Electrical Engineer Resume Example

An electrical engineering resume has to prove two things fast: which systems you design, and whether your drawings get built without rework. Hiring managers look for voltage class, codes, software and license status before they read a single bullet.

The Sample resume below belongs to a power and controls engineer with six years at a distribution design consultancy and a controls integrator. Every bullet names the system, the standard it met and what the owner got: a substation energized on schedule, a load study that avoided a transformer upgrade, a PLC retrofit that cut downtime. That structure works for building, utility, industrial and product roles alike, as long as you swap in the equipment that posting mentions.

Put the EIT or PE line near your name, since many firms filter on it, and list the tools you use every week rather than every tool you have opened once. Compare the civil engineer example for how a site-focused engineer frames project delivery, and browse the engineering hub for neighboring titles. The Chronological template keeps a long project list easy to scan.

Updated . The person and employers in this Sample resume are fictional.

Electrical Engineer sample resume

Owen Castellano

Electrical Engineer, Power Distribution and Controls, PE

Wichita, KSowen.castellano@example.com(316) 555-0142

Summary

Licensed electrical engineer with six years of experience designing medium-voltage distribution, protection schemes and industrial controls. Led the electrical design for a 69 kV substation expansion that energized two weeks ahead of the utility's deadline. Known for clean drawing sets, careful coordination studies and field support that keeps contractors moving.

Experience

Electrical Engineer II, Kaw River Grid Services

– Present

Wichita, KS

  • Led electrical design for a 69/12.47 kV substation expansion, from one-line diagrams through relay settings, energized two weeks ahead of schedule with no punch-list rework.
  • Ran load-flow and short-circuit studies in ETAP for 14 feeder upgrades, recommending a reconductoring plan that deferred a transformer purchase by five years.
  • Completed arc-flash studies for 38 customer sites and rewrote the labeling standard so field crews could read PPE levels at a glance.
  • Reviewed contractor submittals and answered RFIs within two business days, keeping three concurrent builds free of electrical change orders.
Controls Engineer, Pelican Marsh Controls

–

Baton Rouge, LA

  • Designed PLC and HMI upgrades on Allen-Bradley ControlLogix for a water treatment plant, replacing relay logic that caused weekly nuisance trips.
  • Wrote functional descriptions and factory acceptance test procedures for 11 motor control center retrofits.
  • Commissioned VFD pump stations on site and trained operators, cutting unplanned downtime at one plant from nine hours a month to under two.

Education

B.S. in Electrical Engineering

Upper Plains State University, Manhattan, KS

Power systems emphasis; senior project on protective relay coordination

Skills

  • Power distribution design
  • Protective relaying
  • ETAP
  • SKM PowerTools
  • AutoCAD Electrical
  • Arc-flash studies (NFPA 70E, IEEE 1584)
  • NEC
  • PLC programming (ControlLogix)
  • HMI design
  • Motor controls and VFDs
  • Commissioning
  • Construction administration

Certifications

  • Professional Engineer (PE), Electrical and Computer: Power, Kansas State Board of Technical Professions,

Start yours from this example

Bring your own resume or start blank, then tailor it to each posting in about two minutes.

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Templates for the electrical engineer resume

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How the resume changes with experience

The same electrical engineer resume, written at three levels: a summary and three bullets for each.

Entry level

Zero to two years, or a first role in the title

EIT-certified electrical engineering graduate with a power systems focus, a co-op in substation design and hands-on lab work in protection and motor control.

  • Drafted one-line and three-line diagrams for two distribution substations under a senior engineer's review during a co-op term.
  • Modeled a campus microgrid in ETAP for a capstone project and presented fault-current results to faculty and a utility sponsor.
  • Built and tested a motor starter circuit with overload protection in the power lab, then documented it as a teaching guide.

Mid level

Three to seven years, owns a process or a workload

Electrical engineer with five years of experience owning distribution and controls designs from study to startup, working toward a PE.

  • Own electrical packages for industrial clients, from load calculations and panel schedules to stamped-ready drawing sets.
  • Coordinate protective devices across medium- and low-voltage gear so a fault trips only the nearest breaker.
  • Support contractors in the field during startup and close out redlines into accurate as-built drawings.

Senior

Eight years or more, leads people, budgets or programs

Senior electrical engineer and PE with twelve years of experience leading utility and industrial power programs, managing design teams and signing drawings of record.

  • Lead a team of six engineers and designers delivering substation and feeder work for three utility clients.
  • Set the firm's relay-setting review process, which caught coordination errors before energization on every project since.
  • Scope, price and win design contracts, and serve as engineer of record on stamped packages.

Skills to put on the electrical engineer resume

Hard skills

Power system studies (load flow, short circuit, arc flash)
Utility and industrial postings ask for these by name, and results from real studies make strong, specific bullets.
Protective relay coordination
Protection work is where mistakes are costly, so evidence that your settings held up in service earns trust quickly.
ETAP, SKM or EasyPower
Firms standardize on one analysis package, and naming the one they use shortens your ramp-up in the hiring manager's eyes.
AutoCAD Electrical or Revit MEP
Drawings are the deliverable, so fluency in the posting's drafting tool is often a hard requirement.
NEC, NFPA 70E and IEEE standards
Code knowledge keeps projects out of inspection trouble, and reviewers look for it listed plainly.
PLC and HMI programming
Controls roles screen for platform experience such as ControlLogix or Siemens, and it widens the range of jobs you qualify for.
Commissioning and field support
Engineers who can stand beside an electrician at startup finish projects faster, and interviewers ask for those stories.

Soft skills

Clear technical writing
Design basis memos, study reports and RFI answers are read by owners and contractors who need plain conclusions.
Coordination across disciplines
Electrical work touches civil, mechanical and structural packages, and clashes caught early save weeks in the field.
Safety judgment
Employers want engineers who stop work when something looks wrong, and a calm example of that is memorable in an interview.

Mistakes that cost electrical engineer interviews

  1. Hiding the license status

    Many firms sort candidates by EIT or PE before anything else. Put the license, the state and the discipline in your headline or right under your name, and give an expected exam date if you have not passed yet.

  2. Listing studies without outcomes

    Performed arc-flash studies is a task. Say how many sites, what changed afterward and what it saved: equipment relabeled, a hazard level reduced, an upgrade avoided.

  3. No voltage class or scale

    A 480 V panel and a 138 kV substation are different jobs. State voltage levels, megawatts, feeder counts or plant size so the reader can place your experience.

  4. One resume for power, controls and electronics roles

    These are different hiring pools. Reorder your bullets and skills for each application so the first lines match the systems named in that posting.

  5. Software lists longer than the experience section

    Twenty tools with no context look padded. Keep the ones you use weekly, and let the bullets show them in action.

Questions about the electrical engineer resume

Should an electrical engineer put a PE on the resume before it is issued?

Only as pending with a date, such as PE exam passed, license expected in March. Never list a license you do not hold yet; reviewers check state boards.

How long should an electrical engineering resume be?

One page for the first few years, two pages once you have a real project list. Keep project detail on the resume and leave full project histories for the interview.

Should I include a projects list separate from work experience?

Yes for consulting roles, where firms sell project experience. Give each project a line with the owner type, voltage, scope and your role, without naming a confidential client.

What skills matter most for an entry-level electrical engineer?

Circuit fundamentals, one analysis or drafting tool, lab work you can explain and a passed FE exam. Co-ops and capstone projects count as experience if you describe what you designed.

How do I tailor an electrical engineer resume for a specific job?

Match the posting's systems and software where they are true of you, move the most similar project to the top of each role and rewrite your summary around that employer's type of work.

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