What does a Mechanical Designer do?

A mechanical designer is responsible for designing mechanical equipment and devices, together with the engineers and other technology professionals. Mechanical designers create layouts following the clients' specifications, perform structural analysis, and analyze dimensions to ensure quality. They also inspect overall equipment performance and recommend adjustments as needed to improve its quality and boost optimization. Mechanical designers assist with installation and system upgrades, respond with the clients' inquiries and concerns, and escalate it to the appropriate personnel for resolution. A mechanical designer must have a strong knowledge of the mechanical and technology industry to build designs according to the highest standards.
Mechanical designer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real mechanical designer resumes:
- Work with JPL / NASA packaging and fabrication engineering leads (on-site).
- Manage documentation of existing projects, perform ECN resolutions.
- Produce REVIT models for the mechanical department o HVAC sheet metal and HVAC piping.
- Develop company's AutoCAD customize menu, prepare cad department logistics, organize and staff cad department.
- Apply mechanical engineering design and manufacturing expertise to develop MR and XR medical imaging devices utilizing AutoCAD.
- Experience with ASME and ANSI codes.
- Rejoin the company as Sr.
- Last contractor at GD Kilgore.
- Develop BIM strategies with BIM manager.
- Learned CNC programming using MasterCAM R6.
- Hand work and dress EDM electrodes.
- Assist CAD/CAM operator with support as needed.
- Design satellite blankets and structures using Catia V4.
- Design molds and programme cutter paths with Mastercam.
- Work in military products group, adhering to DOD standards.
Mechanical designer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Mechanical Designers are proficient in Mechanical Design, Revit, and Auto CAD. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Mechanical skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Mechanical Designers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Mechanical Design, 8%
Supervised the mechanical design group in the development of a personal IBM compatible computer system and delivered complete package to manufacturing.
- Revit, 7%
Participated in AutoDesk Revit MEP training through in-house training and several hours of hypothetical project parameters.
- Auto CAD, 6%
Created machinery designs per customer specifications or needs and as-built drawings for existing equipment modifications using Auto CAD.
- HVAC, 5%
Perform mechanical engineering design for facilities including calculated building HVAC requirements to ensure adequate capacity of system air flow.
- Engineering Drawings, 4%
Assisted in creating, updating, and evaluating Dril-Quip quality plan procedures relating to engineering drawings and documentation.
- Creo, 4%
Developed a product design to solve the problem of height adjustment of a chair using PTC CreO Direct/Elements & parametric.
Most mechanical designers use their skills in "mechanical design," "revit," and "auto cad" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential mechanical designer responsibilities here:
Listening skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a mechanical designer to have is listening skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "mechanical engineers often work on projects with others, such as architects and computer scientists." Mechanical designers often use listening skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "communicated with vendors and inspected vendor products to ensure parts worked within the structure of iso 9001. "
Mechanical skills. Another essential skill to perform mechanical designer duties is mechanical skills. Mechanical designers responsibilities require that "mechanical skills allow engineers to apply basic engineering concepts and mechanical processes to the design of new devices and systems." Mechanical designers also use mechanical skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "assist mechanical engineers with assembly drawings and releases components to manufacturing. "
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for mechanical designers to perform their duties. For an example of how mechanical designer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "mechanical engineers need good problem-solving skills to take scientific principles and discoveries and use them to design and build useful products." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a mechanical designer: "prepared complete design solutions from rough engineering drawings, devising alternate designs when original plans were not feasible. ".
Creativity. A big part of what mechanical designers do relies on "creativity." You can see how essential it is to mechanical designer responsibilities because "mechanical engineers design and build complex pieces of equipment and machinery." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical mechanical designer tasks: "maintained current inventory of drawings and specifications for individual components and assembly drawings. "
Math skills. Another crucial skill for a mechanical designer to carry out their responsibilities is "math skills." A big part of what mechanical designers relies on this skill, since "mechanical engineers use the principles of calculus, statistics, and other advanced subjects in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." How this skill relates to mechanical designer duties can be seen in an example from a mechanical designer resume snippet: "modeled 3d mechanical mounting brackets using solid designer/me10 to generate layout geometry for 2d detail and isometric exploded top assembly drawings. "
The three companies that hire the most mechanical designers are:
- Stantec17 mechanical designers jobs
- Burns & McDonnell15 mechanical designers jobs
- Ghafari Associates14 mechanical designers jobs
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Mechanical designer vs. Autocad drafter
An Autocad Drafter develops drawings and plans for the construction and manufacturing industries. They use various types of computer-aided design and drafting software.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, mechanical designer responsibilities require skills like "mechanical design," "creo," "design software," and "plumbing." Meanwhile a typical autocad drafter has skills in areas such as "construction drawings," "gis," "solidworks," and "gps." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Autocad drafters really shine in the government industry with an average salary of $45,111. Comparatively, mechanical designers tend to make the most money in the energy industry with an average salary of $66,900.On average, autocad drafters reach similar levels of education than mechanical designers. Autocad drafters are 1.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Mechanical designer vs. Computer aided design designer
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.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that mechanical designer responsibilities requires skills like "creo," "design software," "plumbing," and "layout drawings." But a computer aided design designer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "construction drawings," "bim," "product development," and "gis."
Computer aided design designers earn a lower average salary than mechanical designers. But computer aided design designers earn the highest pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $79,713. Additionally, mechanical designers earn the highest salaries in the energy with average pay of $66,900 annually.In general, computer aided design designers achieve similar levels of education than mechanical designers. They're 0.9% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Mechanical designer vs. Design engineer
A design engineer is responsible for creating systems and applications based on their expertise. Design engineers work through client specifications based on business needs. A design engineer also provides recommendations on improving existing systems to boost its performance and increase efficiency. Design engineers must have an excellent command of computer systems, programming codes, and technical data to ensure the system's stability and high-quality processes. A design engineer should also have strong analytical and time-management skills to perform tasks and meet deadlines.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from mechanical designer resumes include skills like "revit," "plumbing," "layout drawings," and "ids," whereas a design engineer is more likely to list skills in "c++," "ul," "project management," and "work ethic. "
Design engineers earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $86,213. Mechanical designers earn the highest pay from the energy industry, with an average salary of $66,900.When it comes to education, design engineers tend to earn higher degree levels compared to mechanical designers. In fact, they're 8.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Mechanical designer vs. Product design engineer
A Product Design Engineer designs new products that customers will want to purchase. They are responsible for designing, modeling, and testing prototypes for products.
Types of mechanical designer
Updated January 8, 2025