EXPERT-LEVEL MECHANICAL DESIGN ENGINEERING JOBS IN FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES

Audio: Expert-level mechanical design engineering jobs in fortune 500 companies

If you are an experienced mechanical design engineer looking for a new step in your career, an expert-level job in Fortune 500 could be a good career move for you. In this blog post, we will show you our research on what hard and soft skills are required to get an expert-level job in Fortune 500 company.

Introduction

The research on hard and soft skills we published was done on 150 job vacancies in Fortune 500 companies. In this blog post, we will show you only the analysis of 50 job vacancies for expert-level job in Fortune 500 companies. We will show you what skills experts are expected to have to land a mechanical design engineering job.

The quality of this research depends on the quality of job postings, so we will only focus on the skills explicitly stated in them. This research was done in April – May 2023.

Educational requirements

Our research shows that 62% of job postings stated that a Bachelor’s degree (undergraduate study) is required, while 36% would prefer a Master’s degree (graduate study). Only 2% did not mention the educational requirement.

Required hard skills

General overview

Every job opening we looked into requires strong mechanical engineering fundamentals (as expected), so we did not include it in the diagram below. Let us now look into the required hard skills for expert-level job in Fortune 500 companies.

62% of job openings noted that expert mechanical design engineers should have knowledge of new product development (NPD). In addition, every job opening required CAD knowledge; 86% mentioned drafting skills and 50% FEA knowledge. Furthermore, hands-on experience was noted in 60% of job vacancies, experience with various materials in 46%, manufacturing techniques in 68%, and assembly techniques in 50%. In addition, 68% of job openings mentioned verification/validation experience, while 34% experience in one of the following: DFMEA, 8D, PPAP, SCAAF, or APQP.

CAD modeling

From the perspective of CAD software requirements, 14% of the job postings did not explicitly state which software is required. However, of 86% that did specify it, 23% mentioned knowledge of more than one CAD software.

In terms of specified CAD software, 44% of job openings mentioned SolidWorks, 21% PTC Creo, 11% NX, 9% Autodesk Inventor, 8% AutoCAD, 6% Catia, and 1 % SolidEdge.

Drafting requirements

As previously stated, 86% of job openings mentioned drafting as a requirement. From these, every opening mentions drawing creation as a requirement. Knowledge of the ECO process was mentioned by 28% of vacancies, and 26% mentioned ERP data and BOM maintenance. Furthermore, tolerance analysis was required in 32% and GD&T in 28% of cases.

Soft skills requirements

The job openings in terms of soft skills mentioned leadership in 26% of cases, 58% problem-solving, 12% research possibilities, and 38% mentioned creativity and innovativeness. Furthermore, 72% mentioned communication skills, and 68% teamwork.

Travel and Salary

Our research shows that 34% of job postings require travel. Furthermore, 40% of companies stated the salary range that a candidate can expect.

Conclusion

To land an expert-level job in Fortune 500 company, most job postings state that Bachelor’s degree is sufficient. However, more than 2/3 of job postings mentioned that a Master’s degree would be preferred. In terms of hard skills, as expected, every company expects strong mechanical engineering fundamentals. Furthermore, to fit the profile, you should have knowledge of new product introduction (NPD), CAD software, drafting, and FEA knowledge.

Drawing creation, knowledge of the ECO process, ERP data and BOM management, tolerance analysis, and GD&T would also be preferred. Regarding the CAD software, knowledge of SolidWorks and/or PTC Creo is most interesting to Fortune 500 companies.

Preferred is to have hands-on experience and knowledge of various materials, manufacturing, and assembly techniques. Additionally, experience with verification/and validation and DFMEA, SCAAD, etc.

From the perspective of soft skills, leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills are required. Furthermore, creativity and teamwork are also preferred.

As I said in entry-level, mid-level, and comparison blog posts, I will also say it here. Even though the percentage of defined salary in job vacancies is a bit higher than in entry and mid-level jobs, still the percentage is too low. It is shameful for companies not to put the salary range in their job vacancies. I understand why they are not putting the salary range in the job vacancy, but I still found it disrespectful to the potential applicants. I will not turn this blog post into me ranting about it; we might discuss this some other time.

Closing words

To get an expert-level job in Fortune 500 company, a lot of skills are required. However, with 5+ years of experience, acquiring them should not be a problem. For these positions, Fortune 500 companies are paying very well. Furthermore, this would give you an opportunity to be at the forefront of the development of some of the most interesting products in the world.

To make it easier for you to find related posts, check the “Further reading” chapter below. Do you have any questions or need something to be clarified better? Leave the comment below, and I will give my best to adjust the post accordingly.

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