WHAT DOES A CERTIFICATION ENGINEER DO?
Updated: Nov 12, 2024 - The Certification Engineer spearheads the annual creation of fuel economy labels, which involves calculating fuel values, liaising with government agencies, and designing the labels themselves. This position's responsibilities include overseeing the development of fuel economy testing plans with Energy Engineers, verifying all necessary deliverables for official labeling, and ensuring compliance with fuel economy regulations. The role also entails leading the compilation of fleet average fuel economy and GHG reports, providing IT enhancement directions, documenting standard procedures, and sharing insights and updates with team members and management.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Certification Engineer
1. Certification Engineer Duties
- Product/Design Collaboration: Meeting with the product/design team to determine product testing parameters
- Vendor Coordination: Meeting with external vendors to determine the product testing parameters
- Test Plan Development: Writing test plans and creating test cases for the product
- Quality Assurance Execution: Conducting quality assurance and designing performance tests using the new testing procedures
- Troubleshooting & Optimization: Troubleshooting any errors and streamlining the testing procedures
- QA Documentation: Writing up the final QA and test procedures for the quality technicians
- Safety Certification: Certifying product designs to meet safety requirements
- Standards Compliance: Ensuring all tests and procedures meet company and industry standards
- Test Reporting: Preparing test reports for management
- Legislative Support: Provide support to colleagues and management on the implications and impact of current and future legislative requirements to certification subjects.
- Change Management Support: Support change management processes
- Communication & Resolution Support: Supporting onward communication and resolution actions.
2. Certification Engineer Details
- Design Collaboration: Collaborating with design engineers in the early stages of product development to ensure compliance-ready designs.
- Requirement Translation: Translating project prerequisites into requirements to meet regulations.
- Regulatory Support: Supporting regulatory investigations and respective corrective/preventative actions.
- Regulation Interpretation: Providing accurate interpretation of the regulation.
- Project Representation: Representing FVV (Features, Verification & Validation) in project management teams, design reviews, clinics, etc.
- Compliance Leadership: Leading vehicle regulatory compliance reviews and project fulfillment.
- Documentation Input: Delivering input to project documentation (e.g., requirement specification, project description, PAP/PDP, risk register, lessons learned).
- Regulatory Interaction: Interacting with regulatory offices inside Volvo Trucks to homologate North American products in export markets.
- Regulatory Participation: Participating in Global and North American regulatory network.
- Independent Execution: Executing functional requirements independent of Manager's direction.
- Technical Reporting: Authoring technical reports and effectively presenting fuel economy work, both within and external to GM.
3. Certification Engineer Responsibilities
- Emissions Analysis Leadership: Lead R&D, certification, factory, and service teams in understanding emissions related defect issues, root cause analysis, and development of feasible resolutions.
- Regulatory Strategy Support: Support and create Honda’s strategy, technical and regulatory information for reporting, discussions, and negotiations with government agencies.
- Technical Representation: Be the lead voice for Honda during technical reporting, discussions, and negotiations with government agencies.
- Regulatory Compliance Collaboration: Collaborate with internal technical and non-technical teams to ensure understanding of regulatory requirements and maintain processes to ensure compliance.
- Emissions Reporting Management: Ensure accuracy & on-time submission of emissions related defect reports to government agencies.
- Technical Support Provision: Support other department technical activities (certification, compliance, and rulemaking, etc.) as necessary.
- Emissions Campaigns Coordination: Support planning and execution of emissions related campaigns.
- Certification Documentation Ownership: Own and define the Certification Plan documentation.
- Compliance Documentation Writing: Write test plans and other compliance documents.
- Compliance Methodology Development: Work closely with DERs on establishing current and novel methods of compliance.
- Project Collaboration: Collaborate with all disciplines of the project, to ensure that all aspects of the certification requirements are met.
- Presentation Preparation and Participation: Prepare and participate in presentations to all disciplines to provide status, information, or guidance.
- Aviation Authority Interface Management: Interface and manage the relationship with the FAA and other Civil Aviation Authorities.
- Team Role Expansion: Take on additional duties and responsibilities within magniX as part of the team effort and being a member of a small, engaged, and proactive team.
4. Certification Engineer Job Summary
- Fuel Economy Label Creation: Lead the creation of annual fuel economy labels, including the calculation of the fuel economy values, communication of the results with various government agencies, and creation of the actual fuel economy labels.
- Business Imperatives Development: Develop and own the business imperatives and ensure successful competition of fuel economy labels and reports.
- Energy Engineering Interface: Interface with program Energy Engineers on fuel economy testing plans, and fuel economy modes.
- Fuel Economy Deliverables Verification: Verify all deliverables have been completed for official fuel economy labels, including coastdown audits and surveys.
- Fuel Economy Regulation Guidance: Provide direction relative to fuel economy regulation requirements.
- Fleet Economy Reporting: Completion of fleet average fuel economy / GHG reports.
- Road Load Calculation Leadership: Lead the creation of annual road load values, including the calculations of road loads and alignment of VDS restriction statements between the Certification and Energy Engineers.
- IT Enhancement Direction: Provide direction for IT enhancements of current and future tools.
- Documentation Standardization: Document the standard work and roles & responsibilities for Fuel Economy, CAFE, and GHG.
- Knowledge Sharing: Shares lessons learned with peers and manager.
- Assignment Management: Keeps Manager informed of assignment status, timing, and technical issues.
- Learning and Development Engagement: Actively identifies new areas for learning and takes advantage of learning opportunities.
- Quality and Timeliness Assurance: Ensures high quality, on-time completion of tasks.
- Stakeholder Communication: Proactively communicates effectively with all stakeholders.
5. Certification Engineer Accountabilities
- Certification Coordination: Coordinate with the ODA (Organization Designation Authorization) Administrators, ODA Unit Members, Technical Focals, Project Engineers, and Design Engineers to create and update PSCP (Project Specific Certification Plans) and to identify and resolve certification and validation issues.
- MOC Development: Develop MOC (Means of Compliance) in support of 14CFR Part 25 requirements.
- Compliance Review: Review engineering documents and write statements of compliance.
- Data Analysis: Review qualification test data and reports.
- Supplier Coordination: Coordinate with suppliers and internal support groups.
- Teamwork: Work in a team environment.
- Project Certification Coordination: Coordinate with engineering teams, project administrators, and business unit partners to successfully certify projects/products for the AvionX product line development team.
- Certification Management: Evaluate, coordinate, implement, and ensure certification activities and deliverables are completed to meet regulatory requirements and expectations of the overall program objectives.
- Technical Integration: Perform cross-functional technical integration in support of resolving AvionX product line certification issues.
- Project Management: Enact cross-functional integration and technical project management in support of AvionX product line certification.
- Quality Analysis Leadership: Leads analyses for regulatory, certification, product assurance, and other specialties quality factors to ensure mission success.
- Process Implementation Leadership: Leads the implementation and integration of certification processes and tools across programs.
- Consultative Working: Works under consultative direction.