Aerospace Engineer
Other Titles
Aeronautical Engineer, Aerospace Stress Engineer, Avionics Engineer, Design Engineer, Flight Controls Engineer, Flight Test Engineer, Structural Analysis Engineer, Systems Engineer, Test Engineer
Perform engineering duties in designing, constructing, and testing aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. May conduct basic and applied research to evaluate adaptability of materials and equipment to aircraft design and manufacture. May recommend improvements in testing equipment and techniques.
Aerospace Engineers are responsible for the design and development of aircrafts and a wide range of related equipment as well as spacecrafts. They make sure that the vessels are designed as per the requirements and are safe for use in various scenarios. In this role, they use various modeling techniques and tools to create or modify aircrafts and related equipment. They test their prototypes to make sure they function well under different environmental and operational conditions. A part of their job is to oversee the implementation of aerospace designs and coordinate the activities of various workers involved in the construction process.
Formulate mathematical models or other methods of computer analysis to develop, evaluate, or modify design, according to customer engineering requirements.
Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations.
Plan or coordinate investigation and resolution of customers' reports of technical problems with aircraft or aerospace vehicles.
Write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers.
Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products.
Evaluate product data or design from inspections or reports for conformance to engineering principles, customer requirements, environmental regulations, or quality standards.
Develop design criteria for aeronautical or aerospace products or systems, including testing methods, production costs, quality standards, environmental standards, or completion dates.
Analyze project requests, proposals, or engineering data to determine feasibility, productibility, cost, or production time of aerospace or aeronautical products.
Maintain records of performance reports for future reference.
Diagnose performance problems by reviewing reports or documentation from customers or field engineers or by inspecting malfunctioning or damaged products.
Direct aerospace research and development programs.
Research new materials to determine quality or conformance to environmental standards.
Design or engineer filtration systems that reduce harmful emissions.
Evaluate biofuel performance specifications to determine feasibility for aerospace applications.
Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Science — Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Mathematics — Using mathematics to solve problems.
Operations Analysis — Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Systems Evaluation — Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Learning Strategies — Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Systems Analysis — Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Quality Control Analysis — Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Technology Design — Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Persuasion — Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Instructing — Teaching others how to do something.
Negotiation — Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment — Providing documentation, detailed instructions, drawings, or specifications to tell others about how devices, parts, equipment, or structures are to be fabricated, constructed, assembled, modified, maintained, or used.
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
Create models of engineering designs or methods.
Test performance of electrical, electronic, mechanical, or integrated systems or equipment.
Design electromechanical equipment or systems.
Direct quality control activities.
Prepare procedural documents.
Direct design or development activities.
Evaluate designs or specifications to ensure quality.
Inspect equipment or systems.
Investigate system, equipment, or product failures.
Determine design criteria or specifications.
Analyze design or requirements information for mechanical equipment or systems.
Maintain operational records or records systems.
Research engineering applications of emerging technologies.
Evaluate plans or specifications to determine technological or environmental implications.
Design systems to reduce harmful emissions.
Research design or application of green technologies.
Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Mathematical Reasoning — The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Fluency of Ideas — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Number Facility — The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Visualization — The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Far Vision — The ability to see details at a distance.
Flexibility of Closure — The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Perceptual Speed — The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object./strong>
Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Visual Color Discrimination — The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Engineering and Technology — Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Design — Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Physics — Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of a language - English, French, Swahili et cetera - including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Mechanical — Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Production and Processing — Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Analytical or scientific software -- Data acquisition systems; Computational fluid dynamics CFD software; Computer-aided engineering CAE software; Fatigue analysis software; Finite element analysis FEA software; Finite element method FEM software; Flexible dynamics modeling software; Grid generation software; Stress analysis software; Thermal analysis software; The MathWorks MATLAB; The MathWorks Simulink; ESI Group AutoSEA
Computer aided design CAD software -- Computer aided design and drafting CADD software; Thermal design software; Autodesk AutoCAD; Mathsoft Mathcad; Dassault Systemes SolidWorks; PTC Creo Parametric; Xilinx TMRTool
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software -- Engineering analysis software; Assembly Modeling; Sheet metal design; freeform modeling; Convergent modeling; Cad Cam Unigraphics
Configuration management software -- Controlled access to software assets; IBM Rational ClearCase
Database user interface and query software -- Structure query language SQL; Microsoft Access
Development environment software -- e.g., Microsoft Visual Basic; National Instruments LabVIEW; Formula translation/translator FORTRAN; Ada; C; IBM Rational ClearQuest
Electronic mail software -- e.g., Microsoft Outlook
Enterprise application integration software -- e.g., Extensible markup language XML
Enterprise resource planning ERP software -- e.g., Odoo; Sage; Xero; Sapama; ebizframe; Macro 2000; SYSPRO ERP; QuickEasy BOS; TrueERP; Microsoft Dynamics; NetSuite ERP; Oracle Hyperion; SAP
Graphics or photo imaging software -- Image processing systems; Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop; GNU Image Manipulation Program GIMP; Microsoft Visio; Trimble SketchUp Pro; SmugMug Flickr
Object or component oriented development software -- e.g., C#; Apache Groovy; Advanced business application programming ABAP; C++; Python; Scala; Practical extraction and reporting language Perl; Microsoft ActiveX
Office suite software -- e.g., Corel WordPerfect Office; Microsoft Office; Google Workspace
Operating system software -- e.g., Apple macOS; Bash; Hewlett Packard HP-UX; Job control language JCL; KornShell; Linux; Microsoft Windows; Oracle Solaris; Red Hat Enterprise Linux; Shell script; Ubuntu; UNIX
Presentation software -- e.g., Google Slides; Corel Presentations; Microsoft PowerPoint
Project management software -- e.g., Confluence; Sapama Projects; Sciforma PPM solution; Xero Projects; Microsoft Project; Easy Projects; Microsoft SharePoint; Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio Management; PTC Pro/INTRALINK
Requirements analysis and system architecture software -- Capturing/Tracking/Analyzing/Manage user requirements software; IBM Rational DOORS; IBM Rational Requisite Pro
Spreadsheet software -- e.g., Corel Quattro Pro; Microsoft Excel; Google Sheets
Word processing software -- e.g., Corel Wordperfect; Microsoft Word; Google Docs
Aerospace cockpit display panels — Electronic flight instrument systems EFIS
Aircraft engine compressors — Axial flow compressor facilities
Aircraft flight simulators or trainers — Flight simulators
Aircraft guidance systems — Flight management systems FMS
Anechoic chambers Compressed air gun — Impact guns
Desktop computers — UNIX work stations
Dynamometers — Push/pull dynamometers
Fatigue testers — Fatigue testing machines
Flow injection analysis equipment — Impinging jet apparatus
Flowmeters — Flow meters; Laser Doppler velocimeters LDV; Laser velocimeters
Force or torque sensors — Force transducers
Frequency analyzers — Wave analyzers
High end computer servers — Cluster computers; Parallel computers
High vacuum combustion apparatus — Propellant combustion chambers
High vacuum equipment — Vacuum facilities
Interferometers — Fiber optic interferometers
Laboratory centrifugal pumps Lasers — Argon-ion lasers
Load frame — Load frames
Mainframe computers
Mainframe console or dumb terminals — Terminal computers
Oscilloscopes — Digital oscilloscopes
Personal computers
Plotter printers — Plotters
Polariscopes — Reflection polariscopes
Power grinders — Centerless grinders
Pressure indicators — Digital pressure gauges
Pressure sensors — Electronic pressure scanners
Profiling and duplicating milling machine — Multi-axis mills
Scanning probe microscopes — Atomic force microscopes
Signal generators — Power microwave generators
Sound measuring apparatus or decibel meter — Acoustic emissions systems
Spectrometers Spot welding machine — Welders
Strain gauges — Strain gauge balances
Surface grinding machine — Surface grinding machines
Surface testers — Profilometers
Tracer or duplicating or contouring lathe — Lathes
Traveling column milling machine — Computer numerical controlled CNC milling machines
Turbine engines — Axial flow turbines
Ultrasonic examination equipment — Ultrasonic inspection equipment
Vibration testers — Axial flow research fans; Vibration isolation tables
Viscosimeters — Viscometers Voltage or current meters — Digital voltmeters DVM
Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Analytical Thinking — Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Innovation — Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical.
Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Leadership — Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Working Conditions — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Recognition — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.