Senior Backend Developer Resume Example
Hiring managers evaluating senior backend developers look for ownership of distributed systems measured by reliability metrics, not ticket execution without system context.
This resume is for senior backend developers who lead system design and mentor junior staff, but are not yet responsible for department-wide engineering strategy or organizational roadmapping.
- Ownership of complex distributed systems and architecture decisions
- Evidence of technical mentorship and team-wide standard setting
- Measurable improvements in system reliability, scalability, or performance
- Summary highlighting technical leadership and core stack
- Experience bullets focused on architectural outcomes and metrics
- Technical skills categorized by infrastructure and languages
Deepa Kapoor
Summary
Experience
- Architected a distributed task scheduling system using Go and Redis to handle asynchronous background jobs, processing 1.4M+ events daily with 99.99% reliability.
- Optimized database query patterns and indexing strategies for the block-based editor, reducing average API latency from 135ms to 62ms.
- Spearheaded the migration of 6 legacy services into a containerized microservices architecture using Kubernetes, improving deployment frequency by 38%.
- Mentored 4 junior backend developers on concurrency patterns and system design, establishing new code review standards that reduced production bugs by 22%.
- Engineered a real-time data ingestion pipeline using Kafka and Python to process market data streams with sub-15ms end-to-end latency.
- Refined the storage schema for a 5TB PostgreSQL cluster, decreasing annual infrastructure costs by $145K through efficient data partitioning and vacuuming schedules.
- Designed and implemented a secure REST API for internal quantitative researchers, supporting 450+ concurrent users and complex analytical queries.
- Developed automated testing frameworks for core trading services, increasing unit test coverage from 58% to 91% and eliminating critical regressions.
- Scaled an observability platform using Elasticsearch and Kibana to monitor 12 internal services across 3 global regions, improving incident response time by 45%.
- Cut batch processing time for end-of-day financial reports by 52% by introducing multi-threading and optimizing SQL join operations.
Education
Skills
Python · Go · SQL · PostgreSQL · Redis · Kafka · Kubernetes · Docker · Distributed Systems · System Design · Microservices · REST APIs · Elasticsearch · Git · CI/CD
What makes this resume effective
- This resume meets the hiring bar for senior backend developers by demonstrating architectural ownership of distributed systems, measurable performance gains, and technical mentorship.
- Notice how the Notion section highlights Deepa's role in architecting a distributed task scheduling system, proving she can handle high-scale infrastructure decisions.
- See how the bullet regarding the $145K cost reduction at Two Sigma ties technical database partitioning directly to business-level financial outcomes.
How to write better bullet points
Wrote a background job processor in Go.
Architected a distributed task scheduling system using Go and Redis to handle 1.4M+ daily events with 99.99% reliability.
It elevates a simple task to an architectural achievement by specifying the scale, technology, and reliability outcomes.
Helped junior developers on the team.
Mentored 4 junior backend developers on concurrency patterns, establishing code review standards that reduced production bugs by 22%.
It quantifies the impact of mentorship by showing a measurable improvement in team-wide code quality.
Made database queries faster.
Optimized database query patterns and indexing for a 5TB cluster, reducing average API latency from 135ms to 62ms.
It provides concrete technical context and specific performance metrics to prove senior-level optimization skills.
Senior Backend Developer resume writing tips
- Highlight architectural decisions like Deepa’s task scheduling system to prove you can own complex, high-impact technical designs.
- Quantify mentorship by showing how your guidance reduced production bugs or improved code review standards across the engineering team.
- Connect technical optimizations, such as reducing API latency, to specific business metrics like reliability or cost savings.
Common mistakes
- Focusing only on ticket completion rather than system ownership, which makes a senior candidate look like a junior executor.
- Omitting mentorship and code review contributions, failing to signal the technical leadership expected at this level.
- Listing too many languages without demonstrating deep expertise in the specific architecture and performance trade-offs of a core stack.
Frequently asked questions
Is this resume right for someone with 5 years of experience? Yes, if you have moved from feature delivery to owning system design and mentoring; no, if you primarily execute tasks assigned by a lead.
Yes, if you have moved from feature delivery to owning system design and mentoring; no, if you primarily execute tasks assigned by a lead.
Yes, if you have moved beyond feature development into owning system design and mentoring peers. No, if you are still primarily executing tasks assigned by a lead.
What if my background isn't in high-frequency trading or high-growth tech? Yes, focus on the complexity of solved problems and how you improved reliability or reduced costs within your specific industry domain.
Yes, focus on the complexity of solved problems and how you improved reliability or reduced costs within your specific industry domain.
You can still use this format by focusing on the complexity of the problems you solved. Highlight how you improved reliability or reduced costs in your specific industry domain.
What if I don't have exact latency or cost-saving numbers? Use directional estimates or approximate percentages from logs and bills; any quantified signal of impact is better than listing only tasks.
Use directional estimates or approximate percentages from logs and bills; any quantified signal of impact is better than listing only tasks.
In this resume, Deepa uses specific metrics to prove impact, but you can use directional estimates from system logs or infrastructure bills. Even approximate percentages are better than having no metrics at all.
How much should I change before applying? Keep the impact-focused structure but swap the stack to match your expertise, placing the most relevant skills at the top of the section.
Keep the impact-focused structure but swap the stack to match your expertise, placing the most relevant skills at the top of the section.
Keep the structure of the impact-focused bullets but swap the technologies to match your primary stack. Ensure your most relevant skills for the specific job are listed first in the skills section.
What do hiring managers focus on at this level? Evidence that you can own critical systems independently and have a positive impact on both the codebase and the growth of junior engineers.
Evidence that you can own critical systems independently and have a positive impact on both the codebase and the growth of junior engineers.
Recruiters look for evidence that you can be trusted with critical systems without constant supervision. They prioritize candidates who show they can improve both the codebase and the engineers around them.
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