Key Takeaways

  • 75% of U.S. employers use automated applicant tracking systems to screen resumes before a human reviews them (Harvard Business School & Accenture, 2021)
  • The most common ATS failures are missing keywords, incompatible formatting, and incorrect file types
  • ResumeGeni scores your resume across 8 parsing layers — modeled on the same steps enterprise ATS platforms like Workday, Greenhouse, and Taleo use to evaluate candidates

How ATS Resume Scoring Works

Applicant tracking systems parse your resume into structured data — extracting your name, contact info, work history, skills, and education — then score how well that data matches the job requirements. Many ATS rejections happen because the parser couldn't extract critical fields, not because the candidate wasn't qualified.

LayerWhat It ChecksWhy It Matters
Document extractionFile format, encoding, readabilityCorrupted or image-only PDFs fail immediately
Layout analysisTables, columns, headers, footersMulti-column layouts break field extraction
Section detectionExperience, education, skills headingsNon-standard headings cause sections to be missed
Field mappingName, email, phone, dates, titlesMissing contact info is a common cause of immediate rejection
Keyword matchingJob-specific terms, skills, certificationsKeyword overlap affects recruiter search visibility and ATS scoring
Chronology checkDate ordering, gap detectionReverse-chronological order is expected by most ATS
QuantificationMetrics, numbers, measurable outcomesQuantified achievements help human reviewers and some scoring models
Confidence scoringOverall parse quality and completenessLow-confidence parses get deprioritized in results

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ResumeGeni free?
Yes. ResumeGeni is currently in beta — ATS analysis, scoring, and initial improvement suggestions are free with no signup required. Full guidance and saved reports may require a free account.
What file formats are supported?
PDF, DOCX, DOC, TXT, RTF, ODT, and Apple Pages. PDF and DOCX are recommended for best ATS compatibility.
How is the ATS score calculated?
Your resume is processed through an 8-layer parsing pipeline that extracts structured data the same way enterprise ATS platforms do. The score reflects how completely and accurately your resume can be parsed, plus how well your content matches common ATS ranking criteria.
Can ATS read PDF resumes?
Yes, but not all PDFs are equal. Text-based PDFs parse well. Image-only PDFs (scanned documents) and PDFs with complex tables or multi-column layouts often fail ATS parsing. Our analyzer will flag these issues.
How do I improve my ATS score?
Focus on three areas: use a clean single-column format, include keywords from the job description naturally in your experience bullets, and ensure all sections (contact, experience, education, skills) use standard headings.

ATS Guides & Resources

Built by engineers with 12 years of experience building enterprise hiring technology at ZipRecruiter. Last updated .

Power Systems Engineer

Arcboatcompany · Torrance, CA

What we’re building

Our vision is to electrify all waterborne vessels, and we're expanding on our success in the recreational market with commercial harborcraft. 

Gas boats dominate today’s marine industry not because of great product offerings but because of a lack of better alternatives. Boaters have grown accustomed to vehicles that feel stuck in the 1980s: unreliable, expensive, loud, noxious, and a nightmare to own and operate. They’re also awful for the water and air they reside in.

By contrast, electric boats are superior in nearly every way: not only are they far more reliable and less costly to operate, but they’re also quieter, quicker, and cleaner, with no fumes or pollutants. However, they’ve been held back by both the technology and the talent to make them truly competitive with gas alternatives. That’s Arc’s opportunity.

Using modern, aerospace- and automotive-inspired techniques, we’re building our hulls, batteries, cooling systems, firmware, and software together to deliver the next generation of watercraft.

Who we’re looking for

As a Power Systems Engineer, you will be working full-time in our Torrance office on the Commercial Systems team reporting to our head of commercial architecture and working on designing new electric and hybrid propulsion systems to make port operations cheaper, quieter, and less emissive.

Core responsibilities

  • Owning the design and integration of high voltage systems, including protection and control schemes
  • Getting hands-on with wiring, testing, and debugging both high and low voltage systems
  • Owning the development and use of bench test systems, ensuring feature parity between bench systems and production vessels
  • Contributing to functional spec development, reviews and the proceeding SW/controls feature testing
  • Supporting sea trials to validate and certify systems
  • Interfacing with component suppliers, partner shipyards, and vessel operators, with occasional travel (5-10% of the time)

Basic qualifications 

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field
  • Solid electrical fundamentals and electrical engineering knowledge
  • Experience with power electronics and high voltage energy storage systems 
  • Experience with automotive and industrial communication protocols (CAN, LIN, Modbus, etc)
  • Familiar with MATLAB/Simulink, oscilloscopes, and other specialized tools
  • Practical experience designing, building, and troubleshooting hardware in production environments
  • Clear written and verbal communication
  • Strong time management skills
  • Comfortable pushing at a fast but sustainable pace
  • Comfortable spending time on boats in the field to collect test data
  • We value engineers who take full ownership, apply first-principles thinking, and prioritize technical problems effectively for the most business value

Bonus qualifications 

  • Firsthand experience working on commercial vessels
  • Understanding of ABS, USCG, and IEC standards for high-voltage and energy storage systems on commercial vessels
  • Experience with functional safety (DFMEA, redundancy strategies) for mission-critical systems
  • Experience with EMI/EMC and grounding in high-power marine or automotive environments, including filtering and shielding practices
  • Familiar with firmware development for unit testing and integration
  • Familiar with Linux, LTSpice, Zuken, and Altium

At Arc, we encourage diversity and consider all qualified applicants equally for employment, regardless of background, identity, or status. You’re always welcome to reach out even if you don’t meet many of these qualifications. Passion and aptitude make up for a lot.

Our values

We move with urgency and build with care. We value these five things above all else:

  • Ownership over both your work and the company’s success
  • Empathy for colleagues and for customers
  • Humility  in problem solving and collaboration
  • Pragmatism for navigating ambiguity quickly and sensibly 
  • Inclusion of different backgrounds, opinions, cultures, and perspectives.

We want people who share and embody these values. It is vital that our values align - we’d be happy to elaborate on any or all of these during the interview process.

What we offer

  • We don’t think great work happens by accident. We invest in the people building Arc — because when you’re supported, you do your best work.

    • Base salary between P2: $135,000  P3: $170,000 per year
    • Ownership – Equity in Arc
    • 99% employer-paid health coverage – Medical, dental, and vision
    • Arc Water Fund – Annual stipend to get out on the water, however you choose
    • Captain Training – Get certified to take the boat out with friends and family
    • 401(k) access – Plan your future
    • Semi-annual bonuses – Tied to your impact, not just your tenure
    • Daily team lunches, snacks, and good coffee while onsite
    • Parental leave – Because family comes first
    • Boat days – Yes, we actually go out on the water. A lot.
    • A chance to define the future of boating
    The ability to drive positive environmental change through your work

Hope to hear from you soon!

The Crew at Arc