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Aircraft engineer vs airframe design engineer

The differences between aircraft engineers and airframe design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an aircraft engineer and an airframe design engineer. Additionally, an airframe design engineer has an average salary of $77,583, which is higher than the $72,867 average annual salary of an aircraft engineer.

The top three skills for an aircraft engineer include DOD, aircraft systems and CAD. The most important skills for an airframe design engineer are CAD, GD, and structural design.

Aircraft engineer vs airframe design engineer overview

Aircraft EngineerAirframe Design Engineer
Yearly salary$72,867$77,583
Hourly rate$35.03$37.30
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs5,71840,330
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

Aircraft engineer vs airframe design engineer salary

Aircraft engineers and airframe design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Aircraft EngineerAirframe Design Engineer
Average salary$72,867$77,583
Salary rangeBetween $53,000 And $99,000Between $55,000 And $108,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CA-
Highest paying stateCalifornia-
Best paying companyJoby Aviation-
Best paying industryTransportation-

Differences between aircraft engineer and airframe design engineer education

There are a few differences between an aircraft engineer and an airframe design engineer in terms of educational background:

Aircraft EngineerAirframe Design Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Most common majorAerospace EngineeringAerospace Engineering
Most common collegeStanford UniversityGeorgia Institute of Technology

Aircraft engineer vs airframe design engineer demographics

Here are the differences between aircraft engineers' and airframe design engineers' demographics:

Aircraft EngineerAirframe Design Engineer
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 91.1% Female, 8.9%Male, 94.8% Female, 5.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 10.8% White, 68.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 12.1% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between aircraft engineer and airframe design engineer duties and responsibilities

Aircraft engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead the software development for multiple successful NASA and DOD small business innovative research (SBIR) grants.
  • Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
  • Design the galleys of private jets using AutoCAD.
  • Develop flight data extraction and visualization software suite in MATLAB.
  • Verify compliance with FARs, aircraft specifications, and customer requests.
  • Complete equipment installations, wiring diagrams, and test fixtures using CATIA V4, V5 and CADEX applications.
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Airframe design engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage automation projects including purchasing, scheduling fabrication and assembly, debugging, and delivery to customer.
  • Design new S76D lightning strike protection to meet FAA certification requirements.
  • Develop layouts for fuselage doors and skin reinforcements around the doors, door seals, and door mechanism structures using CATIA.
  • Design fuselage composite core details utilizing FIBERSIM.
  • Evaluate existing documents and execute engineering computations for rehabilitation projects.
  • Perform structural calculations, evaluations and retrofit alternatives for assign projects.
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Aircraft engineer vs airframe design engineer skills

Common aircraft engineer skills
  • DOD, 21%
  • Aircraft Systems, 13%
  • CAD, 11%
  • Airframe, 10%
  • Aircraft Maintenance, 8%
  • Landing Gear, 6%
Common airframe design engineer skills
  • CAD, 16%
  • GD, 14%
  • Structural Design, 12%
  • Enovia, 10%
  • Catia V5, 9%
  • New Design, 8%

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