What does an aeronautical engineer do?
Aeronautical engineers are responsible for designing and testing products for aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, and satellites. Their tasks involve creating and examining blueprints, starting the criteria for a design system, scanning proposals, and correlating teams from design to manufacturing. They work full-time and often require extra hours to work on larger projects, keep track of progress, and make sure that the designs match the mandatory requirements. Individuals who preferred for the job are those who can communicate well, can control their time effectively and perform on diverse projects at once, and who love working as a part of a team towards common goals.
Aeronautical engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real aeronautical engineer resumes:
- Lead development of MATLAB base software tool for flight and grind handling loads estimation.
- Manage the fuel supply and aircraft electrical distribution system on board ship, including radar tank gauging and filtration systems.
- Analyze and compare the requirements to the FAA standards.
- Incorporate MATLAB algorithms into the model and export simulation results to MATLAB for further analysis.
- Network multiple flight deck simulators into a Nextgen FAA air traffic control simulator to perform proof of concept human factors experiments.
- Audit technical documentation relate to launch window and trajectory design to meet NASA contract specifications for safety mission requirement constraints.
- Audit technical documentation relate to launch window and trajectory design to meet NASA contract specifications for safety mission requirement constraints.
Aeronautical engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Aeronautical Engineers are proficient in MATLAB, Airframe, and CAD. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Business skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Aeronautical Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- MATLAB, 13%
Developed a program using MATLAB for design of experiments and statistical analysis of experimental results based on statistical sampling theory.
- Airframe, 11%
Worked in airframe and systems aircraft design, field & production support, and new product development.
- CAD, 9%
Utilized CAD to incorporate specified materials and components from documentation into product drawings to successfully build products.
- Stress Analysis, 8%
Completed engineering drawings, material selection and stress analysis for fixture.
- Catia V5, 7%
Improved proficiency with CATIA V5 by taking complex surfacing, advanced part design, and sheet metal training classes.
- Structural Analysis, 6%
Performed structural analysis on structural designs using fundamental engineering theories.
Common skills that an aeronautical engineer uses to do their job include "matlab," "airframe," and "cad." You can find details on the most important aeronautical engineer responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for an aeronautical engineer to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "aerospace engineers must be able to evaluate project design elements and propose improvements, if necessary." Additionally, an aeronautical engineer resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "compiled, wrote and electronically stored analysis reports to substantiate f-35 design airworthiness. "
Business skills. Another essential skill to perform aeronautical engineer duties is business skills. Aeronautical engineers responsibilities require that "meeting federal standards in aerospace engineering requires business knowledge, including commercial law." Aeronautical engineers also use business skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "established and directed navair research projects and developed business case analyses/trade studies to support technology transition. "
Math skills. For certain aeronautical engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "math skills." The day-to-day duties of an aeronautical engineer rely on this skill, as "aerospace engineers use calculus, trigonometry, and other math in their analysis, design, and troubleshooting work." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what aeronautical engineers do: "completed and documented the statistical analysis of all space shuttle liftoff/ascent and descent/landing payload bay data using matlab statistics toolbox. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for an aeronautical engineer to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what aeronautical engineers relies on this skill, since "aerospace engineers upgrade designs and troubleshoot problems to improve aircraft, such as for increased fuel efficiency or safety." How this skill relates to aeronautical engineer duties can be seen in an example from an aeronautical engineer resume snippet: "designed lightweight structural solutions for the c-130j super hercules cargo lifter and f-35 joint strike fighter. "
The three companies that hire the most aeronautical engineers are:
- Lockheed Martin33 aeronautical engineers jobs
- Datrose4 aeronautical engineers jobs
- Butler America Inc
2 aeronautical engineers jobs
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Compare different aeronautical engineers
Aeronautical engineer vs. Stress analyst
A stress analyst is a type of aerospace engineer; they design, construct, and test aircraft. They may also work on missiles or spacecraft. They primarily study design requirements for the overall strength of a craft. They analyze the stress data of structural components and prepare mathematical models of issues.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between aeronautical engineers and stress analyst. For instance, aeronautical engineer responsibilities require skills such as "gd," "structural analysis," "cfd," and "fortran." Whereas a stress analyst is skilled in "abaqus," "ansys," "analysis tools," and "fatigue analysis." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Stress analysts tend to make the most money working in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $87,231. In contrast, aeronautical engineers make the biggest average salary, $82,559, in the transportation industry.On average, stress analysts reach higher levels of education than aeronautical engineers. Stress analysts are 6.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Aeronautical engineer vs. Aviation consultant
An engineering scientist is responsible for designing new technological systems through the evaluation of scientific methods and innovative solutions. Engineering scientists analyze technical parts and components, researching the current engineering trends to meet public demands and interests. They record their observations and discoveries, run multiple diagnostic tests on the outputs to ensure its efficiency and optimal performance to support industrial operations. An engineering scientist also works closely within a group of engineering and designs team to implement procedures that would support findings from its conceptualization to final deliverables.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, aeronautical engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "matlab," "airframe," "stress analysis," and "catia v5." Meanwhile, an aviation consultant has duties that require skills in areas such as "client relationships," "federal aviation administration," "icao," and "airspace." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Aviation consultants earn a lower average salary than aeronautical engineers. But aviation consultants earn the highest pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $75,453. Additionally, aeronautical engineers earn the highest salaries in the transportation with average pay of $82,559 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Aviation consultants tend to reach lower levels of education than aeronautical engineers. In fact, they're 5.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Aeronautical engineer vs. Engineering scientist
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an aeronautical engineer is likely to be skilled in "matlab," "airframe," "catia v5," and "gd," while a typical engineering scientist is skilled in "c++," "python," "dod," and "project management."
Engineering scientists earn the best pay in the automotive industry, where they command an average salary of $95,339. Aeronautical engineers earn the highest pay from the transportation industry, with an average salary of $82,559.Most engineering scientists achieve a similar degree level compared to aeronautical engineers. For example, they're 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Aeronautical engineer vs. Master lay out specialist
Types of aeronautical engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
