Automotive engineering is one of the most exciting, challenging and rewarding careers. Whenever a customer drives a new vehicle off a dealership
lot, he or she is taking with them the technical expertise of many engineers, but in particular, the automotive engineer.
Automotive engineers research, design and develop vehicles and their subsystems. They work with sophisticated technologies to create products that thrill the senses and bring the freedom of mobility to the world.
What Do Automotive Engineers Do?
Automotive engineers are concerned with the development of passenger cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles or off-road vehicles. They do one or more of the following:
- Design new products or modify existing ones
- Troubleshoot and solve engineering problems
- Plan and design manufacturing processes
Automotive engineers must apply their engineering skills in a commercial way because their innovations and solutions must be effective and profitable. Their typical responsibilities include:
- Researching, designing, developing and producing vehicles and components
- Preparing cost estimates and design specifications
- Preparing plans and drawings
- Analyzing energy, environmental and safety aspects of the planned project
- Predicting vehicle or component behavior under different conditions using computerized models
- Developing testing procedures
- Investigating product failures
- Analyzing, interpreting and condensing technical data into reports or presentations
- Supervise technical staff
- Working closely with other types of engineers, such as civil, electrical, aerospace, chemical and industrial
- Working with professionals from other occupational fields, such as marketing and legal