Top 12 Engineering Technician Skills to Put on Your Resume

In today’s crowded job market, engineering technicians who mix sharp technical know-how with clear communication and methodical problem-solving rise faster. Put the right skills front and center on your resume and you signal readiness for complex projects, tight timelines, and cross-functional work.

Engineering Technician Skills

1. AutoCAD
2. SolidWorks
3. MATLAB
4. LabVIEW
5. Python
6. PLC Programming
7. 3D Printing
8. Multisim
9. ANSYS
10. PTC Creo
11. Electrical Troubleshooting
12. CNC Machining

1. AutoCAD

AutoCAD is CAD software for drafting precise 2D drawings and developing detailed 3D models, widely used to produce accurate technical documentation.

Why It's Important

It delivers exact geometry, quick revisions, and standardized outputs. That consistency reduces errors, speeds approvals, and keeps projects on-spec.

How to Improve AutoCAD Skills

Sharpen your edge with deliberate practice and targeted study.

1. Stay current: Review What’s New notes each release and explore new tools in sample projects.
2. Practice with purpose: Tackle daily micro-drawings and weekly assemblies; reconstruct real prints to build speed and accuracy.
3. Community learning: Join Autodesk forums and user groups; ask, share, refine.
4. Customize: Tailor ribbons, tool palettes, and scripts; set templates with layers, linetypes, and plot styles.
5. Shortcut fluency: Memorize high-frequency commands and create aliases to reduce mouse travel.
6. Layer discipline: Enforce naming, colors, and lineweights; use filters and states to manage complexity.
7. Go 3D and automate: Explore 3D solids/surfaces and dabble in AutoLISP for repetitive tasks.
8. Seek critique: Have senior drafters review your files for clarity, standards, and constructability.

How to Display AutoCAD Skills on Your Resume

2. SolidWorks

SolidWorks is a 3D CAD and CAE platform for parametric modeling, assemblies, drawings, and simulation to drive design through manufacturing.

Why It's Important

It enables fast iteration of complex parts and assemblies, clear drawings, and integrated checks via simulation—shortening the road from idea to production.

How to Improve SolidWorks Skills

Build strong fundamentals, then layer on speed and depth.

1. Structured learning: Take official courses and pursue CSWA/CSWP certifications to anchor best practices.
2. Focused practice: Model a part a day; reverse-engineer household items; constrain sketches with intent.
3. Assemblies that scale: Use subassemblies, mates wisely, configurations, and lightweight/large assembly modes.
4. Drawings that tell the story: GD&T, model items, BOMs, and clear annotations; use templates.
5. Simulation basics: Run quick static checks to inform design early; validate assumptions.
6. Community and critique: Engage with user forums and local meetups to trade techniques and shortcuts.

How to Display SolidWorks Skills on Your Resume

3. MATLAB

MATLAB is a high-level environment for numerical computing, visualization, and algorithm development, often paired with Simulink for modeling and simulation.

Why It's Important

It accelerates data analysis, system modeling, and rapid prototyping, letting technicians test ideas, verify results, and automate workflows quickly.

How to Improve MATLAB Skills

Target the essentials, then automate and visualize.

1. Core fluency: Master arrays, indexing, vectorization, and functions; avoid unnecessary loops.
2. Toolboxes that matter: Focus on the sets aligned to your work (Signal Processing, Control, Optimization, Image Processing).
3. Onramp and docs: Work through MathWorks Onramps and examples; study function references and live scripts.
4. Project-driven practice: Analyze real datasets; build small apps with App Designer; create reusable utilities.
5. Simulink exposure: Model basic control loops or plant models; learn blocks, scopes, and data logging.
6. Community exchange: Explore MATLAB Central examples and discussions to learn patterns and pitfalls.

How to Display MATLAB Skills on Your Resume

4. LabVIEW

LabVIEW is a graphical programming platform for automated test, measurement, and control, streamlining hardware integration and data handling.

Why It's Important

It speeds up test development, unifies data acquisition, and produces dashboards and logs that teams can trust during validation and troubleshooting.

How to Improve LabVIEW Skills

Think modular, wire cleanly, test often.

1. NI training path: Follow CLAD → CLD → CLA progression; learn design patterns and error handling.
2. Hands-on rigs: Build small DAQ projects; practice with state machines and producer–consumer loops.
3. Hardware know-how: Work with DAQmx, VISA, and instrument drivers; mock hardware where needed.
4. Style and standards: Adopt icon conventions, tidy block diagrams, and documentation habits.
5. Testing and reuse: Create modular VIs, unit-test critical logic, and build a library of proven components.
6. Community support: Participate in NI Community forums to trade examples and get unstuck faster.

How to Display LabVIEW Skills on Your Resume

5. Python

Python is a versatile language used for automation, data work, scripting, and glue code across engineering stacks.

Why It's Important

It turns repetitive tasks into scripts, stitches tools together, and unlocks analysis with concise, readable code.

How to Improve Python Skills

Small, steady reps. Real problems. Clean code.

1. Daily coding: Solve short challenges (Project Euler) and write utilities that save your team minutes every day.
2. Standard library first: Learn pathlib, csv, logging, argparse, and concurrent.futures.
3. Core libraries: Get comfortable with NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, and SciPy.
4. Notebooks and reports: Use Jupyter for experiments and quick visual checks; export clean visuals.
5. Version control: Keep projects on GitHub, perform code reviews, and enforce style with black/flake8.
6. APIs and automation: Build small REST clients or instrument-control scripts; schedule jobs.
7. Community learning: Follow discussions on Stack Overflow and Python forums to see idiomatic patterns.

How to Display Python Skills on Your Resume

6. PLC Programming

PLC programming defines logic for programmable controllers to automate machines and processes with reliable, deterministic control.

Why It's Important

It keeps production lines humming—safely, consistently, and with diagnostics that cut downtime.

How to Improve PLC Programming Skills

Ground yourself in fundamentals, then grow across vendors and safety.

1. Strong basics: Ladder, function block, structured text; timers, counters, and state logic.
2. Vendor ecosystems: Practice with Siemens TIA Portal, Rockwell Studio 5000, or Schneider platforms.
3. Simulation first: Test with PLCSIM or equivalent before touching live equipment.
4. I/O mastery: Map addresses cleanly; comment thoroughly; standardize tag naming.
5. HMI and alarms: Build clear screens, trends, and alarm rationales that operators understand.
6. Safety and standards: Learn lockout/tagout, basic SIL concepts, and relevant IEC/ISO guidelines.
7. Troubleshooting drills: Practice fault injection, watch online diagnostics, and trend key signals.
8. Community exchange: Participate in PLC forums to compare approaches and solutions.

How to Display PLC Programming Skills on Your Resume

7. 3D Printing

3D printing (additive manufacturing) builds parts layer by layer from a digital model, enabling intricate geometries, rapid prototypes, and low-volume production.

Why It's Important

It slashes iteration time, unlocks complex shapes, and cuts tooling costs—perfect for fast validation and custom fixtures.

How to Improve 3D Printing Skills

Tune the machine. Tune the model. Tune the workflow.

1. Dial in profiles: Calibrate temperature, flow, retraction, and speeds per material; save per-printer profiles.
2. First-layer obsession: Level the bed, clean surfaces, and set Z-offset precisely; good starts prevent bad prints.
3. Material literacy: Know PLA vs. PETG vs. ABS vs. nylon vs. resin; dry hygroscopic filaments.
4. Slicer mastery: Explore supports, infill patterns, wall counts, and variable layer heights.
5. Design for AM: Add chamfers over overhangs, split parts smartly, align strength with load paths.
6. Hardware upgrades: Consider better nozzles, dual-gear extruders, PEI beds, or enclosure for temperature control.
7. Post-processing: Sand, vapor-smooth (where appropriate), prime, and paint; use inserts for threads.
8. Quality checks: Print test artifacts (tolerance, bridging, overhang) to benchmark improvements.

How to Display 3D Printing Skills on Your Resume

8. Multisim

Multisim is a circuit simulation tool for schematic capture, analysis, and rapid prototyping without committing to hardware too soon.

Why It's Important

It catches design issues early, speeds iteration, and trims costs by reducing risky bench time.

How to Improve Multisim Skills

Model smart, simulate fast, verify results.

1. Keep it current: Use the latest Multisim version for fixes and new analyses.
2. Rich libraries: Expand component libraries; create custom parts with verified models.
3. Right analysis for the job: AC/DC sweeps, transient, noise, Monte Carlo, worst-case; choose intentionally.
4. Simulation settings: Balance timestep and accuracy; watch convergence and initial conditions.
5. Keyboard shortcuts: Learn hotkeys for wiring, placing, and measuring to move quickly.
6. Correlate with hardware: Compare simulated waveforms to scope captures to validate models.
7. Community tips: Browse NI user discussions for example circuits and troubleshooting ideas.

How to Display Multisim Skills on Your Resume

9. ANSYS

ANSYS is a simulation suite for structural, fluid, thermal, and electromagnetic analysis, allowing virtual testing of designs under real-world conditions.

Why It's Important

It reduces physical prototypes, informs decisions early, and exposes failure modes before they become expensive.

How to Improve ANSYS Skills

Good setup beats brute force every time.

1. Solid fundamentals: Understand meshing, element types, boundary conditions, and solver selection.
2. Clean geometry: Simplify models, defeature appropriately, and ensure watertight solids.
3. Mesh with intent: Use local refinement where physics demand; check quality metrics.
4. Validation mindset: Start with hand calcs and simple benchmarks; correlate with test data.
5. Workflows and automation: Script repetitive steps with Python where supported; build templates.
6. Broaden scope: Explore Mechanical for FEA and Fluent for CFD to handle coupled problems.
7. Community learning: Visit the Ansys Learning Forum and user groups for methods and troubleshooting.

How to Display ANSYS Skills on Your Resume

10. PTC Creo

PTC Creo is a CAD suite for parametric modeling, surfacing, simulation, and detailing across the mechanical product lifecycle.

Why It's Important

It delivers robust modeling with strong downstream documentation and manufacturing alignment.

How to Improve PTC Creo Skills

Structure your models; keep design intent visible.

1. Training path: Use PTC University courses and aim for certifications to anchor best practices.
2. Sketch discipline: Constrain fully, name features, and minimize dependencies.
3. Assemblies at scale: Use skeletons, top-down design, and simplified reps.
4. Drawings and MBD: Create clear drawings or model-based annotations with proper GD&T.
5. Shortcuts and UI: Customize ribbons, mapkeys, and templates to speed routine tasks.
6. Stay updated: Adopt new releases to leverage performance boosts and fresh tools.

How to Display PTC Creo Skills on Your Resume

11. Electrical Troubleshooting

Electrical troubleshooting is the systematic hunt for faults in circuits and systems, using measurements, schematics, and logic to restore function safely.

Why It's Important

It minimizes downtime, protects equipment, and prevents hazards—core to reliable operations.

How to Improve Electrical Troubleshooting Skills

Think from symptoms to root cause, not guesswork.

1. Theory that sticks: Revisit fundamentals and circuit analysis; reference texts like The Art of Electronics.
2. Instrumentation fluency: Multimeter, scope, power supply, signal generator—practice until readings feel second nature.
3. Methodical process: Verify power, inspect, isolate sections, test hypotheses, and document findings.
4. Schematics and standards: Read prints quickly; understand symbols, wire numbers, and safety markings.
5. Common failures: Learn typical culprits: connectors, grounds, thermal stress, EMI, and worn relays.
6. Safety always: Follow LOTO, PPE guidance, and arc-flash boundaries; never bypass protections.
7. Knowledge sharing: Build a fault log with fixes and waveforms to speed future diagnosis.

How to Display Electrical Troubleshooting Skills on Your Resume

12. CNC Machining

CNC machining uses programmed toolpaths to produce precise parts with repeatable quality across metals and plastics.

Why It's Important

It delivers tight tolerances at speed, reduces variability, and scales from prototypes to production.

How to Improve CNC Machining Skills

Program smart. Cut clean. Inspect rigorously.

1. CAM excellence: Optimize toolpaths, entry/exit strategies, stepovers, and stepdowns; simulate before cutting.
2. Tooling choices: Select the right coatings, geometries, and holders; manage tool life with data.
3. Machine health: Follow OEM maintenance schedules; check tram, backlash, and spindle runout.
4. Workholding mastery: Use proper fixturing, soft jaws, and probing for repeatable setups.
5. Feeds and speeds: Use manufacturer charts as a start, then tune by chip load, sound, and finish.
6. Coolant and chips: Control heat and chip evacuation; adjust coolant type, flow, and air blast.
7. In-process verification: Probe critical features; inspect with gauges and CMM; close the loop.
8. Lean thinking: Standardize setups, reduce changeover, and 5S the cell for flow.
9. Safety and training: Reinforce guarding, interlocks, PPE, and emergency procedures.
10. Continuous learning: Track new tooling, strategies, and materials; iterate programs for cycle-time gains.

How to Display CNC Machining Skills on Your Resume