Data engineer resume keywords
We counted the skills in 260 open data engineer job postings from 131 employers, including PlayStation Global, Samsara and FanDuel. The ones employers ask for most are analytics (66% of postings), data engineering (60%) and data pipelines (43%). 64% of the postings mention AI, though often in the company's description rather than as a skill the job needs.
Top skills and tools in data engineer postings
| # | Keyword | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | analytics | 66% |
| 2 | data engineering | 60% |
| 3 | data pipelines | 43% |
| 4 | data quality | 38% |
| 5 | SQL | 38% |
| 6 | ETL | 35% |
| 7 | Python | 34% |
| 8 | dbt | 23% |
| 9 | Apache Spark | 22% |
| 10 | machine learning | 20% |
| 11 | Databricks | 19% |
| 12 | business intelligence | 19% |
| 13 | automation | 19% |
| 14 | data modeling | 19% |
| 15 | Snowflake | 18% |
| 16 | Apache Airflow | 18% |
| 17 | dashboards | 18% |
| 18 | data warehousing | 18% |
| 19 | observability | 18% |
| 20 | product roadmap | 18% |
| 21 | marketing | 14% |
| 22 | data analysis | 13% |
| 23 | Kafka | 13% |
| 24 | AWS | 12% |
| 25 | sales | 12% |
| 26 | APIs | 12% |
| 27 | go-to-market | 11% |
| 28 | CI/CD | 11% |
| 29 | scalability | 11% |
| 30 | data governance | 10% |
Share of the 260 postings whose description names the skill (plurals and common spellings, such as “JS” and “JavaScript”, count as one).
Soft skills employers mention
reporting · 6%ownership · 5%decision making · 5%
Show these through results in your bullets (“led a team of six”) rather than listing them as adjectives.
How to use these keywords on your data engineer resume
- Start with the posting, not this list. These are averages across 260 jobs; the one you're applying for has its own priorities. Use this page to spot common gaps, then match the specific posting.
- Name skills the way employers do. If you use “analytics”, “data engineering” and “data pipelines”, write those exact words. Applicant tracking systems and recruiters search for them, and a close synonym can be missed.
- Put each skill in a bullet that shows a result. Naming data quality inside a bullet about what you achieved with it, with a number where you can, is stronger than listing it alone in a skills section.
- Add only what's true. If you've worked with “data quality”, “SQL” and “ETL” but your resume doesn't say so, add it. If you haven't, leave it out: interviews expose padded resumes quickly.
More about data engineer jobs
Resume keywords for other jobs
- Software engineer resume keywords
- Sales resume keywords
- Director and VP resume keywords
- Account executive resume keywords
- Operations resume keywords
- Retail resume keywords
- Marketing resume keywords
- Product manager resume keywords
- Solutions engineer and architect resume keywords
- Finance and accounting resume keywords
- Program and project manager resume keywords
- Machine learning and AI engineer resume keywords
- Legal and compliance resume keywords
- Manufacturing resume keywords
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- Cybersecurity resume keywords
- Technician resume keywords
- Engineering manager resume keywords
- Partnerships resume keywords
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How these numbers are calculated
Every figure comes from open data engineer job postings on MANY Hired, imported from employers' own career pages. For each posting we pick out the skills, tools, certifications and qualifications its description names, then count how many postings ask for each one. A job counts as data engineer by its title. Updated November 8, 2026.