Resume template · Updated October 2026
C++ developer resume template
Short answer
Catalyst fits an experienced C++ developer: it prints no summary and opens on the current job, which is where the hard performance work sits. The fictional sample has ten years of C++, first on a structural simulation desktop app and now on a market data feed handler measured in microseconds, plus a CMake and Conan build overhaul, sanitizers in CI and a small open-source parser with a benchmark.
Download the c++ developer sample
Samuel is a fictional senior c++ developer. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Catalyst suits a c++ developer resume
Catalyst goes from the header straight to work experience, so a hiring manager for trading, engine or simulation work meets the hot-path bullets first. Skills follow the jobs as labelled rows, and the IBM Plex Sans type with teal headings over full-width rules gives a dense technical page a clean, engineered look.
Second choice: FAANGPath. FAANGPath keeps a summary and prints the language and toolchain rows above the jobs; better if you are moving into C++ from another language and want the skills read first.
What goes in each section, in Catalyst's order
Catalyst prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Work Experience. Catalyst prints no summary, so the headline does the introducing: standard, domain and platform, as in "C++20, low-latency, Linux". In each job, pair the component you own with how it was measured (median or tail latency, throughput, memory, build time) and the tool that produced the number, such as perf or Google Benchmark.
- Skills. Keep the language apart from its ecosystem. Technical holds the standards you ship in and the topics interviewers probe: templates, concurrency, the memory model, lock-free structures. Tools holds compilers, the build system, the package manager, debuggers and profilers. If you also write C, give it its own entry.
- Projects. A small library with a benchmark is persuasive C++ evidence, because a reviewer can read the code and check the numbers in the same sitting. Name what it does, the standard it targets and one measured result.
- Education. One line after projects. Whatever the subject, give the degree, school and year, and drop coursework once you have a few years in industry.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Samuel Okafor
Senior C++ Developer, Low-Latency Systems (C++20, Linux)
New York, NY | samuel.okafor@example.com | (212) 555-0118 | github.com/sample-samuel-okafor | linkedin.com/in/sample-samuel-okafor
Experience
Senior C++ Developer, Harborline Markets Technology, New York, NY (03/2021 to Present)
- Own the C++20 feed handler that decodes exchange multicast market data for 40 trading clients; cut median tick-to-publish latency from 9 to 4 microseconds.
- Replaced a mutex-guarded queue with a single-producer, single-consumer ring buffer and pinned threads to isolated cores, removing latency spikes above 50 microseconds at the market open.
- Moved the build from hand-written Makefiles to CMake presets and Conan; a clean CI build dropped from 38 to 14 minutes.
- Added AddressSanitizer and ThreadSanitizer jobs to CI, which caught two data races before release in their first quarter.
- Mentor two junior developers and run the weekly review of every change to the hot path.
C++ Developer, Tessellate Simulation, Pittsburgh, PA (07/2016 to 02/2021)
- Rewrote sparse matrix assembly for the structural solver with templates and Eigen; large models solved about 30% faster.
- Ported the Windows-only desktop application to Linux with Qt 5, keeping a single codebase for both platforms.
- Tracked down memory leaks with Valgrind and heaptrack that had crashed overnight batch runs for two customers.
Projects
fixlite (open source): A header-only C++17 parser for FIX tag-value messages with no heap allocation on the parse path.
- Parses about four times faster than a naive std::string parser in Google Benchmark runs published with the code.
Education
BS, Computer Engineering, Allegheny Ridge University (05/2016)
Skills
C++20, C++17, STL and templates, Multithreading and lock-free queues, Linux networking (UDP multicast), Python (tooling), GCC, Clang, CMake, Conan, GDB, perf, Valgrind, Google Test, Qt, Code review, Design documents
How to make the sample yours
Name the domain your C++ runs in
Trading, games, simulation, browsers and robotics each read differently. Change the headline and the first bullet of each job so the domain is clear in the opening lines; C++ hiring managers usually look for their own domain first.
Say which latency you measured
The sample quotes median tick-to-publish latency and, separately, removes spikes above 50 microseconds. Write whether a figure is a median or a 99th percentile, under what load and on what hardware; low-latency interviewers ask all three.
List the standard you ship, not the newest one
If production code is C++17 with a few C++20 features, say exactly that. Listing a standard you have only read about invites questions on concepts, ranges or coroutines that you cannot answer from experience.
Keep one build or tooling bullet
Slow builds and memory bugs are familiar C++ pain. A bullet about CMake, a package manager, sanitizers or static analysis shows you improve the codebase for everyone, not only your own module.
Name the libraries underneath
Qt, Boost, Eigen, Unreal Engine or a vendor SDK: say what your code sits on. Readers use it to judge how quickly you would find your way around their codebase.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- C++20
- C++17
- STL
- templates
- multithreading
- lock-free programming
- low-latency systems
- Linux
- UDP multicast
- CMake
- GDB
- perf profiling
- RAII
- Google Test
- AddressSanitizer
Mistakes to avoid
- Writing "C/C++" as one skill. Reviewers read it as C with a little C++, so list them separately with your depth in each.
- Rating yourself "expert in C++". Let the components you built and the numbers you measured show the level.
- Latency figures with no percentile, load or hardware attached.
- A summary paragraph in Catalyst: the template skips it, so move your one-line pitch into the headline.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 4 of 4 | 9 of 9 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 4 of 4 | 9 of 9 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 4 of 4 | 9 of 9 |
Frequently asked questions
Should I write C/C++ or list C and C++ separately?
Separately. They are different languages with different idioms, and a reviewer cannot tell from "C/C++" which one you write every day. Add the standard next to C++ and the context next to C, such as "C (drivers)".
Which C++ standard should my resume mention?
The ones you have shipped production code in, usually C++17 or C++20. The ISO C++ committee has published C++23 and is working on C++26; add a newer standard only once you have used its features in real code.
How do I describe trading or defense code I cannot share?
Describe the kind of component, its scale and the measured change, and leave out client names, venues and strategy details. "Feed handler for 40 trading clients, median latency from 9 to 4 microseconds" reveals nothing proprietary.
Is one page enough for ten years of C++ work?
Usually, if the older job shrinks to three bullets and the skills rows stay short. Two pages are fine when both hold recent systems work; a second page of old maintenance tasks is not.
Do open-source contributions matter for C++ roles?
They help when they show the kind of code the job needs: a header-only library, a fix merged into a compiler or a well-known library, a benchmark others can run. A fork with no changes adds nothing.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Catalyst PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 4 section headings and all 9 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
Guides and templates for this resume
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- Standard C++ Foundation (isocpp.org): Current Status (C++23 has been published; work is underway on C++26)
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