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

What is a staff mechanical engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Andrea Welker Ph.D.,

Brian Denton Ph.D.

Staff mechanical engineers work in the manufacturing industry to design and develop machinery, engines, and tools. Afterward, they oversee the production and testing of the devices. Aside from design, they perform research duties.

Furthermore, they are tasked with solving design problems. They create the manufacturing equipment useful for constructing products, which may include automated or robotic machinery. Also, they draft handbooks, bulletins, and reports that can be used by the department or staff. Staff mechanical engineers lead project management from initiation to launch.

To gain employment as a staff mechanical engineer, you need at least a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering with years of relevant experience. You must possess maths, listening, presentation, and communication skills. Having relevant certifications is a plus. You must be proficient in relevant engineering software. Staff mechanical engineers make an average salary of $92,957 per year, equivalent to $44.69 per hour. This varies from $70,000 to $122,000.

What general advice would you give to a staff mechanical engineer?

Andrea Welker Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University

Be open to new experiences. Find a good mentor. Become a valued employee. Always remember that you are designing something for someone.

ScoreStaff Mechanical EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.8

Avg. Salary $108,997

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 16.93%

Black or African American 3.08%

Hispanic or Latino 7.86%

Unknown 4.51%

White 67.51%

Gender

female 8.79%

male 91.21%

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 staff mechanical engineer

Explore staff mechanical engineer education requirements

Most common staff mechanical engineer degrees

Bachelor's

76.2 %

Master's

14.7 %

Associate

4.2 %

Start to develop specific staff mechanical engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
CAD	9.26%
Mechanical Design	7.37%
Solidworks	6.71%
FEA	6.18%
Mechanical Systems	4.83%

Complete relevant staff mechanical engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New staff mechanical 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 staff mechanical engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real staff mechanical engineer resumes.

Research staff mechanical engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage the development, prototyping, and implementation of tools and processes for production.
Provide mechanical design and sustaining engineering expertise to troubleshoot manufacturing defect trends and achieve a more robust and producible product.
Solve heat transfer problems relate to air and liquid heat exchangers using ANSYS CFX and thermal calculations.
Obtain UL & CSA agency recognition.

Prepare your staff mechanical engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your staff mechanical engineer resume.

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