Design engineer to equipment engineer
A design engineer already meets 72% of what the equipment engineer role asks for. The move turns on 1 required skill not yet in the profile.
29.2/ 100
1 How much of what an equipment engineer is expected to do is already part of a design engineer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the equipment engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An equipment engineer role treats 14 of its required skills as things a design engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assess financial viability
- define technical requirements
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- execute analytical mathematical calculations
- execute feasibility study
What stands in the way is 1 required skill the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 21 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An equipment engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a design engineer background worth leading with.
- already held interpret technical requirements information skills
- already held product data management business, administration and law
- already held manage engineering project management skills
- already held execute feasibility study information skills
- already held define technical requirements management skills
- already held design principles arts and humanities
All 21 carried skills, including the 14 the equipment engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn production processes required
- optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
- optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
- optional, not held computer engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held robotic components optional
- optional, not held robotics optional
- optional, not held apply advanced manufacturing optional
- optional, not held control production optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment availability optional
- optional, not held manage product testing optional
- optional, not held analyse production processes for improvement optional
- optional, not held estimate duration of work optional
- optional, not held inspect industrial equipment optional
- optional, not held maintain equipment optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 1 entries an equipment engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 21 skills that carry over
- already held assess financial viability skill
- already held define technical requirements skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- already held execute feasibility study skill
- already held interpret technical requirements skill
- already held manage engineering project skill
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held analyse test data skill
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held product data management knowledge
- already held record test data skill
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use testing equipment skill
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
- optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
- optional, not held analyse production processes for improvement optional
- optional, not held apply advanced manufacturing optional
- optional, not held computer engineering optional
- optional, not held control production optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment availability optional
- optional, not held estimate duration of work optional
- optional, not held inspect industrial equipment optional
- optional, not held maintain equipment optional
- optional, not held manage product testing optional
- optional, not held robotic components optional
- optional, not held robotics optional
28 held skills the equipment engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role CAD software knowledge
- not needed by the target role CAE software knowledge
- not needed by the target role adapt to new design materials skill
- not needed by the target role adjust engineering designs skill
- not needed by the target role analyse stress resistance of materials skill
- not needed by the target role analyse stress resistance of products skill
- not needed by the target role build a product's physical model skill
- not needed by the target role circular economy knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct performance tests skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research on trends in design skill
- not needed by the target role create a product's virtual model skill
- not needed by the target role create technical plans skill
- not needed by the target role design management knowledge
- not needed by the target role design power plant systems skill
- not needed by the target role determine suitability of materials skill
- not needed by the target role develop test procedures skill
- not needed by the target role draft design specifications skill
- not needed by the target role draw design sketches skill
- not needed by the target role industrial research and development knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep up with digital transformation of industrial processes skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with engineers skill
- not needed by the target role model based system engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role nuclear physics knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform test run skill
- not needed by the target role prepare production prototypes skill
- not needed by the target role present artistic design proposals skill
- not needed by the target role supervise work on design planning skill
- not needed by the target role thermohydraulics knowledge
8 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn production processes required
- optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
- optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
- optional, not held computer engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held robotic components optional
- optional, not held robotics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a design engineer become an equipment engineer?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A design engineer already covers 72% of what an equipment engineer is expected to do: 21 skills carry over, 14 of which the equipment engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a design engineer need to become an equipment engineer?
1 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is production processes.
How hard is the move from design engineer to equipment engineer?
Its learning distance is 29.2 out of 100, which is the adjacent band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.