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Head design engineer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

1 min read

Quoted experts

Charles Jenckes,

Bryant Harrison

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical head design engineer skills. We ranked the top skills for head design engineers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 25.2% of head design engineer resumes contained shop drawings as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a head design engineer needs to be successful in the workplace.

7 head design engineer skills for your resume and career

1. Shop Drawings

Here's how head design engineers use shop drawings:

Study and preparation of shop drawings for the residential and commercial buildings.
Apply systems to specific project requirements, create shop drawings, embed layouts, and Material take-off for facade systems.

2. CAD

Here's how head design engineers use cad:

Managed aerodynamic prototyping process including CAD modeling, tool room coordination, manufacturing resource planning, and data acquisition and analysis.
Demonstrated advanced CAD skills in creating new components/ assemblies and analyzing existing designs to implement mechanical improvements while reducing costs.

3. R

R is a free software environment and a language used by programmers for statistical computing. The R programming language is famously used for data analysis by data scientists.

Here's how head design engineers use r:

Developed an SPC program that performed X bar and R charts for implementing six sigma quality standards.
Led trades studies for Antenna T/R placement, controller placement, EVA UHF patch antenna placement.

4. Product Design

Product design can be described as a process of imagining, creating, and iterating products that solve user's problems and talk about the specific needs of users in the market. Product design is an engineering disciple and it is the basic design and idea that goes before the mass production of the product.

Here's how head design engineers use product design:

Coordinated and monitored all aspects of production, including selection of manufacturing methods, fabrication, or operation of product designs.
Originate and developed a novel vacuum platform prototype via the modification and improvement of existing product designs for new customer applications.

5. CNC

CNC stands for Computer Numerical Control. It is a subtractive manufacturing technique that usually uses computerized controls and machine tools to strip layers of material from a stock piece.

Here's how head design engineers use cnc:

Designed & wrote CNC programs for over a dozen new molds & prototypes.
Provided both standard and custom designed piston solid models and specifications to CNC programming and manufacturing operations for immediate manufacture

6. Solidworks

Here's how head design engineers use solidworks:

Designed and detailed a breakaway mount for a lubrication sprayer TE Connectivity using SolidWorks allowing quick sprayer removal while maintaining accuracy.
Created 3-D models and drafted manufacturing plans with SolidWorks CAD software Supported research on improved methods of device cooling during manufacturing operations

7. FEA

The Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is software that can simulate physical phenomenon with the help of numerical procedures. FEA helps companies in developing better and cost-effective products by reducing the number of physical prototypes.

Here's how head design engineers use fea:

Performed FEA evaluations of components and assemblies utilizing ANSYS DesignSpace for durability and reliability prediction to meet product duty cycle.
Required heavy utilization of FEA and CFD analysis for air flow characterization, dispense system development and waste material management.

What skills help Head Design Engineers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on head design engineer resumes?

Charles Jenckes

Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

For new graduates
1.Where the candidate went to school and what was studied
2.GPA
3.Any successful internships
4.Projects completed by the student

What soft skills should all head design engineers possess?

Bryant Harrison

Instructor, Murray State University

Engineers are constantly working with a variety of people on a project. These people could be other engineers in the same department or other departments, managers, stakeholders, and customers. The ability to communicate both on a technical and non-technical level with these people is likely the most important soft skill for a design engineer.

What hard/technical skills are most important for head design engineers?

Bryant Harrison

Instructor, Murray State University

Designing, prototyping, testing, and iterating are likely the most important skills for a design engineer. This is what we strive to teach at Murray State in our Design Engineering Technology program. Many sub-skills would fall into these categories, such as CAD, design for manufacturing, 3D printing, and destructive/non-destructive testing.

What head design engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Kambiz Farahmand Ph.D., P.E.

Professor and Interim Chair, Website

Hit the ground running. If you are asked to put in 40 hours work 50 hours. Prove yourself and always take on new challenges since that is how you grow.

What type of skills will young head design engineers need?

John Ring

Director Engineering Outreach, Elon University

While our universities consistently educate engineering students with hard skills and strong engineering fundamentals, tomorrow's engineers need to be strong communicators, collaborators, and critical thinkers. Our professional environments are filled with data and information, and the constraint is typically how much time individuals can dedicate to solving a problem. At Elon University, we educate tomorrow's engineers to have the hard skills necessary to analyze the information and situations, apply critical thinking techniques to determine ways to solve the issue, and then concisely and efficiently communicate with colleagues as solutions are being set in motion.

Do you want to know more?

List of head design engineer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a head design engineer resume and required skills for a head design engineer to have include:

Shop Drawings
CAD
R

Product Design
CNC
Solidworks

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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