Backend developer CV: example and template

This example is for backend developers who build APIs, services and integrations, for example in Java and Spring Boot, at product companies, banks and software houses.

The technical team wants to see what systems you built, at what scale and how you looked after performance, security and code quality. We show you how to describe this.

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Example CV: backend developer

All the details in this example are fictional. Treat it as a model of layout and wording, and replace the content with your own experience.

Mateusz Witkowski

Java backend developer

Wroclaw, remote work +48 123 456 789 mateusz.witkowski@example.com github.com/mwitkowski

Professional profile

Backend developer with 6 years of experience in Java and Spring Boot, most recently on a payment system handling 2 million transactions a day. I design microservices and APIs, work with Kafka and PostgreSQL and look after performance and testing. I am the technical lead of a team of 4.

Work experience

Backend developer, team tech lead

04.2021 - present

Payments technology company, Wroclaw

Developing microservices handling 2 million transactions a day.
Designing REST APIs and Kafka messaging between 15 services.
Cutting the response time of a key API from 800 to 150 ms.
Unit, integration and contract tests, monitoring and alerts.
Code reviews and technical decisions in a team of 4 developers.

Java developer

07.2019 - 03.2021

Software house, Wroclaw

Developing booking systems and integrations for travel clients.
Migrating a monolithic application to Spring Boot.
Working with PostgreSQL, Docker and CI/CD.

Education

Computer science, master's degree

2014 - 2019

Wroclaw University of Science and Technology

Skills

Java 17, Spring Boot
Microservices and REST APIs
Kafka
PostgreSQL, Redis
Docker, Kubernetes
Testing, monitoring, CI/CD

Certificates

Oracle Certified Professional: Java SE, 2021
Application security training, 2023

Languages

English: C1

Additional information

Meetup talk on Java service performance, 2024

I hereby consent to the processing of my personal data for the purposes necessary to carry out the recruitment process, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (GDPR).

How to write a backend developer CV

Professional summary

Give your main language and framework, years of experience, the type of systems and their scale. Add one area you are strong in, such as performance, integrations or architecture.

Python backend developer with 2 years of experience at an e-commerce company. I build APIs in FastAPI, work with PostgreSQL and Docker and write tests. I want to grow in service design and the cloud.

Experience: duties and achievements

Show scale and results: number of users or transactions, response times, availability, number of services. Describe the technical decisions you made and their impact.

Weaker: Building microservices.

Better: Developing microservices handling 2 million transactions a day.

Weaker: Improving performance.

Better: Cutting the response time of a key API from 800 to 150 ms.

Weaker: Teamwork.

Better: Code reviews and technical decisions in a team of 4 developers.

Skills worth listing

Group your technologies: language and framework, databases, messaging, infrastructure, testing. List only those you can discuss comfortably in a technical interview.

Professional skills

Backend language and framework
API design
Databases and query optimisation
Queues and asynchronous messaging
Containers and the cloud
Testing and monitoring

Personal skills

Thinking about the whole system
Clear communication with the team
Ownership of production
Sharing knowledge
Solving problems under pressure

Certificates and community work

Language and cloud certificates help, but teams look mainly at experience. Meetup talks, technical articles and open source projects are worth listing too.

Junior backend developer CV

Describe your projects: an API with a database, tests and documentation. Put them on GitHub with instructions for running them.

Show the basics recruiters ask about: Git, SQL, testing, Docker. Describe internships and placements the same way as jobs.

Tailoring your CV to the job offer

A payments company looks for performance and security, a software house for quickly joining different projects, and a product company for ownership of services in production. Order your technologies as in the job ad.

The most common mistakes on a backend developer CV

A list of technologies without scale or results.
No description of the systems you worked on.
Technologies you cannot talk about.
Revealing confidential details of a client's architecture.
No English, which is almost always needed in IT.
Graphics and skill bars that an ATS cannot read.

Questions and answers

What should a backend developer put on a CV?

Language and framework, years of experience, systems and their scale, APIs, databases, queues, infrastructure, testing, results and English.

How do I show system scale on a CV?

With the number of users, transactions or requests, response times and availability, without revealing confidential data.

Does a junior backend developer need GitHub?

It helps a lot. An API project with tests and run instructions is the best proof of your skills.

How many technologies should I list?

As many as you really know. Ten well-mastered ones are better than thirty you only know by name.

Create a backend developer CV in the builder

In the CV Majster builder you enter your details step by step and see right away what the document looks like. You can copy the wording from this page and adapt it to yourself. The finished CV as a PDF costs a one-off PLN 5, with no subscription, and you see the preview before you pay.

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