What does a consulting engineer do?
A consulting engineer is an individual who aids in the planning, designing, and construction of a project from the public and private clients. Consulting engineers are required to advise on the best component suitable according to the needs of their clients. They can manage the project by coordinating with designers, architects, and relevant persons who have commissioned the project. They may incorporate green sustainable energy solutions based on the demands of their clients. Consulting engineers must also conduct a feasibility study and prepare the estimated cost for the project.
Consulting engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real consulting engineer resumes:
- Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
- Implement a scanner in Perl to perform periodic data quality checks.
- Plan for new install, migration with other equipments, or decommission networks and switches.
- Design new mechanical concept for fixtures to interface existing and new products with existing customers PCB test boards.
- Research and develop the new legal litigation support department that increase revenue from $100k/month to $300k/month.
- Retain to improve poor systems performance in ClearCase development environment of Solaris, HP-UX, AIX and NT systems.
- Prepare daily reports, change orders, RFI's, material order, forecast of installation and sketches for fabrication.
- Conduct detailed design analysis of the drawings for problems & conflicts and generate, track and distribute the RFI's.
- Design, draft and supervise manufacture of several test and manufacturing jigs used in the engineering, QA and QC departments.
- Develop using C++/Sybase on Solaris.
- Help troubleshoot errors of hardware-in-the-loop laboratory.
- Develop interactive and click-able HTML prototypes.
- Provide QA analysis on proprietary code performance.
- Used logic analyzer and oscilloscope for hardware debugging.
- Develop enterprise disaster recovery design leveraging AWS S3 services.
Consulting engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Consulting Engineers are proficient in Java, C #, and Linux. They’re also known for soft skills such as Mechanical skills, Creativity, and Listening skills.
We break down the percentage of Consulting Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Java, 10%
Designed and taught several courses that expanded the group's expertise, changing them from data miners to Java/J2EE programmers.
- C #, 5%
Reviewed reports on engineering assessments -Traffic Studies of BRAC #133, Mark Center Building, and Alexandria, VA.
- Linux, 5%
Supported customers on embedded or carrier grade systems to enable features provided in MontaVista Linux distribution.
- Project Management, 5%
Included also was project management, quality assurance and control, integrated safety management programs, and construction/maintenance management programs.
- Azure, 4%
Migrated ALL physical infrastructures into AWS & Azure in Q1 & Q2 of 2016.
- Troubleshoot, 4%
Assist Windows Server team with Virtual Machine configuration and troubleshoot connectivity issues.
"java," "c #," and "linux" are among the most common skills that consulting engineers use at work. You can find even more consulting engineer responsibilities below, including:
Mechanical skills. The most essential soft skill for a consulting engineer to carry out their responsibilities is mechanical skills. This skill is important for the role because "mechanical skills allow engineers to apply basic engineering concepts and mechanical processes to the design of new devices and systems." Additionally, a consulting engineer resume shows how their duties depend on mechanical skills: "use 3d cad creo-2 for mechanical design for sheet metal forming and plastic injection molding. "
Creativity. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling consulting engineer duties is creativity. The role rewards competence in this skill because "mechanical engineers design and build complex pieces of equipment and machinery." According to a consulting engineer resume, here's how consulting engineers can utilize creativity in their job responsibilities: "engineered and designed machinery parts and rack systems in autocad inventor for various national companies. "
Listening skills. This is an important skill for consulting engineers to perform their duties. For an example of how consulting engineer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "mechanical engineers often work on projects with others, such as architects and computer scientists." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a consulting engineer: "communicated levels of iso quality management system documentation. ".
Math skills. For certain consulting engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "math skills." The day-to-day duties of a consulting engineer rely on this skill, as "mechanical engineers use the principles of calculus, statistics, and other advanced subjects in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what consulting engineers do: "simulated discrete control system using mathcad onan-incorporated can and spc networks for existing onan line products. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a consulting engineer to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what consulting engineers relies on this skill, since "mechanical engineers need good problem-solving skills to take scientific principles and discoveries and use them to design and build useful products." How this skill relates to consulting engineer duties can be seen in an example from a consulting engineer resume snippet: "standardized corporate gui solutions on iseries platforms in html, java, and web sphere. "
The three companies that hire the most consulting engineers are:
- The Independent Traveler152 consulting engineers jobs
- Deloitte145 consulting engineers jobs
- FM Global54 consulting engineers jobs
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Compare different consulting engineers
Consulting engineer vs. Team lead engineer
A team leads engineer is in charge of spearheading and overseeing the efforts of an engineering team, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Although the duties may depend on one's industry of employment, it typically includes designing and developing systems according to project requirements, setting objectives and construction guidelines, delegating tasks, managing budgets and schedules, and monitoring the workflow, performing corrective measures as needed. Furthermore, as a team leads engineer, it is essential to encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while enforcing the company's safety standards and regulations.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a consulting engineer are more likely to require skills like "working independently," "pre sales," "data analysis," and "virtualization." On the other hand, a job as a team lead engineer requires skills like "python," "architecture," "infrastructure," and "windows." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Team lead engineers really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $117,918. Comparatively, consulting engineers tend to make the most money in the technology industry with an average salary of $99,126.team lead engineers tend to reach similar levels of education than consulting engineers. In fact, team lead engineers are 2.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.8% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Consulting engineer vs. Lead design engineer
A Lead Design Engineer produces design solutions that can be purchased, installed, and commissioned effectively. They are also responsible for the cost-effectiviness and safety of new designs.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real consulting engineer resumes. While consulting engineer responsibilities can utilize skills like "java," "working independently," "c #," and "linux," lead design engineers use skills like "lead design," "fea," "ul," and "design reviews."
On average, lead design engineers earn a higher salary than consulting engineers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, lead design engineers earn the most pay in the agriculture industry with an average salary of $112,898. Whereas consulting engineers have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $99,126.lead design engineers earn similar levels of education than consulting engineers in general. They're 4.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for consulting engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Andrea Welker Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University
Consulting engineer vs. Lead engineer
A lead engineer's duties vary on their line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities will revolve around overseeing the progress of operations and performance of the workforce, ensuring that everything is running smoothly. They are also responsible for addressing issues and concerns, assessing risks, monitoring the budget, coordinating with clients and architects, and even training workers. Furthermore, as a lead engineer, it is crucial to conduct regular inspections to ensure the quality of work and maintain a safe environment for all workers.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a consulting engineer is likely to be skilled in "working independently," "pre sales," "data analysis," and "system troubleshooting," while a typical lead engineer is skilled in "python," "architecture," "git," and "database."
Lead engineers earn the best pay in the automotive industry, where they command an average salary of $110,872. Consulting engineers earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $99,126.When it comes to education, lead engineers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to consulting engineers. In fact, they're 0.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Consulting engineer vs. Integration engineer
An integration engineer specializes in developing programs and projects to improve business systems for optimal processes. Their responsibilities revolve around meeting with clients to determine their needs, coordinating with analysts to identify the company's strengths and weaknesses, implementing various solutions for business processes, and performing corrective measures as needed. They must also respond to any issues or inquiries, resolving them promptly and professionally. Furthermore, an integration manager may perform clerical tasks such as processing and preparing documentation, performing presentations, and updating clients.
Types of consulting engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
