Automotive Engineer
Designs, tests, and improves vehicles and their subsystems, from chassis and engine to safety and comfort features.
Designs and develops engines, transmissions, and hybrid or electric drive systems that move a vehicle.
Compare with another careerWorks on the design, calibration, and testing of internal combustion, hybrid, or electric powertrains, balancing performance, emissions, efficiency, and durability. Runs dyno testing and works with control-software teams to calibrate engine and transmission behavior.
A combination of test-cell and dyno lab work, workshop time with prototype hardware, and office-based design and calibration work.
Typical entry point
Entry-level graduate engineer in a powertrain or propulsion team at an automotive OEM or supplier
Core
Also relevant
Core
Also relevant
These are useful, relevant skills to build over time — not a checklist you need to already have.
These are common routes in, not the only path — and not a university or course recommendation.
General tendencies for this career, not a guarantee — actual roles vary by employer and location.
Designs, tests, and improves vehicles and their subsystems, from chassis and engine to safety and comfort features.
Works on the electrical and control systems — battery management, motor drives, charging — that make electric vehicles function.
Builds the perception, planning, and control software that lets vehicles sense their surroundings and drive with reduced or no human input.
Uses computer simulation of crashes, structures, thermal and airflow behavior to predict and improve vehicle performance before physical prototypes are built.
Studies and tunes how a vehicle handles, rides, and responds to steering, braking, and road conditions.
Develops and tests battery cells, packs, and management systems used in electric vehicles and energy storage.