What does an aircraft engineer do?
An aircraft engineer oversees the design and assembly of an aircraft. Broadly, they are responsible for developing aircraft designs, testing and fine-tuning them, and ensuring safe practices during the assembly process. Specifically, this involves providing design drafts, meeting with executives to get feedback, and working in an engineering team to improve designs. They must consider aerodynamic principles, air safety, passenger comfort, and customer. This position requires an advanced degree and strong experience in the aviation field.
Aircraft engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real aircraft engineer resumes:
- 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.
- Support NDT emerging technologies application and development.
- Establish NDT system design criteria to meet manufacturing requirements for capacity and capability.
- Perform multiple augments installing and adding new devices/servers along with adding configurations for video streaming using Unix and checking router configurations.
- Review technical manuals for all CNI systems on HMX-1 helicopters, including IFF systems.
- Perform receiving inspection on all RII install parts.
Aircraft engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Aircraft Engineers are proficient in DOD, Aircraft Systems, and CAD. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Business skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Aircraft Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- DOD, 21%
Design new communications architecture for several DOD programs including J-UCAS, E-10A, and ACS.
- Aircraft Systems, 13%
Determine man-hours, personnel, parts and facility requirements to repair unmanned aircraft systems and associated equipment.
- CAD, 11%
Updated filing systems and created CAD drawings.
- Airframe, 10%
Performed Component Removal/Installation on Engine and Airframe as per Aircraft Maintenance Manual.
- Aircraft Maintenance, 8%
Prepared written Avionics work procedures and Engineering Authorizations used by Aircraft Maintenance for maintaining aircraft in compliance with FAA mandated directives.
- Landing Gear, 6%
Supervised and performing main Landing Gear and Nose landing gear change.
Most aircraft engineers use their skills in "dod," "aircraft systems," and "cad" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential aircraft engineer responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an aircraft engineer to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "aerospace engineers must be able to evaluate project design elements and propose improvements, if necessary." Aircraft engineers often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "developed and obtained regulatory approval for technical data required for modification and repairs of equipment furnishings and components. "
Business skills. Another essential skill to perform aircraft engineer duties is business skills. Aircraft engineers responsibilities require that "meeting federal standards in aerospace engineering requires business knowledge, including commercial law." Aircraft engineers also use business skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "led the software development for multiple successful nasa and dod small business innovative research (sbir) grants. "
Math skills. For certain aircraft engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "math skills." The day-to-day duties of an aircraft 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 aircraft engineers do: "develop mechanical, hydraulic and thermal math models for transmission, engine, and driveline. "
Problem-solving skills. A commonly-found skill in aircraft engineer job descriptions, "problem-solving skills" is essential to what aircraft engineers do. Aircraft engineer responsibilities rely on this skill because "aerospace engineers upgrade designs and troubleshoot problems to improve aircraft, such as for increased fuel efficiency or safety." You can also see how aircraft engineer duties rely on problem-solving skills in this resume example: "provided solutions to ndt challenges by networking with sources inside and outside the company. "
The three companies that hire the most aircraft engineers are:
- UPS113 aircraft engineers jobs
- Astronics4 aircraft engineers jobs
- Joby Aviation3 aircraft engineers jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable aircraft engineer resume templates
Build a professional aircraft engineer resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your aircraft engineer resume.
Compare different aircraft engineers
Aircraft 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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, aircraft engineer responsibilities require skills like "dod," "aircraft systems," "aircraft maintenance," and "stc." Meanwhile a typical stress analyst has skills in areas such as "abaqus," "structural integrity," "ansys," and "analysis tools." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Stress analysts tend to make the most money working in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $87,231. In contrast, aircraft engineers make the biggest average salary, $77,998, in the transportation industry.The education levels that stress analysts earn slightly differ from aircraft engineers. In particular, stress analysts are 12.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an aircraft engineer. Additionally, they're 2.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Aircraft engineer vs. Master lay out specialist
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, aircraft engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "aircraft systems," "cad," "airframe," and "aircraft maintenance." Meanwhile, a master lay out specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "cloud," "crm," and "business development." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, master lay out specialists earn a higher salary than aircraft engineers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, master lay out specialists earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $128,240. Whereas aircraft engineers have higher pay in the transportation industry, with an average salary of $77,998.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Master lay out specialists tend to reach higher levels of education than aircraft engineers. In fact, they're 13.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Aircraft engineer vs. Aviation consultant
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, aircraft engineers are more likely to have skills like "dod," "aircraft systems," "airframe," and "aircraft maintenance." But a aviation consultant is more likely to have skills like "client relationships," "icao," "airspace," and "regulatory compliance."
Aviation consultants make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $75,453. On the other hand, aircraft engineers are paid the highest salary in the transportation industry, with average annual pay of $77,998.When it comes to education, aviation consultants tend to earn similar degree levels compared to aircraft engineers. In fact, they're 1.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Aircraft engineer vs. Engineering scientist
Even though a few skill sets overlap between aircraft engineers and engineering scientists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an aircraft engineer might have more use for skills like "aircraft systems," "airframe," "aircraft maintenance," and "landing gear." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of engineering scientists require skills like "c++," "python," "data analysis," and "project management. "
Engineering scientists enjoy the best pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $95,339. For comparison, aircraft engineers earn the highest salary in the transportation industry.The average resume of engineering scientists showed that they earn higher levels of education compared to aircraft engineers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 6.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 5.3%.Types of aircraft engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
