What does an associate electrical engineer do?
An associate electrical engineer is responsible for organizing and developing electrical systems, improving existing components, and designing infrastructure under the guidance of the senior electrical engineer. Associate electrical engineers identify cost-reduction materials and analyze current electrical industry trends to determine efficient products and equipment that support public demands and industrial use. They collaborate testing methods with the engineering team, suggest project improvement techniques, and perform quality assurance procedures to stabilize the electrical system's optimal performance.
Associate electrical engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real associate electrical engineer resumes:
- Assist engineers with designing and coding test fixtures using LabVIEW to automate production testing.
- Perform experiments on RF components during development process and achieve a robust design.
- Coordinate with senior electrical engineers and achieve hands-on experience on coal fire plant power generation and power transformers, circuit breakers.
- Participate in the conversion of Magtek FPGA card reader microcontroller into an ASIC.
- Upgrade, rework and troubleshoot to the component level of digital and analog circuits.
- Design power supply, PCB layout and mechanical housing for testing tool and interface boards.
- Build, troubleshoot, and test electronic circuits, harnesses and assemblies; create and maintain documentation.
- Design computer-controlled units for automatic test equipment, remote power control, and remote control of RF distribution.
- Reverse engineer to come up with the exact working PCB module by decoding all the circuits and signals.
- Produce assembly drawings using AutoCAD for manufacturing.
- Produce general equipment arrangements and electrical schematics using AutoCAD.
- Perform automated test using LabView on equipment and collecting data.
- Modele electrical and mechanical components in AutoCAD and SolidWorks for manufacturing.
- Perform board/FPGA level functional debug via simulation for military aircraft weapons deployment system
- Revise a legacy FPGA design for extend safety requirements and increase calibration yield effecting several head-up display products
Associate electrical engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Associate Electrical Engineers are proficient in Electrical Components, Electrical Equipment, and RF. They’re also known for soft skills such as Concentration, Initiative, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Associate Electrical Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Electrical Components, 7%
Educate customers in the proper use of electrical components.
- Electrical Equipment, 6%
Developed a comprehensive understanding of electrical equipment and of basic installation of lighting fixtures and outlets.
- RF, 6%
Performed experiments on RF components during development process and achieved a robust design.
- CAD, 5%
Created and edited facility electrical CAD drawings for installation or removal of equipment.
- Autocad, 4%
Produced general equipment arrangements and electrical schematics using AutoCAD.
- C++, 4%
Finger print Verification System: Implemented Minutiae based Fingerprint Verification System in Matlab and C++.
Common skills that an associate electrical engineer uses to do their job include "electrical components," "electrical equipment," and "rf." You can find details on the most important associate electrical engineer responsibilities below.
Concentration. The most essential soft skill for an associate electrical engineer to carry out their responsibilities is concentration. This skill is important for the role because "electrical and electronics engineers design and develop complex electrical systems and electronic components and products." Additionally, an associate electrical engineer resume shows how their duties depend on concentration: "designed system monitor systems using abb plc's and including data concentration and climatecontrols. "
Initiative. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling associate electrical engineer duties is initiative. The role rewards competence in this skill because "electrical and electronics engineers must apply their knowledge to new tasks in every project they undertake." According to an associate electrical engineer resume, here's how associate electrical engineers can utilize initiative in their job responsibilities: "presented preliminary and critical design reviews to executives and nasa providing procedural review for the creation of performance improvement initiatives. "
Math skills. This is an important skill for associate electrical engineers to perform their duties. For an example of how associate electrical engineer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "electrical and electronics engineers must use the principles of calculus and other advanced math in order to analyze, design, and troubleshoot equipment." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an associate electrical engineer: "performed a pre-production worst case circuit analysis using mathcad for an automotive keyless-entry rf receiver. ".
Speaking skills. associate electrical engineer responsibilities often require "speaking skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "electrical and electronics engineers work closely with other engineers and technicians." This resume example shows what associate electrical engineers do with speaking skills on a typical day: "provided additional supports for chinese-speaking customers to smooth out their process for obtaining ul product safety certifications. "
Writing skills. A commonly-found skill in associate electrical engineer job descriptions, "writing skills" is essential to what associate electrical engineers do. Associate electrical engineer responsibilities rely on this skill because "electrical and electronics engineers develop technical publications related to equipment they develop, including maintenance manuals, operation manuals, parts lists, product proposals, and design methods documents." You can also see how associate electrical engineer duties rely on writing skills in this resume example: "solved many emi and rfi issues as well as writing manufacturing assembly procedures. "
The three companies that hire the most associate electrical engineers are:
- L3Harris14 associate electrical engineers jobs
- RS&H12 associate electrical engineers jobs
- University of Virginia12 associate electrical engineers jobs
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Compare different associate electrical engineers
Associate electrical engineer vs. Radio frequency engineer
A radio frequency engineer, also known as RF engineer, specializes in designing and developing communication systems using radio waves. One of their primary responsibilities revolves around creating networks and systems and testing equipment. They make sure that equipment is up to high standards by traveling to different areas as needed, troubleshooting issues to identify the root of problems and performing corrective measures required. Furthermore, a radio frequency engineer must continuously optimize equipment quality and ensure efficiency while adhering to the laws and regulations.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, associate electrical engineer responsibilities require skills like "electrical components," "electrical equipment," "rf," and "cad." Meanwhile a typical radio frequency engineer has skills in areas such as "test equipment," "antenna," "system performance," and "macro." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Radio frequency engineers tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $94,522. In contrast, associate electrical engineers make the biggest average salary, $73,575, in the hospitality industry.On average, radio frequency engineers reach higher levels of education than associate electrical engineers. Radio frequency engineers are 12.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Associate electrical engineer vs. Engineer
Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that associate electrical engineer responsibilities requires skills like "electrical components," "electrical equipment," "autocad," and "renewable energy." But an engineer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "python," "cloud," "c #," and "aws."
Engineers earn a higher average salary than associate electrical engineers. But engineers earn the highest pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $97,672. Additionally, associate electrical engineers earn the highest salaries in the hospitality with average pay of $73,575 annually.In general, engineers achieve higher levels of education than associate electrical engineers. They're 5.3% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Associate electrical engineer vs. Electrical & instrumentation designer
An electrical instrumentation designer's main job is to design instruments that can be used in various areas such as laboratories, power plants, or research institutes. They work together with a team or individually to design instruments, create a prototype, and test its functions. They can even install these instruments in different establishments and locations. They are tasked with repair and training engineers. At other times, they are assigned to record expenses and other documentation.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from associate electrical engineer resumes include skills like "electrical components," "rf," "cad," and "autocad," whereas an electrical & instrumentation designer is more likely to list skills in "instrumentation design," "p id," "panel layouts," and "dcs. "
Most electrical & instrumentation designers achieve a lower degree level compared to associate electrical engineers. For example, they're 6.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Associate electrical engineer vs. Instrumentation engineer
An instrumentation engineer specializes in designing and developing equipment to optimize business processes. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify the needs of a company, coordinating with different departments to gather data, devising strategies to create new processes, and preparing reports and presentations for the executives. An instrumentation engineer mostly performs installations and repairs; they also conduct regular maintenance to ensure the efficiency of facilities. Furthermore, they must answer inquiries and resolve issues and concerns, all in adherence to the company's policies and regulations.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between associate electrical engineers and instrumentation engineers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an associate electrical engineer might have more use for skills like "electrical components," "rf," "c++," and "matlab." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of instrumentation engineers require skills like "analyzers," "instrumentation systems," "control valves," and "data acquisition systems. "
The government industry tends to pay the highest salaries for instrumentation engineers, with average annual pay of $80,269. Comparatively, the highest associate electrical engineer annual salary comes from the hospitality industry.The average resume of instrumentation engineers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to associate electrical engineers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 1.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.0%.Types of associate electrical engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
