How To Become A Knowledge Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a knowledge engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Experts

Brian Glas,

Christian Hansen Ph.D.

Are you interested in artificial intelligence and the advancement of technology's capabilities? These are typically the interests and pursued goals of a knowledge engineer, tasked with creating programs and computer systems that can simulate human-level knowledge and understanding.

When it comes to creating advanced logic in a computer system, knowledge engineers are looking to help clients or companies create systems that replicate human cognitive ability. With tasks that revolve around thorough research and analysis, project building, and testing, this position requires mechanical, mathematical, and observational skills. Knowledge engineers typically oversee a team, so they'll need to be a quality leader that embodies the highest level of these skills, encouraging their team members to excel in the same way.

While companies will commonly take applicants with a bachelor's degree in a field like engineering, computer science, or information technology, some may require a master's degree to head more advanced projects. Those applying for a knowledge engineer position will most likely need to have a few years of experience with certain computer science positions or programming understanding. On average, this full-time position makes about $36 per hour.

What general advice would you give to a Knowledge Engineer?

Brian Glas

Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Union University

Build relationships: Different technologies will interest and challenge you, but throughout your career, you'll find that it's the relationships that are the most important. This is harder to grasp earlier in your career, but much easier to understand after 15-20 years.
Gain different perspectives: Spend time with people in other roles that your job interacts with, and gain a solid understanding of how they view things; this is most valuable for career progression and understanding of how your work fits into the big picture.

ScoreKnowledge EngineerUS Average

Salary

6.5

Avg. Salary $83,626

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.4

Growth Rate 2%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 13.94%

Black or African American 3.33%

Hispanic or Latino 9.01%

Unknown 4.58%

White 69.03%

Gender

female 29.21%

male 70.79%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress Level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.6

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.1

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a knowledge engineer

Explore knowledge engineer education requirements

Most common knowledge engineer degrees

Bachelor's

60.2 %

Master's

19.5 %

Associate

11.3 %

Start to develop specific knowledge engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Python	18.66%
SharePoint	7.24%
JavaScript	6.92%
Java	6.69%
Knowledge Management	6.52%

Complete relevant knowledge engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New knowledge engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a knowledge engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real knowledge engineer resumes.

Research knowledge engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage DoD website development and implementation task.
Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
Design and implement the front end components using JSP, XML and HTML.
Present papers on behalf of DoD at industry conferences.

Apply for knowledge engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a knowledge engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams