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 .

Software Engineer II, Machine Learning

Braze · Toronto

At Braze, we have found our people. We’re a genuinely approachable, exceptionally kind, and intensely passionate crew.

We seek to ignite that passion by setting high standards, championing teamwork, and creating work-life harmony as we collectively navigate rapid growth on a global scale while striving for greater equity and opportunity – inside and outside our organization.

To flourish here, you must be prepared to set a high bar for yourself and those around you. There is always a way to contribute: Acting with autonomy, having accountability and being open to new perspectives are essential to our continued success.

Our deep curiosity to learn and our eagerness to share diverse passions with others gives us balance and injects a one-of-a-kind vibrancy into our culture.

If you are driven to solve exhilarating challenges and have a bias toward action in the face of change, you will be empowered to make a real impact here, with a sharp and passionate team at your back. If Braze sounds like a place where you can thrive, we can’t wait to meet you.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Do you enjoy working on data-intensive products? Come join our growing Engineering team to help design, improve and scale Braze's self-learning (reinforcement learning) AI platform. No toy datasets in notebooks - we’re implementing AI pipelines in production at scale! Learn tons about data architecture, data science, and self-learning AI. Work in a team that not only talks-the-talk of development best practices, but walks the walk - unit & integration tests, modular design, CI/CD, pair programming, code reviews - the works.

Responsibilities:

  • Use robust software engineering best practices to design, implement, and improve modular components in a cutting-edge ML product
  • Work closely with Braze customers to understand, translate and generalize particular use cases to generic platform components
  • Apply your extensive knowledge of Python and its ecosystem to produce clean, readable, and extendible code, and coach others on the team in doing the same
  • Collaborate with teams responsible for Braze’s product strategy and roadmap
  • Support teams implementing Braze for customers to ensure their success
  • Data Science/Back End: Python (Pyspark, Polars, Ibis), SQL, BigQuery, FastAPI
  • Architecture/DevOps: Kubernetes, Airflow, Terraform, GCP
  • We write well-tested, type-hinted, documented, modular code and use pre-commit hooks, CI/CD, and issue tracking for development

WHO YOU ARE

  • Exceptional coder: you write clean, object-oriented code; you care about good design and terse, testable APIs
  • Tinkerer: you regularly explore and learn new technologies and methods, especially in the data architecture and data science domains
  • Entrepreneurial: you proactively identify opportunities and risks, work around obstacles, and always seek creative ways to improve processes and outcomes
  • Structured and organized: you can structure a plan, align stakeholders, and see it through to execution
  • Clear communicator: you are able to express yourself clearly and persuasively, both in writing and speech
  • 2+ years of experience working with Python in a product setting, including 1+ years in a the data/machine learning ecosystem
  • Experience working with at least one major cloud platform (GCP, AWS, Azure, etc)
  • Experience putting ML models into production
  • General understanding of supervised learning principles is a plus

For candidates based in Ontario, the pay range at the start of employment for this position is expected to be between CA$104,400 - CA$176,040/year, with an expected On Target Earnings (OTE) between CA$116,000 - CA$195,600/year (including performance-based or variable compensation (bonus or commission). Your particular offer may vary depending on multiple individual factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. In addition to cash compensation, Braze offers a comprehensive Total Rewards package that includes, among other things, equity grants of restricted stock units (RSUs), so that all Braze employees own a piece of our company.

WHAT WE OFFER

Braze benefits vary by location, and we encourage you to review our specific benefits offerings for each country here. More details on benefits plans will be provided if you receive an offer of employment.

From offering comprehensive benefits to fostering hybrid ways of working, we’ve got you covered so you can prioritize work-life harmony. Braze offers benefits such as:

  • Competitive compensation that may include equity
  • Retirement and Employee Stock Purchase Plans
  • Flexible paid time off
  • Comprehensive benefit plans covering medical, dental, vision, life, and disability
  • Family services that include fertility benefits and equal paid parental leave
  • Professional development supported by formal career pathing, learning platforms, and a yearly learning stipend
  • A curated in-office employee experience, designed to foster community, team connections, and innovation
  • Opportunities to give back to your community, including an annual company-wide Volunteer Week and donation matching 
  • Employee Resource Groups that provide supportive communities within Braze
  • Collaborative, transparent, and fun culture recognized as a Great Place to Work®

ABOUT BRAZE

Braze is the leading customer engagement platform that empowers brands to Be Absolutely Engaging.™ Braze helps brands deliver great customer experiences that drive value both for consumers and for their businesses. Built on a foundation of composable intelligence, BrazeAI™ allows marketers to combine and activate AI agents, models, and features at every touchpoint throughout the Braze Customer Engagement Platform for smarter, faster, and more meaningful customer engagement. From cross-channel messaging and journey orchestration to Al-powered decisioning and optimization, Braze enables companies to turn action into interaction through autonomous, 1:1 personalized experiences.

The company has repeatedly been recognized as a Leader in marketing technology by industry analysts, and was voted a G2 “Best of Marketing and Digital Advertising Software Product” in 2025.

Braze was also named a 2025 Best Companies To Work For by U.S. News & World Report, a 2025 America’s Greatest Companies by Newsweek, and a 2025 Fortune Best Workplace in Technology™ by Great Place To Work®, among other accolades. Braze is also proudly certified as a Great Place to Work® in the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Singapore.

The company is headquartered in New York with offices in Austin, Berlin, Bucharest, Chicago, Dubai, Jakarta, London, Paris, San Francisco, São Paulo, Singapore, Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo.

BRAZE IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

At Braze, we strive to create equitable growth and opportunities inside and outside the organization.

Building meaningful connections is at the heart of everything we do, and that includes our recruiting practices. We're committed to offering all candidates a fair, accessible, and inclusive experience – regardless of age, color, disability, gender identity, marital status, maternity, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a protected veteran. When applying and interviewing with Braze, we want you to feel comfortable showcasing what makes you you.

We know that sometimes different circumstances can lead talented people to hesitate to apply for a role unless they meet 100% of the criteria. If this sounds familiar, we encourage you to apply, as we’d love to meet you.

Please see our Candidate Privacy Policy for more information on how Braze processes your personal information during the recruitment process and, if applicable based on your location, how you can exercise any privacy rights.