WHAT DOES A MECHANICAL ENGINEER DO?
Published: Jun 30, 2025 - The Mechanical Engineer applies engineering principles to design, develop, and maintain mechanical systems and components across multiple industries. This role involves utilizing CAD software, conducting simulations, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure optimal functionality, safety, and efficiency. The engineer contributes to product innovation, process improvement, and the long-term reliability of engineering solutions.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Mechanical Engineer
1. Mechanical Engineer Duties
- Product Development: Own design and development of product subsystems through a Phase Gate style Product Development Process
- Requirement Documentation: Create engineering requirements and documents to meet product requirements
- Test Planning: Write and execute test plans at the design and production phases
- Problem Solving: Troubleshoot and solve performance problems during development and in production
- Work Communication: Document and communicate work to technical leads and managers
- Data Analysis: Use data to drive engineering decision-making
- Change Management: Create and manage engineering changes for updates and improvements to existing products
- Supplier Collaboration: Collaborate with a global network of suppliers throughout development phases to ensure quality and performance
- Team Coordination: Collaborate with adjacent development teams to ensure design success, including industrial design, product management, and operations
- Design Control: Work with the drafting team to ensure appropriate product definition and design controls
2. Mechanical Engineer Details
- 3D Modeling: 3D CAD design of engineering and flight hardware
- FEA Analysis: Structural and thermal finite element analyses
- Engineering Drawing: Produce engineering drawings for assembly and manufacture, and define integration procedures
- FEM Preparation: Prepare FEMs for structural and thermal FEAs of large assemblies such as Patran/Nastran
- Mechanical Testing: Hands-on mechanical integration and test
- Product Management: Develop, coordinate, and monitor all aspects of the product
- Process Improvement: Suggest methods to improve operational efficiency
- Cross Collaboration: Work cross-functionally with different teams and organizations
3. Mechanical Engineer Responsibilities
- Soft Materials: Responsibility for mechanical engineering related to the development and integration of materials and mechanical engineering with soft goods (synthetics, gels, adhesives, and textiles/fabric)
- Manufacturing Design: Use extensive knowledge of soft goods assembly processes like cutting, bonding etc., to drive manufacturing considerations
- Design Analysis: Rigorous analyses on designs using appropriate methods such as FEA and dimensional tolerance analysis
- Automation Consideration: Consider automated production requirements as part of the design
- Component Testing: Drive component and integration testing to verify that prototypes and production components/constructs meet design intent
- Design Specification: Assess requirements and set the mechanical requirements for the design and development of consumables
- Production Documentation: Provide the data for a full production file (3D files, drawings of mechanical parts, assembly drawings and instructions, BOM)
- Supplier Liaison: Liaising with suppliers and production subcontractors
- Test Procedure: Producing and implementing designs and test procedures
- Design Validation: Perform the actual testing, evaluating, measuring, modifying and re-testing of the design
- Report Generation: Generate test reports and documentation
4. Mechanical Engineer Job Summary
- Tolerance Analysis: Perform complex RSS and Worst-Case Scenario Tolerance Analysis
- Cpk Review: Perform a detailed review and scrutinize the Cpk data from the supplier
- FMEA Process: Conduct DFMEA and PFMEA processes
- Process Support: Provide support to the manufacturing partner, including problem solving, process improvement and jig/fixture improvement
- Design Alignment: Bridge between Industrial Designer and Product Manager, to ensure requirements are met or agreed upon among all parties
- Cost Scheduling: Cooperate with the Project Manager to ensure the mechanical part cost and schedule are met within the project timeframe
- Team Collaboration: Work with a cross-functional team such as acoustic, hardware design, RF and regulatory certification
- Qualification Assurance: Provide solutions to ensure the product can meet the qualification requirements
- Criteria Assessment: Assess the acceptance criteria for mechanical features
5. Mechanical Engineer Accountabilities
- Component Design: Create and validate mechanical components/systems, taking care of their design and development
- Project Execution: Drive the execution of mechanical development projects/activities
- Design Validation: Develop detailed mechanical design and support test specifications to product-level validation
- Mechanical Testing: Test and evaluate mechanical designs and concepts to meet the specified functionality/features, quality and cost targets in cooperation with the laboratories
- Simulation Modeling: Develop designs and systems and validate through calculation/simulation modelling (CAE, MBD) and prototype/experimental testing
- Supplier Evaluation: Participate in supplier evaluation and selection
- Change Management: Monitor and commission changes to plant and systems (PLM, …) and support part/product approval
- Technical Documentation: Supply all technical input for product literature, BOM, labels, technical manuals, etc.
6. Mechanical Engineer Functions
- Staff Coaching: Coach and mentor staff and contribute to diagnosing more complex problems with machinery or equipment
- Quality Monitoring: Monitor the quality of work to ensure compliance with safety procedures and the safety of employees
- Priority Management: Resolve maintenance priorities based on established plans to ensure resources are used effectively and work schedules and targets are met
- Maintenance Supervision: Supervise maintenance activities to minimize production downtime and disruptions
- Personnel Management: Responsible for personnel decisions related to hiring, performance and disciplinary actions for direct reports
7. Mechanical Engineer Job Description
- Cross-Functional Work: Works on a cross-functional project team through all phases of the product development process
- Project Execution: Includes planning and executing projects or designs from concept through the launch
- Change Support: Support and/or lead product changes after launch based on the defined needs of the business
- User Collaboration: Work closely with other members of the project team and physicians to define user needs, generate design concepts and develop detailed designs
- Design Analysis: Performs design and analysis with limited guidance (such as tolerance analysis, FEA, DOE's, simulated use testing, etc.), and supports the development of product and process validation plans and testing
- 3D Modeling: Demonstrated aptitude for product development using 3-D modeling CAD while also showing hands-on aptitude and expertise in materials and component selection
- Customer Insight: Understands VOC (Voice of Customer) and the role it plays in making design decisions
- Design Documentation: Completes all necessary documentation related to design, verification and validation, and product transfer in compliance with applicable medical device regulations, engineering documentation processes, and the Company QMS
- Manufacturing Support: Works with manufacturing engineering and suppliers to understand the considerations associated with manufacturability
- Prototype Optimization: Works with other team members to produce prototypes and optimize designs for manufacturability and assembly
8. Mechanical Engineer Overview
- Project Delivery: Participate in the development and delivery of mechanical engineering turn-key projects, plant and R\&D process engineering specifications and deliverables
- Vendor Evaluation: Participate in the specification, evaluation and selection of vendor packages and plant equipment
- Mechanical Design: Hold responsibility for the design of all mechanical works
- Quality Assurance: Maintain the technical quality of work
- Cost Control: Maintain planning and cost control on the mechanical scope of work
- Technology Research: Participate actively in the business’s technology R\&D
- Code Compliance: Ensure that designs comply with the Codes, Standards, Regulations and Procedures
- Vendor Liaison: Liaise with subcontractors and vendors to develop, deliver and troubleshoot solutions for the technology
- Project Coordination: Liaise with project management teams to deliver new projects
- Operations Support: Support existing Operation and Commissioning teams, remotely and on-site
- Procurement Support: Support procurement for the mechanical department project and R\&D deliverables
- Facility Optimization: Define and lead optimisation activities at operational facilities
- Engineering Collaboration: Work closely with the other engineering disciplines to overcome difficulties and find the best approach for the solution
- Document Creation: Produce mechanical documentation from scratch
- Change Management: Ensure proper management of change, keeping documentation and design files up to date for both new and existing facilities
9. Mechanical Engineer Details and Accountabilities
- Engineering Execution: Perform a full range of engineering duties and project assignments based on general instructions and guidance from the supervisor or lead engineers
- Production Support: Daily production support for product lines
- Team Representation: Represent Current Product Engineering as a core team member on NPD and/or Sponsor Team projects
- Design Development: Design, develop, document and execute mechanical and/or electro-mechanical solutions for components and assemblies to meet company and departmental goals
- Problem Solving: Perform analysis and resolve issues using problem-solving techniques to develop new and innovative solutions for Customers
- Principle Application: Use mechanical engineering principles of statics, dynamics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, hydraulics, and material science to develop design solutions for medical devices
- CAD Modeling: Use 2D and 3D CAD software as well as other analysis software such as FEA (Finite Element Analysis)
- Technical Evaluation: Determines the technical feasibility of new product concepts
- Operations Support: Provide technical support to all functional areas of Operations and serve as liaison to Manufacturing for design-related product changes
- Failure Investigation: Perform analysis on returned product and perform investigations on Customer complaints
- Project Management: Provide Project Management resources for the Sponsor Team and/or appropriately sized projects for product enhancements
- Staff Mentoring: Train and mentor Engineers and Designers in Engineering principles
- Process Improvement: Participate in Lean and Continuous Improvement activities
- Data Presentation: Prepare and present project and/or technical data to management
10. Mechanical Engineer Tasks
- 3D Modeling: Creates, interprets, and corrects SolidWorks 3D models and 2D drawings
- Document Control: Creates or reviews and signs engineering document changes through the Engineering Change Notice (ECN) procedure
- Material Analysis: Analyzes material selection for a specific design, considering costs, competition, time limitations, company planning and other technical and economic factors
- Machine Knowledge: Understands machine operations as suited to produce the most economical / highest quality part
- Part Development: Specifies, designs, develops and tests parts and assemblies for company products or in-house fixtures with attention to electrical interface parameters
- Design Communication: Communicates and interfaces with vendors, customers and staff members to define parameters, clarify issues and determine the best solution to meet design goals
- Manufacturing Design: Understands manufacturing needs (Design for Manufacturability)