Design Engineer

Everything we use, from cars to computers and toys to telephones, has to be designed before it can be manufactured. Design engineers are responsible for making sure products work safely and efficiently and can be made economically, whether they are new products or improvements of existing ones.

Starting from an idea or a brief for a product or from a practical problem that needs to be solved, they use their creativity and engineering skills to find a design that meets the requirements, taking into account factors such as strength, safety, reliability, cost of development and manufacture. Designs may be drawn by hand in the early stages, but are usually developed on computers, using special design packages.

Design engineers usually work 37 to 40 hours a week, Monday to Friday, but may work overtime in the evenings or at weekends if there is a project deadline to meet. They are normally based in a design or drawing office and spend much of their time at a specially designed workstation, operating a computer-aided design (CAD) system.

Salaries range from about £28,000 to over £50,000 a year.

Design engineers should:

• be creative and good at solving practical problems
• have good IT skills and spatial awareness
• have a good understanding of engineering principles
• know the qualities of metals and other materials.

Around two million people are employed in engineering-related work, and there are engineering companies in almost every part of the UK. There is currently a shortage of qualified and experienced design engineers. They work in a wide range of engineering industries, the food and sports equipment industries, television and postal services and designing the technical aspects of many other industries and services.

Most design engineers take a degree in an engineering subject, such as materials, civil, mechanical or electrical engineering. Some courses, such as product design and industrial design, are aimed specifically at practical designers, who may not have full engineering qualifications but often work alongside engineers on the human aspects of design. Many degree programmes include an industrial placement.

There are also relevant foundation degrees or Higher National Certificate/Diploma (HNC/D) programmes. The Diplomas in engineering and manufacturing and product design may be relevant for this area of work. Apprenticeships may also be available.

New recruits often train alongside experienced design engineers, as well as working towards further qualifications leading to professional engineer status.

The skills learnt as a design engineer can be useful in other fields, such as research and development, other engineering roles and product design.

Further details