Software Engineer Intern Resume Example
Software engineers reach intern level when they show project execution measured by performance optimization, not lists of academic coursework.
This resume is for computer science students or recent grads seeking their first professional roles who have completed technical projects or internships, but are not yet responsible for full-lifecycle system architecture.
- Proficiency in core programming languages and modern frameworks
- Evidence of contributions to real-world or complex technical projects
- Familiarity with professional development workflows and version control
- Education section placed at the top of the document
- Skills grouped by technical category including languages and tools
- Experience and projects sections prioritized by technical complexity
Nadia Saleh
Summary
Experience
- Engineered a React-based internal dashboard for the merchant analytics team, enabling real-time tracking of 450 high-volume accounts.
- Optimized PostgreSQL query performance by 18% through the implementation of composite indexing and query refactoring for the reporting service.
- Developed 3 new REST API endpoints using Python and FastAPI to automate the ingestion of merchant transaction logs into the data warehouse.
- Spearheaded the migration of 2 legacy frontend components to a TypeScript-based design system, improving code maintainability for the core engineering team.
Education
Skills
Python · JavaScript · TypeScript · SQL · Git · REST APIs · React · Node.js · Docker · PostgreSQL · FastAPI · Redis · CSS · HTML
Projects
QueueMaster Distributed Task Runner
Built a distributed task queue system to manage asynchronous background jobs with support for priority scheduling and automatic retries.
Python, Redis, Docker, PostgreSQL
CityBike Availability Tracker
Developed a real-time visualization tool for NYC bike-share availability using public API data to predict station depletion during peak hours.
JavaScript, React, Node.js, CSS
What makes this resume effective
- This resume meets the hiring bar for software engineer interns by demonstrating technical proficiency in Python and React, evidence of performance optimization, and experience with modern deployment tools like Docker.
- Nadia's work at Rippling shows she can handle production tasks, such as optimizing PostgreSQL query performance by 18%, rather than just completing isolated exercises.
- The 'QueueMaster' project demonstrates a grasp of distributed systems and asynchronous jobs, which signals a level of technical curiosity that differentiates candidates at this level.
How to write better bullet points
Helped the team with the merchant dashboard.
Engineered a React-based internal dashboard for the merchant analytics team, enabling real-time tracking of 450 high-volume accounts.
It specifies the technology used and the scale of the impact on the business.
Fixed some database issues for the service.
Optimized PostgreSQL query performance by 18% through the implementation of composite indexing and query refactoring for the reporting service.
It provides a measurable outcome and explains the technical method used to achieve it.
Made some new API endpoints for transaction logs.
Developed 3 new REST API endpoints using Python and FastAPI to automate the ingestion of merchant transaction logs into the data warehouse.
It identifies the specific framework and the business process that was improved through automation.
Software Engineer Intern resume writing tips
- Quantify the impact of your code changes, such as percentage improvements in speed or efficiency.
- Highlight projects that use the same tech stack as the companies where you are applying.
- Explicitly mention your role in team-based projects to show you can collaborate in a professional environment.
Common mistakes
- Listing every class taken instead of focusing on those relevant to the specific role.
- Describing project features without explaining the technical challenges you solved or the tools you used.
- Failing to show any experience with version control or collaborative tools like Git or Jira.
Frequently asked questions
Is this resume right for someone with no prior internships? Yes if you have robust personal projects demonstrating technical depth; purely academic coursework without applied coding often gets filtered out.
Yes if you have robust personal projects demonstrating technical depth; purely academic coursework without applied coding often gets filtered out.
Yes, if you have robust personal or academic projects that demonstrate similar technical depth. If you only list coursework without any applied coding experience, you should focus on building a project that uses the tools listed in this example.
What if my background is from a coding bootcamp rather than a CS degree? Yes, provided you emphasize production-grade tools like Docker and PostgreSQL to mirror the technical complexity of professional environments.
Yes, provided you emphasize production-grade tools like Docker and PostgreSQL to mirror the technical complexity of professional environments.
Focus on building a portfolio that mirrors the technical complexity shown in Nadia’s Rippling experience. Emphasize your ability to work with production-grade tools like Docker and PostgreSQL to show you are ready for a professional environment.
What if I don't have specific percentages for my project impact? Use scale-based metrics like user counts, dataset sizes, or the number of features deployed to demonstrate the magnitude of your technical impact.
Use scale-based metrics like user counts, dataset sizes, or the number of features deployed to demonstrate the magnitude of your technical impact.
Use scale-based metrics instead, such as the number of users, the size of the dataset handled, or the number of features successfully deployed. In this resume, Nadia uses '450 high-volume accounts' to show scale when a percentage isn't applicable.
How much should I change before applying? Swap languages and frameworks to match the job description, ensuring the skills section is ordered by relevance to the specific role's requirements.
Swap languages and frameworks to match the job description, ensuring the skills section is ordered by relevance to the specific role's requirements.
Keep the structure and the focus on technical outcomes, but swap the specific languages and frameworks to match the requirements of the job description. Ensure the skills section is ordered by what is most relevant to the specific role.
What do hiring managers focus on at this level? Recruiters look for evidence of immediate codebase contribution, signaled by tasks like TypeScript migrations or REST API development.
Recruiters look for evidence of immediate codebase contribution, signaled by tasks like TypeScript migrations or REST API development.
Recruiters look for evidence that you can contribute to a codebase immediately. Nadia signals this by mentioning TypeScript migrations and REST API development, which are common tasks for professionals in this role.
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