web Services
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering
2015-2019
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia
  • Software Systems
  • Distributed Computing

Tools to build your Backend Engineer resume

Copy and adapt these proven examples to create a resume that stands out.

✨

Resume Headlines

Use these attention-grabbing headlines to make a strong first impression.

Backend Engineer | Microservices & Event-Driven | 5M Daily Transactions, 99.95% Uptime
Mid-Level Backend Engineer | Python, Go, AWS | $200K Cost Savings
Backend Engineer | System Architecture | 50K Events/Sec, 30% Cost Reduction
Backend Engineer | Scalable APIs | Serving 10M+ Users, <100ms P95 Latency
Mid-Level Backend Engineer | Kafka, Redis, Kubernetes | 60% Query Optimization
Backend Engineer | Technical Leadership | 15 Microservices Architected

💡 Tip: Choose a headline that reflects your unique value proposition and matches the job requirements.

⚡

Power Bullet Points

Adapt these achievement-focused bullets to showcase your impact.

Microservices Architecture & Design

• Architected and built 15 microservices in Python/Go processing 5M daily transactions achieving 99.95% uptime and <100ms P95 latency
• Designed service boundaries and APIs following domain-driven design enabling independent team ownership and reducing deployment conflicts by 70%
• Implemented service mesh with Istio providing service discovery, load balancing, and circuit breaking improving system resilience
• Built API gateway with rate limiting, authentication, and request routing handling 50K+ req/sec serving 10M+ users

Event-Driven & Async Systems

• Designed event-driven architecture using Kafka handling 50K events/sec enabling real-time processing and system decoupling
• Built event streaming pipeline processing 100M+ daily events with exactly-once semantics and schema evolution support
• Implemented CQRS pattern separating read/write workloads improving write performance by 50% and enabling independent scaling
• Created dead letter queue and retry mechanisms ensuring 99.99% message delivery and preventing data loss

Performance & Cost Optimization

• Reduced AWS infrastructure costs by 30% ($200K annually) through query optimization, caching strategies, and resource right-sizing
• Optimized PostgreSQL database reducing query times by 60% through indexing, query rewriting, and connection pooling
• Implemented Redis caching layer reducing database load by 45% and improving API response times from 300ms to 120ms
• Built database read replicas and connection pooling handling 10x traffic growth while maintaining costs

System Reliability & Observability

• Improved service reliability from 99.5% to 99.9% implementing circuit breakers, retry logic, and graceful degradation
• Built comprehensive observability with Datadog, Prometheus, and Grafana providing metrics, traces, and logs for 20+ services
• Implemented automated alerting reducing mean time to detection (MTTD) from 30min to 5min for critical issues
• Created runbooks and on-call processes reducing mean time to resolution (MTTR) by 50%

💡 Tip: Replace generic terms with specific metrics, technologies, and outcomes from your experience.

📝

Resume Writing Tips for Backend Engineers

1

Emphasize System Ownership and Architecture

Mid-level backend means owning systems, not just features. Highlight: architected 15 services, designed event-driven systems, made technology choices. Show you think architecturally—how systems work together, not just individual components.

2

Quantify Business Impact and Scale

Connect backend to business. Include: cost savings ($200K), transactions processed (5M daily), users served (10M), uptime (99.95%). Mid-level engineers drive business outcomes through technical excellence.

3

Show Advanced Backend Patterns

Demonstrate depth: microservices, event-driven architecture, CQRS, caching strategies, service mesh. Mid-level requires architectural sophistication—show you understand distributed systems patterns.

4

Balance Multiple Technologies

List 12-15 skills across languages (Python, Go), cloud (AWS, Kubernetes), data (PostgreSQL, Redis, Kafka), and observability. Show T-shaped: deep backend expertise with broad competence in infrastructure and systems.

5

Demonstrate Technical Leadership

Include leadership beyond code: designed architecture, chose technologies, established patterns, mentored engineers. Mid-level backend engineers influence how teams build, not just what you personally ship.

🎯

Essential Skills & Keywords

Include these skills to optimize your resume for ATS systems and recruiter searches.

Backend Languages

Python (Django, FastAPI) Go/Golang Node.js Backend Architecture System Design

Microservices & Distributed Systems

Microservices Architecture Service Mesh (Istio) API Gateway Service Discovery Load Balancing Circuit Breakers

Event-Driven Architecture

Apache Kafka Event Streaming Message Queues CQRS Event Sourcing Async Processing

Databases & Caching

PostgreSQL (Advanced) Redis (Advanced) Query Optimization Database Scaling Caching Strategies Connection Pooling

Cloud & Infrastructure

AWS (EC2, ECS, Lambda, RDS) Kubernetes Docker Infrastructure as Code Cloud Architecture Cost Optimization

Observability & Reliability

Monitoring (Datadog, Prometheus) Distributed Tracing Logging Alerting SRE Practices Incident Response

Best Practices

Technical Leadership Code Reviews Testing (Advanced) CI/CD Security Best Practices Documentation

💡 Tip: Naturally integrate 8-12 of these keywords throughout your resume, especially in your summary and experience sections.

Why this resume works

Role-Specific Strengths

  • System design ownership: Led architecture for 20+ services, designed data models, chose technologies—shows independent technical leadership
  • Scale and performance: 5M daily transactions, 30% cost reduction, 99.95% uptime—demonstrates ability to build systems at scale
  • Technology breadth: Python, Go, AWS, Kafka, PostgreSQL, Redis—shows versatility across languages, clouds, and data stores
  • Cross-functional collaboration: Worked with product, frontend, DevOps—mid-level engineers must collaborate effectively

✓ ATS-Friendly Elements

  • Mid-level keywords: "system design," "microservices," "distributed systems," "AWS," "event-driven"
  • Action verbs: Architected, Designed, Led, Optimized, Scaled
  • Business outcomes: cost reduction, reliability improvement, performance gains
  • Technologies: Python, Go, AWS, Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, Kafka, Redis
  • Demonstrates progression from junior to mid with increasing scope

✓ Human-Readable Design

  • Summary balances technical depth with business impact
  • Metrics show broader scope: 20 services, 5M transactions, 30% savings, 99.95% uptime
  • Experience demonstrates ownership: designed systems, made architectural decisions
  • Shows both execution and influence: built features AND improved infrastructure
  • Technology choices show maturity: event-driven, caching, observability

💡 Key Takeaways

  • Mid-level engineers own system design end-to-end, not just feature implementation
  • Quantify scale and impact: transactions processed, cost savings, reliability improvements
  • Show architectural thinking: microservices, event-driven design, caching strategies
  • Demonstrate technology breadth: multiple languages, cloud platforms, data stores
  • Balance technical execution with business outcomes and collaboration

📈 Career Progression in Backend Engineering

See how Backend Engineering roles evolve from feature implementation to system architecture.

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