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

What is a system design engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Angela Rasmussen

System design engineers are primarily tasked with the research, development, and design of ideas for new products. You may also be responsible for the modification of products or processes that are already in existence. You are to see to it that a company's products are designed for enhanced efficiency and performance.

Design engineers make attractive products that are simple and safe to operate. As a design engineer, you also have to ensure that the product you have designed is both cost-efficient and cost-effective. You may need to use tools like Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Assisted Engineering for the design of new products and systems that work.

A degree in design engineering, industrial design, or any other related field is required. Design engineers possess exceptional project management, math, and computer skills. You have to be very creative, be a problem solver, and be able to pay attention to details. Great organizational skills and the ability to efficiently manage time are also required for this role. Annually. A system design engineer earns an average of $95,021.

What general advice would you give to a system design engineer?

Dr. Angela Rasmussen

Professor (Lecturer) Director of Mentoring and Advising Director of Electrical Engineering Senior Projects, University of Utah

Take heart that while Electrical Engineering jobs have been impacted by COVID19, it's impact is minimal in comparison to most other areas. While many areas have been hit hard by layoffs, Electrical Engineering has only slightly been affected in comparison. Many companies have declared hiring freezes and many others are still hiring. Therefore, don't get discouraged. There are Electrical Engineerings jobs needing to be filled! Make sure to be professional in all your interactions and work on improving your online presence.

ScoreSystem Design EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.8

Avg. Salary $107,704

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.18%

Asian 15.41%

Black or African American 4.88%

Hispanic or Latino 11.39%

Unknown 4.72%

White 63.42%

Gender

female 8.79%

male 91.21%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a system design engineer

Explore system design engineer education requirements

Most common system design engineer degrees

Bachelor's

70.3 %

Master's

15.7 %

Associate

9.7 %

Start to develop specific system design engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
System Design	11.18%
Architecture	7.70%
MATLAB	6.66%
C++	5.24%
CAD	5.15%

Complete relevant system design engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New system design 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 system design engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real system design engineer resumes.

Research system design engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage and harmonize cooperation between architect, structure engineer, HVAC engineer, plumping engineer, and electrical engineer.
Lead the PCB design effort including component layout/placement, handling of critical nets, and test issues including PCB scan.
Apply technical knowledge in electromagnetic theory and microwave technology to plan and manage projects concern with ground-base radar systems.
Coordinate with senior electrical engineers and achieve hands-on experience on coal fire plant power generation and power transformers, circuit breakers.

Get system design engineer experience

Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a system design engineer. The most common roles before becoming a system design engineer include design engineer, systems engineer team lead and internship.

Prepare your system design engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your system design engineer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a system design engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable system design engineer resume templates

Build a professional system design engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your system design engineer resume.