What does a drafting engineer do?
A Drafting Engineer designs and draws the blueprints needed to bring new concepts and products to life. There are three major types of drafting positions: mechanical drafters, electrical and electronics drafters, and architectural and civil drafters.
Drafting engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real drafting engineer resumes:
- Install and test PLC in client own equipment on site - solve some logical and hardware issues to accomplish goal
- Add ECO's revision notations.
- Issue bill of material (BOM) for assemble parts.
- Set up first runs for new parts and troubleshot new part CNC programs.
- Coordinate with various GIS /FIS professionals to resolve field changes and/or field-to-map discrepancies.
- Select as part of BCA evaluation team to implement CATIA for engineering digital design.
- Provide support to other disciplines; architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing & structural.
- Create part lists and outline assembly instructions for production including creating CNC programs for custom parts.
- Correct existing and new drawings, collect information using GIS and as-built plans, in addition to putting construction plans together.
- Provide on-site support including drawing sketch, general mechanical layouts, presentation of floor plans, elevation site plans and grading plans
- Prepare final drawings for plumbing and sprinkler systems for commercial buildings, hospitals and schools; prepare riser diagrams from sketches.
- Perform field work as needed to measure up and sketch existed/propose telecommunication facilities.
- Purchase and coordinate specific project materials such as custom metal roofing and custom windows for over-seas contractors.
- Work with final QA testing department and inspect printed circuits boards and other relate electronics components with require specifications.
- Review structural and MEP drawings.
Drafting engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 6% of Drafting Engineers are proficient in Production Drawings, Engineering Drawings, and Auto CAD. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Technical skills, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Drafting Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Production Drawings, 6%
Read drawings, emails, and other documentation to translate these into production drawings & cost estimation drawings.
- Engineering Drawings, 6%
Create associated engineering drawings and documentation.
- Auto CAD, 5%
Utilize Auto CAD 2012 for fire detection plans, low voltage, and nurse call systems.
- As-Built Drawings, 5%
Revised as-built drawings for Transmission and civil engineering.
- Shop Drawings, 5%
Create detailed shop drawings from architectural documents while incorporating knowledge of shop construction techniques.
- Architectural Drawings, 5%
Complete architectural drawings for floor plans with layouts and framing.
Common skills that a drafting engineer uses to do their job include "production drawings," "engineering drawings," and "auto cad." You can find details on the most important drafting engineer responsibilities below.
Detail oriented. One of the key soft skills for a drafting engineer to have is detail oriented. You can see how this relates to what drafting engineers do because "drafters must take care that the plans they convert are technically accurate according to the outlined specifications." Additionally, a drafting engineer resume shows how drafting engineers use detail oriented: "supplied detailed shop / construction drawings as well as organized drawing sets for large interior architectural projects using autocad software. "
Technical skills. Another essential skill to perform drafting engineer duties is technical skills. Drafting engineers responsibilities require that "drafters in all specialties must be able to use computer software, such as cad, and work with database tools, such as building information modeling (bim)." Drafting engineers also use technical skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provide technical drawings of new and revised projects based on the proper specifications needed to complete the project. "
Time-management skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of drafting engineers is time-management skills. This skill is critical to many everyday drafting engineer duties, as "drafters often work under deadline." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "design and draft the most cost-effective, high quality osp work prints while meeting all client deadlines. "
Creativity. drafting engineer responsibilities often require "creativity." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "drafters must be able to turn plans and ideas into technical drawings of buildings, tools, and systems." This resume example shows what drafting engineers do with creativity on a typical day: "warehouse shipping and receiving, control and inventory, iso 9000. "
Math skills. Another crucial skill for a drafting engineer to carry out their responsibilities is "math skills." A big part of what drafting engineers relies on this skill, since "drafters work on technical drawings." How this skill relates to drafting engineer duties can be seen in an example from a drafting engineer resume snippet: "provide data to generate cnc programming, determining scales, performing mathematical calculations and preparing layout renditions. "
The three companies that hire the most drafting engineers are:
- EN Engineering7 drafting engineers jobs
- ITW3 drafting engineers jobs
- Energy Systems3 drafting engineers jobs
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Compare different drafting engineers
Drafting engineer vs. Computer draftsman mechanical
A computer-aided design (CAD) designer is responsible for creating plan outlines and project designs for a specific business need. A CAD designer utilizes various technologies and software applications to generate graphic illustrations. CAD designers must have strong knowledge of the technology designs, software management, engineering standards, and the construction industry fundamentals. CAD designers label their works with appropriate dimensions and specifications, performing necessary adjustments to meet the clients' needs. A CAD designer requires excellent critical-thinking and analytical skills to manage design structures and creative solutions.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, drafting engineer responsibilities require skills like "production drawings," "engineering drawings," "as-built drawings," and "revit." Meanwhile a typical computer draftsman mechanical has skills in areas such as "cadd," "design layouts," "solidworks," and "as-built." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, computer draftsman mechanicals reach similar levels of education than drafting engineers. Computer draftsman mechanicals are 0.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Drafting engineer vs. Electromechanisms design drafter
Each career also uses different skills, according to real drafting engineer resumes. While drafting engineer responsibilities can utilize skills like "production drawings," "engineering drawings," "auto cad," and "as-built drawings," electromechanisms design drafters use skills like "mechanical design," "solidworks," "pcb," and "circuit board design."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Electromechanisms design drafters tend to reach higher levels of education than drafting engineers. In fact, they're 12.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for drafting engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Dan Rodenbaugh
Vice President of Education, Director, ADDA
Drafting engineer vs. Computer aided design designer
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a drafting engineer is likely to be skilled in "civil engineering," "part drawings," "engineering data," and "engineering support," while a typical computer aided design designer is skilled in "bim," "mechanical design," "mep," and "design projects."
Computer aided design designers earn the highest salary when working in the automotive industry, where they receive an average salary of $79,713. Comparatively, drafting engineers have the highest earning potential in the utilities industry, with an average salary of $63,683.Most computer aided design designers achieve a similar degree level compared to drafting engineers. For example, they're 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Drafting engineer vs. Mechanical draftsman
Types of drafting engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
