Example Career: Robotics Engineers
Career Description
Research, design, develop or test robotic applications.
What Job Titles Robotics Engineers Might Have
- Automation Engineer
- Factory Automations Engineer
- Robotic Systems Engineer
What Robotics Engineers Do
- Review or approve designs, calculations, or cost estimates.
- Process or interpret signals or sensor data.
- Debug robotics programs.
- Build, configure, or test robots or robotic applications.
- Create back-ups of robot programs or parameters.
- Provide technical support for robotic systems.
- Design end-of-arm tooling.
- Design robotic systems, such as automatic vehicle control, autonomous vehicles, advanced displays, advanced sensing, robotic platforms, computer vision, or telematics systems.
- Supervise technologists, technicians, or other engineers.
- Design software to control robotic systems for applications, such as military defense or manufacturing.
- Conduct research on robotic technology to create new robotic systems or system capabilities.
- Investigate mechanical failures or unexpected maintenance problems.
- Integrate robotics with peripherals, such as welders, controllers, or other equipment.
- Evaluate robotic systems or prototypes.
- Install, calibrate, operate, or maintain robots.
- Conduct research into the feasibility, design, operation, or performance of robotic mechanisms, components, or systems, such as planetary rovers, multiple mobile robots, reconfigurable robots, or man-machine interactions.
- Document robotic application development, maintenance, or changes.
- Design automated robotic systems to increase production volume or precision in high-throughput operations, such as automated ribonucleic acid (RNA) analysis or sorting, moving, or stacking production materials.
- Write algorithms or programming code for ad hoc robotic applications.
- Make system device lists or event timing charts.
- Design or program robotics systems for environmental clean-up applications to minimize human exposure to toxic or hazardous materials or to improve the quality or speed of clean-up operations.
- Plan mobile robot paths and teach path plans to robots.
- Design robotics applications for manufacturers of green products, such as wind turbines or solar panels, to increase production time, eliminate waste, or reduce costs.
- Automate assays on laboratory robotics.
What Robotics Engineers Should Be Good At
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Memorization - The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
What Robotics Engineers Should Be Interested In
- Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
- Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
- Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
What Robotics Engineers Need to Learn
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
This page includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license.