THE UNIQUE TECH jobs - Design engineers

Design engineers study, research and develop ideas for new products and the systems used to make them. They also modify existing products or processes to increase efficiency or improve performance. They work on almost every consumer product imaginable for large-scale production, from telephones and medical equipment to kitchen appliances and car engines.

Design engineers are not only concerned with making products that look good and are easy and safe to use: they are also concerned with ensuring that the product can be made cost-effectively and efficiently. Typical tasks include:

• studying a design brief
• thinking of possible design solutions
• researching whether the design will work and be cost-effective
• assessing the usability, environmental impact and safety of a design
• using computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-assisted engineering (CAE) software to create prototypes
• collecting and analysing data from tests on prototypes
• modifying designs and retesting them
• writing regular progress reports and presenting them to project managers and clients