Backend Engineer résumé: what employers are asking for right now
We read 193 open backend engineer postings on employers' own job boards, at companies including Affirm, GitLab and Palantir. Of the 126 whose requirements we have read, the skills asked for most are Python (70%), Distributed Systems (65%) and AWS (63%) — so those belong near the top of a backend engineer résumé, in the words the posting uses. The median posting asks for 5+ years of experience.
From 193 open postings on employers’ own job boards, as of .
Skills backend engineer postings ask for
| Skill | Share of postings | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| Python | 70% | |
| Distributed Systems | 65% | |
| AWS | 63% | |
| Kubernetes | 54% | |
| System Design | 47% | |
| Kotlin | 40% | |
| Mysql | 39% | |
| SQL | 39% | |
| API Design | 34% | |
| Go | 29% | |
| Microservices | 29% | |
| PostgreSQL | 22% | |
| Git | 21% | |
| Java | 20% | |
| Docker | 18% |
Share of the 126 postings whose requirements we have read.
A skills section built from those postings
List only what you can talk about in an interview, and use the posting’s own words for it — a screener searching for “Python” will not match a synonym. Ordered by how often employers ask:
Skills
Python · Distributed Systems · AWS · Kubernetes · System Design · Kotlin · Mysql · SQL · API Design
Go · Microservices · PostgreSQL · Git · Java · Docker
- Line 1: asked for by a third or more of postings.
- Line 2: often asked for.
Sample backend engineer résumé
An illustrative example, not a real person: the employers and results are made up. The skills are the ones the postings above ask for, so it shows how those requirements read on a page.
Senior Backend Engineer
Senior Backend Engineer with 5+ years building Python, Go, and Kotlin services on AWS. Experience spans distributed systems, API design, database work, and Kubernetes-based deployments for products serving high-volume traffic.
Experience
Senior Backend Engineer · Series B payments company
2021 – present
- Designed Python microservices and API Design patterns that reduced checkout latency by 32% during peak traffic.
- Built distributed systems on AWS and Kubernetes, improving service reliability to 99.95% and simplifying rollouts.
- Optimized Mysql and PostgreSQL queries for reporting and billing workflows, cutting slow requests by 48%.
- Led Git-based Code Review practices and CI/CD changes that shortened release cycles from weekly to daily.
Backend Engineer · Marketplace platform startup
2018 – 2021
- Developed Kotlin and Java services for core order flows, supporting new features across search, pricing, and fulfillment.
- Implemented Go workers for event processing and background jobs, increasing throughput by 3x without added infrastructure.
- Shaped System Design decisions for Microservices boundaries, reducing cross-service coupling and incident blast radius.
- Containerized services with Docker and Kubernetes on AWS, standardizing deployments across staging and production.
Skills
Python · Distributed Systems · AWS · Kubernetes · System Design · Kotlin · Mysql · SQL · API Design · Go · Microservices · PostgreSQL · Git · Java · Docker
More backend engineer bullet points to adapt
- Built Python services that handled request routing and retries, lowering timeout rates during traffic spikes.
- Introduced SQL index changes and query rewrites that cut dashboard load times from seconds to sub-second response.
- Created AWS deployment templates for new microservices, reducing environment setup from days to hours.
- Refactored Kotlin service code to separate domain logic from transport layers, improving maintainability and test coverage.
- Added Docker images and Kubernetes manifests for local-to-prod parity, reducing release drift between environments.
- Implemented Go consumers for asynchronous processing, raising batch throughput while keeping memory use stable.
- Partnered on System Design reviews for new APIs, clarifying ownership, data flow, and failure handling before launch.
- Expanded PostgreSQL schemas and migrations with backward-compatible changes to support new billing requirements.
- Used Git workflows and code review standards to catch regressions earlier and reduce production hotfixes.
- Improved API Design for internal and external clients by standardizing error responses, pagination, and versioning.
What sets an application apart
Listed as a plus rather than a requirement: Docker (17%), Kubernetes (13%), React (13%), AWS (8%), Java (7%), Machine Learning (7%), Fintech (6%) and TypeScript (6%). Worth naming if you have it, and never worth claiming if you do not.
Level, location and pay
- Most are senior roles (57% of postings that state a level).
- 65% are listed as remote.
- Listed mainly in United States, Canada and United Kingdom.
- US postings that publish a yearly salary: median $245k, middle half $241k–$264k (from 11 postings).