To land the machine learning engineering job you desire, you will need a machine learning engineer resume tailored to showcase specific, specialized data science skills and qualifications. This is unlike a software engineer resume or a software developer resume, which contains generalized profile information suitable for various software roles.
An effective machine learning engineer resume should give you a strong competitive edge and position you as a must-hire at your target company.
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In this article, we cover the different aspects of how to write a machine learning engineer resume that lands you tech interviews at a FAANG or Tier-1 tech company. This includes tips and samples of the best formats to create a winning machine learning engineer resume.
We’ll cover:
- Machine Learning Engineer Resume Formats and Layouts
- Listing Experience, Skills, and Education on Your Machine Learning Engineer Resume
- Machine Learning Engineer Resume Sample
- FAQs on Writing a Machine Learning Engineer Resume
Machine Learning Engineer Resume Formats and Layouts
The first step to creating an effective machine learning engineer resume is to ensure it is optimized for a company’s Application Tracking System (ATS) and is recruiter-friendly.
Creating an ATS-Readable Machine Learning Engineer Resume
Following are some key tips to prepare an ATS-friendly machine learning resume:
- Create structured, organized sections with standard section titles.
- Utilize a standardized, professional resume layout.
- Utilize generally accepted file formats (doc or pdf).
- Utilize a professional font and present information in bulleted lists.
- Use an optimum number of relevant keywords that match the job description.
- Opt for a minimalistic design; avoid fancy design templates, icons, images, tables, multiple columns, etc., since these are not easily processed by an ATS.
Creating a Recruiter-Friendly Machine Learning Engineer Resume
The two main aspects to developing a machine learning resume that grabs a recruiter’s attention are:
- Resume Profile Information: This refers to your profile’s most important and relevant aspects.
- Resume Structure or Layout: This refers to how you present your information.
We’ll look at some of the best practices for listing relevant information in your machine learning engineer resume in the following sections.
Listing Experience, Skills, and Education on Your Machine Learning Engineer Resume
We’ll go through the sections to be included in your machine learning resume and the relevant and important details to be listed:
1. Contact Details or Header
Include identifying profile details:
- Your name
- Job title
- Your contact details — email id, location, relevant social media handles, and GitHub or tech portfolio links.
2. Work Experience
Your work history is the section recruiters focus on the most. This makes it a critical part of your resume. Here are some tips on the right way to list work experience on your machine learning engineer resume:
- Present work history in reverse-chronological order, clearly stating each job title/role, period of employment, employing company, and location.
- Use bulleted lists and short, complete sentences.
- Tailor your resume to highlight proven experience in machine learning skills.
- Use the cause-effect format to highlight how you contributed to the success of your team and company in your past roles; quantify results, if possible.
- Adopt power verbs like “Managed,” “Led,” and “Achieved” and the active voice to grab recruiters’ attention.
3. Skills
Place this section prominently since it is another critical part of your machine learning engineer resume. You can create a separate section for skills or mention them as part of other sections — work experience and projects, achievements and awards, certifications and education, and even your resume headline or objective.
- List 10 - 15 hard and soft skills by level of proficiency or expertise, grouping similar skills by type, technology, or tools.
By Proficiency
Beginner, Conceptual Knowledge, Working Knowledge, Hands-on Experience, Advanced, Proficient, Expert, etc.
By Type, Technology, Tools
Programming Languages
Tools, Frameworks, Platforms
Hard Skills for Machine Learning Engineer Resume
Some of the top technical or hard skills for a machine learning engineer resume are:
- Python, Scala, Java, R, C++
- Artificial Intelligence
- Computer Architecture
- Software Engineering
- Systems Design
- Data Structures
- Algorithms
- Data Modeling
- Applied Mathematics
- Probability
- Statistics
- Apache Spark, Kafka, Hadoop,
- TensorFlow
- MLib
- MATLAB
- NLP
Soft Skills for Machine Learning Engineer Resume
Some top machine learning engineer soft skills to include on your machine learning engineer resume are:
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Teamwork
- Collaboration
- Critical Thinking
- Analytical Mindset
- Problem-solving
- Conflict Resolution
- Creativity
- Leadership
4. Education
Since most companies include minimum educational qualifications in job descriptions, it’s important you create a section for your academic qualifications on your machine learning engineer resume.
List pertinent details about your academic degrees in a field of computer science or a related field. As a new graduate, you can list courses taken to showcase skills and knowledge. As an experienced engineer, only list key details:
- Type of Degree and Specialization in reverse chronological order (Ph.D., Master’s, Bachelor’s).
- Period of study
- University or institution and location
5. Projects
Include relevant projects that showcase the depth of listed skills or showcase additional skills. List projects as part of work experience or under a separate section in case of multiple projects. Highlight your role and technologies used in the project.
6. Awards/Achievements and Certifications
Listing awards and achievements on your machine learning engineer resume, if relevant to the prospective role, under work experience, or as a separate section, will draw attention to your expertise in particular skills.
Certifications can be listed along with educational qualifications or under a separate section if you have many certifications or want to differentiate between academic and professional qualifications. Include only valid professional certifications.
Some top certifications that can be listed on a machine learning engineer resume are:
- AWS Certified Machine Learning Specialty
- Stanford University Machine Learning Certification
- Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer
- Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate
- IBM Machine Learning Professional Certification
7. Other Sections
Below are sections that you can include on your machine learning engineer resume to create additional impact. Include only relevant information under these sections and keep it short to avoid eating into the space required for other key sections.
- Machine Learning Engineer Resume Objective or Headline: Utilize a concise description to highlight the foremost aspects of each section of your resume in up to three sentences, utilizing relevant keywords.
- Publications, Volunteer Work, Memberships: Include information showcasing thought leadership and passion for machine learning.
- Hobbies and Other Information: Only include this information if relevant to the role or company.
Machine Learning Engineer Resume Sample
Below is a machine learning resume sample to help you understand how to structure and organize information in sections and write an effective machine learning engineer resume or machine learning developer resume.


While this is only an example of information organized and structured in a machine learning resume, you should tailor your resume to showcase your profile as being as close a match as possible to the job description based on your own profile details.
Python Machine Learning Engineer Resume
In this type of machine learning resume, the focus is on a particular skill or tech requirement. To write a Python machine learning engineer resume:
- Ensure your resume is customized to showcase work experience and skills leveraging Python expertise.
- Showcase Python and related skills and certifications separately.
- Identify yourself as a skilled Python machine learning engineer in the resume headline.
- Use Python-specific keywords and phrases based on the job description.
FAQs on Writing a Machine Learning Engineer Resume
Q1. Should a machine learning engineer resume be one or two pages long?
A single-page machine learning resume will be easier for recruiters to scan your entire profile at a glance. However, a two-page resume is acceptable for an experienced engineer with key information on the first page.
Q2. What are some of the top skills to include on a machine learning engineer resume?
Top machine learning resume skills include Python, Java, Scala, R, C++, Data Structures, Algorithms, Apache Spark, Hadoop, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Signal Processing, NLP, Data Modeling, Data Analysis, Artificial Intelligence (AI), etc.
Q3. What soft skills should I include in a machine learning engineer resume?
Top interpersonal skills to list on your machine learning resume are communication, mentorship, critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity.
Q4. How does a machine learning engineer resume differ from a software engineer resume?
Machine learning resumes are written for specialized data science roles that require a specific set of skills and qualifications, unlike software engineering resumes, which contain generalized skill sets and qualifications.
Q5. What do machine learning engineers do?
Your machine learning resume should be tailored to suit the roles and responsibilities outlined in the machine learning engineer job description. In general, machine learning engineers develop AI algorithms and systems that can generate predictions through self-learning.
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