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I am working in a 10 person startup. We will be running the pilot project for our idea over the next few months. I want to write about the work that I did am doing in the startup on my CV and since we do not have titles, I am looking for a title that best represents my responsibilities (or alternatively, a way to write about it).

I worked for the startup in two phases. First, I worked with them for one month on the user interface, operating system configuration, software set-up of the device and ensuring that everything works correctly. I also did a bit of design in terms of backgrounds, icons, certain logos and symbols for the UI.

Then, I have, and am, currently working with them for about 3-4 months. The work this time is more diverse including making 3-4 hardware components work correctly together (drivers and above only), configuring the niche operating system (Linux distro) to use these devices, find and setup the dependencies for the software, components, and additional libraries, extend the UI to utilise all the components.

In short, I took 4 hardware components, made them work together, and then configured the OS to use them, and finally designed a UI for all of this. I am one of two people working on software (the other individual's work overlaps some of this, and also extends to other responsiblities).

  • How/what should I list this role as on my CV? What would be an appropriate title?
  • How should I represent this on online professional profiles such as on LinkedIn? What title should I use?
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    It could be argued that this is off-topic because it's about a specific job, but I think this particular situation is more general so I offered an answer instead of a close vote. If others disagree, y'all will let me know.
    – Monica Cellio
    Commented Apr 20, 2014 at 3:22
  • Software Developer covers it.
    – Dunk
    Commented Apr 24, 2014 at 21:12

2 Answers 2

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The title "member of technical staff" is not uncommon (judging from resumes I've seen) and covers a multitude of technical-contributor roles. Regardless of the title you use, you'll of course want to describe what you did in the description on your CV.

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  • Considering that this title would be used on online profiles such as on LinkedIn, doesn't the title I use affect my turning up in (relevant) searches quite significantly? In which case, "Member of Technical Staff" being quite generic, would work against me?
    – asheeshr
    Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 13:24
  • First, you asked about a CV, not LinkedIn, so searchibability is a new factor. Second, you described a broad range of activities and seemed to be asking how to summarize them in one job-title-sized phrase, which leads to generalization. (As for searching, that's what the description is for, and for that matter the overview at the top of your LinkedIn page, right?) Have I misunderstood your question? If so could you clarify it via an edit? Thanks.
    – Monica Cellio
    Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 19:28
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It's acceptable to tailor your CV for each job you apply for.

I would suggest that you look at the role you want, and use a job title which closely matches both your experience and the new job.

If you need something generic, I would suggest:

  • Technical Expert
  • Hardware Specialist
  • Integration Manager

Don't use a title which dramatically oversells your abilities (VP Engineering, for example).

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  • At the moment, I am looking for something to use for online profiles, not specifically targeted towards a company/role. Does "Integration Manger (Technology)" or "Integration Manger (Software)" make sense? I googled "integration manager", and it seems to used more for a corporate financial role rather than a technical role.
    – asheeshr
    Commented Apr 23, 2014 at 13:32
  • As per Terence perhaps try and look for something more "hardware"-related or "device" in it, since many titles with "software" in it tend not to involve hardware (software engineer, full-stack developer, etc). Of course, the job description is more telling than the title, as you indicate. Just keep in mind that integration is a term used a lot in software-only roles such as "integrating" third-party software or APIs into existing or new software.
    – SaltySub2
    Commented Sep 2, 2018 at 7:56

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