ATS Optimization Checklist for Structural Engineer

The Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies structural engineers under civil engineering (SOC 17-2051), which projects 5% employment growth through 2034 with approximately 23,600 annual openings. Structural engineering is central to this growth, fueled by aging infrastructure—the American Society of Civil Engineers gave U.S. infrastructure a C- grade in its most recent report card—and continued commercial and residential construction. Competition for structural engineering positions is fierce: major firms like Thornton Tomasetti, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, and Walter P Moore receive hundreds of applications per opening. With 75% of resumes filtered by applicant tracking systems before reaching an engineer's desk, your expertise in ETABS, RAM Structural System, and AISC 360 must appear in the exact format and terminology ATS platforms can parse. This guide provides the complete keyword strategy, formatting rules, and optimization checklist specific to structural engineering.

Key Takeaways

• Structural analysis software names are hard ATS filters—"ETABS," "SAP2000," "RAM Structural System," and "RISA-3D" are specific matches that "structural analysis software" never triggers.
• Building codes and design standards are keyword goldmines: AISC 360, ACI 318, ASCE 7, IBC, and AASHTO LRFD appear in virtually every structural engineering job description.
• PE licensure is a near-universal hard filter for structural engineering roles, and SE (Structural Engineer) licensure is required in states like Illinois, California, Washington, and Hawaii for certain building types.
• Quantified structural outcomes—tonnage of steel designed, square footage of structures, number of stories, cost savings, and member size optimizations—demonstrate scope and impact.
• Material specialization keywords matter: steel design, reinforced concrete design, prestressed concrete, timber (NDS), masonry (TMS 402), and cold-formed steel (AISI S100) are distinct ATS keyword categories.
• Single-column .docx format with standard headers is mandatory for parse accuracy across enterprise ATS platforms.

How ATS Systems Screen Structural Engineer Resumes

Structural engineers are hired by structural engineering consultancies (Thornton Tomasetti, Walter P Moore, Magnusson Klemencic), multidisciplinary A/E firms (AECOM, WSP, Stantec, Kimley-Horn), general contractors with in-house engineering (Bechtel, Kiewit, Turner), and government agencies (USACE, state DOTs). ATS platform selection varies by employer size.

Platform Distribution: Large A/E firms use Workday (AECOM, WSP) or iCIMS (Stantec). Mid-market structural firms often use Greenhouse, Lever, or JazzHR. Government agencies use USAJOBS (federal) or NeoGov (state/local). Construction firms frequently use iCIMS or Taleo.

Keyword Matching: The ATS extracts text from your resume and searches for matches against the job description. A posting requiring "ETABS," "AISC 360," and "seismic design" will search for these exact terms.

Weighted Scoring: Keywords appearing in Professional Summary and Technical Skills sections score higher. Recent experience (last 3-5 years) also receives higher weighting in Workday's ranking algorithm.

Hard Knockout Filters: PE license is almost always required for structural engineer positions beyond entry level. SE license may be required in specific states. ABET-accredited degree is another common filter. Missing these results in automatic rejection.

Must-Have ATS Keywords for Structural Engineer

Structural Analysis Software

ETABS (CSI), SAP2000 (CSI), SAFE (CSI), RAM Structural System (Bentley), RISA-3D, RISA-Floor, RISA-Foundation, STAAD.Pro (Bentley), Tekla Structural Designer, ADAPT-Builder (prestressed concrete), ENERCALC, spColumn, S-FRAME, Tedds (Trimble)

Building Codes and Design Standards

AISC 360 (Steel Construction), ACI 318 (Reinforced Concrete), ASCE 7 (Minimum Design Loads), International Building Code (IBC), AASHTO LRFD (Bridge Design), AISC 341 (Seismic Provisions for Steel), ACI 301 (Specifications for Concrete), NDS (National Design Specification for Wood), TMS 402 (Masonry), AISI S100 (Cold-Formed Steel), AWS D1.1 (Structural Welding), AISC Design Guides

Structural Design Concepts

Steel Design, Reinforced Concrete Design, Prestressed/Post-Tensioned Concrete, Timber Design, Masonry Design, Cold-Formed Steel Design, Seismic Design, Wind Engineering, Lateral Force Resisting System (LFRS), Moment Frame, Braced Frame, Shear Wall, Diaphragm Design, Foundation Design (Spread Footings, Mat Foundations, Drilled Shafts, Driven Piles), Connection Design, Composite Design

Drafting and Documentation

AutoCAD, Revit Structure, Tekla Structures (BIM), Bluebeam Revu, MathCAD, Excel Engineering Calculations, Structural Drawings, Construction Documents, Shop Drawing Review, RFI Response, Structural Observation, Special Inspection, Building Information Modeling (BIM)

Project Types and Sectors

Commercial Buildings, High-Rise Structures, Healthcare Facilities, Educational Facilities, Industrial Structures, Bridges, Parking Structures, Data Centers, Warehouses/Distribution Centers, Residential Multi-Family, Seismic Retrofit, Historic Preservation/Adaptive Reuse, Forensic Engineering, Structural Assessment

Resume Format That Passes ATS Screening

File Type: .docx provides the highest parse accuracy. Only use PDF if the application portal explicitly requires it.

Layout: Single-column format. Avoid two-column layouts, sidebars, or graphical elements.

Fonts: Calibri, Arial, or Times New Roman at 10-12pt.

Section Headers:

• Professional Summary
• Professional Experience
• Education
• Licenses and Certifications
• Technical Skills
• Key Projects (optional—useful for structural engineers to list notable structures)

Avoid: Building renderings, project photos, structural diagrams, tables, text boxes, multi-column layouts, and information in headers/footers.

Section-by-Section ATS Optimization

Professional Summary

Front-load with title, PE/SE status, years of experience, material specializations, and primary software.

Example: "Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) and Structural Engineer (SE) with 12 years of experience designing steel and reinforced concrete structures for commercial, healthcare, and high-rise projects. Expert in ETABS, SAP2000, RAM Structural System, and Revit Structure. Designed lateral force resisting systems for structures up to 42 stories in high seismic zones (SDC D-F) per ASCE 7-22 and AISC 341. Managed structural engineering teams of 6-8 engineers on projects valued up to $450M."

Work Experience

Formula: Action Verb + Code/Software + Quantified Scope.

Example Bullets:

• "Designed steel gravity and lateral systems for 38-story mixed-use tower (1.2M SF) using ETABS for analysis and RAM Structural System for gravity design, with moment frames and buckling-restrained braced frames per AISC 360-22 and AISC 341-22 in SDC D."
• "Performed reinforced concrete design for 8 post-tensioned parking structures (850,000 total SF) using ADAPT-Builder and ACI 318-19, optimizing PT tendon profiles to reduce concrete quantities by 15% and achieve $2.1M in material cost savings."
• "Led structural assessment and seismic retrofit design for 6 historic unreinforced masonry buildings using ASCE 41-17 Tier 3 analysis in SAP2000, developing fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) and steel moment frame strengthening solutions within preservation guidelines."

Education

Format: "M.S. in Structural Engineering, Stanford University, 2014" and "B.S. in Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2012 — ABET Accredited, Structural Engineering Emphasis"

Licenses and Certifications

• Structural Engineer (SE) — California Board for Professional Engineers, License #S-XXXXX, 2020
• Professional Engineer (PE), Civil — Illinois, License #062-XXXXXX, 2016
• Professional Engineer (PE), Civil — California, License #C-XXXXX, 2018
• LEED AP BD+C — U.S. Green Building Council, 2019

Technical Skills

• Analysis Software: ETABS 21, SAP2000, SAFE, RAM Structural System, RISA-3D, STAAD.Pro, ADAPT-Builder
• BIM/Drafting: Revit Structure, AutoCAD, Tekla Structures, Bluebeam Revu
• Design Codes: AISC 360-22, ACI 318-19, ASCE 7-22, AISC 341-22, IBC 2021, AASHTO LRFD 9th Ed.
• Materials: Structural Steel, Reinforced Concrete, Post-Tensioned Concrete, Timber (NDS), Masonry (TMS 402), Cold-Formed Steel (AISI S100)
• Calculations: MathCAD, Excel/VBA, Python

Common ATS Rejection Reasons

1. Software not specified by name: "Structural analysis software" does not match "ETABS" or "SAP2000." Always list specific CSI, Bentley, and RISA product names.

2. Missing PE or SE license: Structural engineering positions at the engineer-of-record level universally require PE licensure, and several states require SE licensure for certain building types. Omitting your license when you hold one is the most costly ATS error.

3. Design codes referenced generically: "Designed per applicable codes" contains zero keyword matches. Specify: "AISC 360-22," "ACI 318-19," "ASCE 7-22."

4. No project scope quantification: "Designed structures" is meaningless. Include square footage, story count, material tonnage, span lengths, or project value to demonstrate scope.

5. Missing material specialization keywords: Structural engineer postings specify material types—steel, concrete, timber, masonry. Listing only "structural design" without material keywords creates scoring gaps.

6. State-specific SE license not mentioned: In California, Illinois, Washington, Hawaii, and other states requiring SE licensure, this is a hard knockout filter for buildings above certain height or occupancy thresholds.

7. Unparseable file format: Visual resumes with project photo collages, building renderings, or multi-column layouts fail ATS parsing.

Before-and-After Resume Examples

Example 1: Vague vs. Code-Specific

Before: "Designed structural systems for commercial buildings."

After: "Designed steel moment frame and composite floor systems for 12-story, 280,000 SF Class A office building using ETABS and RAM Structural System per AISC 360-22 and ASCE 7-22 SDC C, with W14 columns, W24 beams, and 3.25-inch lightweight concrete on 3-inch composite deck."

Example 2: Task-Oriented vs. Impact-Oriented

Before: "Reviewed shop drawings and responded to contractor RFIs."

After: "Reviewed 450+ structural steel shop drawings and 120 RFIs during construction administration for $180M hospital expansion, resolving 28 field conditions through design modifications that maintained code compliance per AISC 360 and IBC 2021 while avoiding $340K in potential change orders."

Example 3: Generic Analysis vs. Specific Methodology

Before: "Performed structural analysis for seismic retrofit projects."

After: "Performed nonlinear pushover analysis in SAP2000 per ASCE 41-17 for seismic evaluation of 4-story concrete moment frame building (1957 construction, pre-ductile detailing), designing carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) column jacketing to achieve Life Safety performance objective at BSE-1E hazard level."

Tools and Certification Formatting

Professional Engineer (PE) License

Format: "Professional Engineer (PE), Civil/Structural — [State] Board of Professional Engineers, License #[Number], [Year]"

List every state where you hold a PE license. Multi-state licensure is common in structural engineering and each state listing adds keyword matches for location-filtered searches.

Structural Engineer (SE) License

Format: "Structural Engineer (SE) — [State] Board, License #[Number], [Year]"

The SE license is a distinct credential from the PE in states that issue it (California, Illinois, Washington, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, and others). It is often a hard knockout filter for projects involving hospitals, schools, and high-rise buildings.

Fundamentals of Engineering (FE/EIT)

Format: "Engineer in Training (EIT) / Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) — [State] Board, [Year]"

LEED AP Credentials

For sustainable design roles: "LEED AP BD+C — U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), [Year]"

Software Certifications

Autodesk Revit certifications: "Autodesk Certified Professional: Revit for Structural Design — Autodesk, [Year]"

ATS Optimization Checklist

• [ ] Resume saved as .docx, single-column layout, no tables/graphics
• [ ] Contact information in document body, not header/footer
• [ ] Standard section headers: Professional Summary, Professional Experience, Education, Licenses, Technical Skills
• [ ] PE and/or SE license prominently displayed with state, license number, and year
• [ ] Professional Summary includes title, PE/SE status, years of experience, material specialization, and primary software
• [ ] Every analysis software listed by exact product name (ETABS, SAP2000, SAFE, RAM Structural System, RISA-3D)
• [ ] Design codes referenced by specific designation and year (AISC 360-22, ACI 318-19, ASCE 7-22)
• [ ] Material specializations named explicitly (structural steel, reinforced concrete, post-tensioned, timber, masonry)
• [ ] Every bullet includes quantified scope (SF, stories, spans, tonnage, project value)
• [ ] BIM/drafting tools listed by name (Revit Structure, Tekla Structures, AutoCAD)
• [ ] Both abbreviations and full terms included: "Lateral Force Resisting System (LFRS)," "Seismic Design Category (SDC)"
• [ ] Project types named specifically (high-rise, healthcare, bridges, parking structures, seismic retrofit)
• [ ] All PE/SE state licenses listed individually
• [ ] File named: FirstName_LastName_Structural_Engineer_Resume.docx
• [ ] Resume tested through ATS parser for correct section mapping

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to list PE licenses for every state on my resume?

Yes. Each state PE license is a potential keyword match, especially when employers filter by state or region. Structural engineering firms with multi-state practices value engineers licensed in multiple jurisdictions. List each state license on a separate line with the state, license number, and year. This also signals your breadth of practice to recruiters scanning ATS results.

What is the difference between PE and SE for ATS purposes?

The PE (Professional Engineer) and SE (Structural Engineer) are separate licenses with separate ATS keyword matches. In states that issue both (California, Illinois, Washington, and others), the SE license permits the design of certain building types that the PE does not—particularly hospitals, schools, and structures in high seismic areas. If you hold both, list both separately. If the job posting requires "SE license," having only "PE" listed will not match that filter.

Should I include CSI software version numbers?

Include the major version number for your primary tools: "ETABS 21" or "SAP2000 v24" rather than just "ETABS." Some job descriptions specify version requirements. However, the product name without a version still matches most keyword filters, so version numbers are a secondary optimization. Always include the developer name (CSI for ETABS/SAP2000/SAFE, Bentley for RAM/STAAD) at least once.

How do I list seismic design experience for maximum ATS impact?

Use specific technical terms: "Seismic Design Category (SDC) D through F," "ASCE 7-22 seismic provisions," "AISC 341-22 (Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel)," "Special Moment Resisting Frame (SMRF)," "Buckling-Restrained Braced Frame (BRBF)," and "ASCE 41-17 (Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit)." Each is a separate keyword match. Reference the specific LFRS types you have designed—moment frames, braced frames, shear walls, dual systems—as these appear in job descriptions for seismic-heavy markets.

Is Revit Structure experience important for structural engineer ATS matching?

Increasingly, yes. As Building Information Modeling (BIM) becomes standard practice, many structural engineering job descriptions now include "Revit Structure" or "BIM" as a required or preferred skill. Even if your firm primarily uses traditional 2D drafting, any Revit experience should be listed. Include the full term: "Revit Structure" (not just "Revit"), "Building Information Modeling (BIM)," and any Revit interoperability experience with ETABS or RAM via the CSI-Revit link.