What does a staff mechanical engineer do?
A staff mechanical engineer designs and develops engines, tools, and machinery. Staff mechanical engineers create products like refrigerators, power tools, car engines, and turbines. They take part in cross-departmental and multi-functional design teams. They write handbooks, bulletins, and reports for use by department or staff. They have to lead project management from making ideas to launching the product. The skills they need to know to include mechanical design, product development, electrical systems, and detail orientation.
Staff mechanical engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real staff mechanical engineer resumes:
- 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.
- Collaborate with program managers and senior engineers to complete HVAC designs.
- Solve fluid mechanic problems using ANSYS CFX and mechanical stress problems using Pro/Mechanica.
- Carry out detail tasks such as designing plastic parts using SolidWorks and performance validation.
- Design and develop of mechanical parts and assemblies per marketing requirements, UL, and FCC standards.
- Reduce product cost by defining the TMAN GSA product baseline BOM, document structure, and build process.
- Perform fluid and thermal analysis of rotor and stator of gas turbine and temperature mapping from CFD to structures.
- Work include, complete a formal thermal load analysis, mechanical HVAC design, equipment selection, and construction documentation.
- Perform random-on-random vibration FEA for vibration isolation design activity.
- Design complex models of board mount electrical components using SolidWorks.
- Perform FEA analysis, modele and detail design, supervise manufacturing and testing.
- Create interface control documents for aircraft hydraulic installation and plumbing for structural testing.
Staff mechanical engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Staff Mechanical Engineers are proficient in CAD, Mechanical Design, and Solidworks. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Listening skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Staff Mechanical Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CAD, 9%
Supervised CAD personnel in performing design engineering requirements on ground system hardware.
- Mechanical Design, 7%
Led mechanical design/development of state-of-the-art medical image processing machine, as part of a corporate joint venture agreement.
- Solidworks, 7%
Designed complex models of board mounted electrical components using SolidWorks.
- FEA, 6%
Performed random-on-random vibration FEA for vibration isolation design activity.
- Mechanical Systems, 5%
Created mechanical systems drawings and monitored drawing transmissions.
- Product Development, 4%
Work with sales account managers and key customers regarding new product development, existing product improvements or modifications and quality support.
Common skills that a staff mechanical engineer uses to do their job include "cad," "mechanical design," and "solidworks." You can find details on the most important staff mechanical engineer responsibilities below.
Creativity. The most essential soft skill for a staff mechanical engineer to carry out their responsibilities is creativity. This skill is important for the role because "mechanical engineers design and build complex pieces of equipment and machinery." Additionally, a staff mechanical engineer resume shows how their duties depend on creativity: "submitted numerous patent disclosures and co-inventor on 1 design patent for sheet metal outdoor base station enclosure industrial design. "
Listening skills. Another essential skill to perform staff mechanical engineer duties is listening skills. Staff mechanical engineers responsibilities require that "mechanical engineers often work on projects with others, such as architects and computer scientists." Staff mechanical engineers also use listening skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "communicated with project management, planners, and vendors, establishing a robust manufacturing plan. "
Math skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of staff mechanical engineers is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday staff mechanical engineer duties, as "mechanical engineers use the principles of calculus, statistics, and other advanced subjects in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "design, solid modeling, fea, stress analysis and thermal analysis using pro/e, abaqus and mathcad. "
Mechanical skills. For certain staff mechanical engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "mechanical skills." The day-to-day duties of a staff mechanical engineer rely on this skill, as "mechanical skills allow engineers to apply basic engineering concepts and mechanical processes to the design of new devices and systems." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what staff mechanical engineers do: "led the mechanical team responsible for the re-design of an automated fda controlled cancer diagnostic instrument. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a staff mechanical engineer to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what staff mechanical engineers relies on this skill, since "mechanical engineers need good problem-solving skills to take scientific principles and discoveries and use them to design and build useful products." How this skill relates to staff mechanical engineer duties can be seen in an example from a staff mechanical engineer resume snippet: "field failure analysis: analyzed field failure data to improve production results through early identification and resolution of emerging issues. "
The three companies that hire the most staff mechanical engineers are:
- Burns & McDonnell55 staff mechanical engineers jobs
- General Electric11 staff mechanical engineers jobs
- Northrop Grumman7 staff mechanical engineers jobs
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Compare different staff mechanical engineers
Staff mechanical engineer vs. Equipment engineer
The duties of an equipment engineer depend on one's organization or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around designing and developing mechanical and electronic equipment, analyzing and improving existing systems, performing customization according to customers' preferences, installing and removing attachments, and conducting regular maintenance procedures. An equipment engineer must also address issues and complaints, providing corrective measures promptly and efficiently. Furthermore, it is essential to coordinate with team members and other specialists, inspect and test new systems, and adhere to the company's policies and regulations.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, staff mechanical engineer responsibilities require skills like "mechanical design," "fea," "mechanical systems," and "product development." Meanwhile a typical equipment engineer has skills in areas such as "equipment performance," "semiconductor," "preventive maintenance," and "provides technical support." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Equipment engineers tend to make the most money working in the energy industry, where they earn an average salary of $108,645. In contrast, staff mechanical engineers make the biggest average salary, $128,831, in the automotive industry.The education levels that equipment engineers earn slightly differ from staff mechanical engineers. In particular, equipment engineers are 6.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a staff mechanical engineer. Additionally, they're 2.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Staff mechanical engineer vs. Facility engineer
A facilities engineer specializes in managing and maintaining equipment and machinery in manufacturing plants or similar settings. Duties will revolve around conducting research and analysis through extensive data and blueprints, evaluating systems using various reports, handling issues, providing corrective measures, and performing regular inspections and maintenance. Furthermore, it is essential to implement all safety standards and regulations to ensure a safe and productive work environment for everyone.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that staff mechanical engineer responsibilities requires skills like "mechanical design," "solidworks," "fea," and "product development." But a facility engineer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "ladders," "autocad," "boilers," and "customer service."
Facility engineers earn a lower average salary than staff mechanical engineers. But facility engineers earn the highest pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $109,339. Additionally, staff mechanical engineers earn the highest salaries in the automotive with average pay of $128,831 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Facility engineers tend to reach lower levels of education than staff mechanical engineers. In fact, they're 5.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for staff mechanical engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Richard Onyancha
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Department Head, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Staff mechanical engineer vs. Engineer
Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from staff mechanical engineer resumes include skills like "mechanical design," "mechanical systems," "product development," and "gd," whereas an engineer is more likely to list skills in "python," "cloud," "c++," and "c #. "
Engineers earn the highest salary when working in the automotive industry, where they receive an average salary of $97,672. Comparatively, staff mechanical engineers have the highest earning potential in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $128,831.engineers typically earn similar educational levels compared to staff mechanical engineers. Specifically, they're 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Staff mechanical engineer vs. Product engineer
A product engineer specializes in designing and developing commercial materials and services. They are primarily responsible for conducting thorough research and analysis of the latest trends and marketing conditions to come up with new ideas and products for the public. Moreover, they are also responsible for producing reports and presentations, coordinating with the development team of their company. Product engineers also reach out to vendors and suppliers for the raw materials, set regulations and standards for the product, and even conduct a rigorous and regular quality check.
Types of staff mechanical engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
