Backend Developer

Backend Developer CV example (2026)

A backend developer CV is judged on specificity: runtime + framework + database + cloud, named exactly, in both the skills section and the experience bullets where they earned their place. Lead with a summary stating your primary stack and the scale you've operated at (requests, data volume, uptime). Recruiters scan for production-grade signals — on-call, incidents, migrations, query optimisation — because those separate API builders from CRUD tutorials.

What recruiters scan for in a Backend Developer CV

1Exact stack: 'Go + PostgreSQL + AWS', not 'various backend technologies'
2Scale and reliability numbers: RPS, data size, uptime, latency
3Database depth: schema design, indexing, query optimisation, migrations
4Ownership signals: on-call, incident response, system design

Example Backend Developer CV

A condensed but realistic example — note how every bullet pairs an action with a number, and how tools and methods are named exactly. Details are fictional.

Viktor Hansen

Backend Developer · Node.js & PostgreSQL

Copenhagen, DK · viktor.hansen@email.com · github.com/vhansen

Summary

Backend developer with 6 years designing APIs and data-heavy services in Node.js and PostgreSQL, latterly on AWS. Scaled an ordering platform from 50k to 900k daily orders; strong on schema design, query tuning, and boring, observable systems.

Experience

Backend Developer

2021 – present

Nordisk Foods (food delivery platform)

Core developer on the ordering API (Node.js/TypeScript, PostgreSQL, AWS ECS) as volume grew from 50k to 900k orders/day; p95 latency held under 120ms throughout.
Redesigned the orders schema and indexing strategy, cutting the slowest dashboard queries from 8s to 200ms and shrinking the DB bill 30%.
Built an idempotent event pipeline (SQS + outbox pattern) that eliminated a class of duplicate-order bugs — zero recurrences in 2 years.
Share on-call for the platform; wrote the incident runbook now used across three backend teams.

Software Developer

2019 – 2021

Baltic Web Services

Built REST APIs (Express, MongoDB) for client projects; introduced JWT-based auth and input validation that passed a client's external pentest with no critical findings.
Containerised the deployment workflow with Docker, reducing new-developer setup from days to an hour.

Skills

Node.js / TypeScript
PostgreSQL (schema design, tuning) / Redis
AWS (ECS, RDS, SQS, Lambda)
REST & GraphQL API design
Docker / Terraform
Observability (Datadog, OpenTelemetry)

Education

BSc Software Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2019

ATS keywords for Backend Developer roles

These terms appear most often in Backend Developer job descriptions and carry the most ATS score weight. Make sure the ones you can honestly claim appear in your CV — in the exact phrasing.

1Python / Node.js / Go / Java (runtime specific)
2PostgreSQL / MySQL / MongoDB (database specifics)
3RESTful and GraphQL API design
4Docker and Kubernetes containerisation
5AWS / GCP / Azure cloud services

See how your Backend Developer CV scores

An example shows the target — the free ATS checker shows your distance from it: score, keyword gaps, and the fixes ranked by impact. And when you're applying to a specific job, the AI Adapt flow rewrites your CV against that exact posting — honestly, without inventing experience. $4 to download.

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Backend Developer CV FAQ

How do I show scale on a backend CV if my product was small?

Use the dimension where you did have depth: data model complexity, integration count, uptime you maintained, or cost you cut. A precisely quantified small system beats vague claims about a big one — and interviews expose the difference fast.

Do backend developers need cloud keywords?

In 2026, almost always — most backend JDs list a cloud provider and containers. Name the specific services you used (RDS, ECS, Lambda), not just 'AWS'. If your experience is on-prem, say so plainly and lead with database and API depth.

How much detail on databases?

More than you think. Schema design, indexing decisions, a query you took from seconds to milliseconds — database bullets are the most credible proof of backend seniority and the first thing experienced interviewers probe.

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