WHAT DOES AN ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIST DO?
Updated: Jun 04, 2025 - The Engineering Technologist manages project documentation, including work orders, invoices, requests, and change orders, while ensuring all tasks align with project life cycle requirements. This position oversees construction progress through planning, coordination, and regular site visits, providing safety evaluations and continuous improvement recommendations. The technologist maintains relationships with contractors and vendors, monitors contract obligations, and addresses delays or cost changes to ensure timely and efficient project execution.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Engineering Technologist
1. Engineering Technologist Accountabilities
- Metallographic Operations: Performing metallographic operations to include sample sectioning, mounting, grinding, polishing, and etching
- Hardness Testing: Performing Vickers, Knoop, and Rockwell hardness testing
- Grain Sizing and Imaging Analysis: Performing ASTM grain sizing and imaging analysis
- Equipment Design and Maintenance: Supporting design, operation, modification, and maintenance of equipment and data acquisition systems
- Troubleshooting: Troubleshooting of test setup and equipment hardware and software
- Vendor Communication: Communicating with external vendors to resolve issues
- Work Instructions and Data Collection: Preparing work instructions and procedures and conducting data collection for analysis
- Environmental, Safety, and Health Practices: Understanding and applying environmental, safety, and health laboratory practices with a primary focus on safety, and inspection/monitoring
- Test Procedure Execution: Become a trained SA25 and Microcell operator and execute complex test procedures
- Collaboration with Technical Staff: Collaborate with other technical staff including mechanical, electrical, and controls engineers as a key component of development and verification processes.
2. Engineering Technologist Functions
- Design Preparation: Prepare sketches, figures, conceptual and detailed design (IFT, IFC level) drawings
- Project Design Management: Plan and manage design requirements for projects under engineering supervision
- Data Collection and Validation: Collect, validate, and reduce data, and perform data filtering and calculations on surveys and other various types of data
- Data Visualization: Develop graphic representations of data, and prepare charts and tabulations
- Technical Documentation: Prepare technical documentation
- Laboratory Testing: Perform laboratory testing
- Design Principles Application: Apply an understanding of key design principles to assist in the delivery of new approaches to solve basic problems
- Field Studies Assistance: Assist with performing field studies for the collection and maintenance of data from scientific instrumentation installed at mine waste reclamation monitoring sites
- Field Instrument Installation: Assist with the installation of field instruments for monitoring the performance of reclaimed watersheds and/or mine cover systems and/or mine waste storage facilities/landforms
- Field Investigation: Complete field investigations such as material sampling programs and construction QA / QC projects
- Laboratory Equipment Maintenance: Prepare, calibrate, and maintain laboratory equipment and materials
- Sample Preparation: Prepare materials and samples as per requirements
- Data Analysis: Analyze and document findings
- Laboratory Procedures Management: Create and maintain laboratory procedures
3. Engineering Technologist Overview
- Plan Preparation: Draft and create plan preparations
- AutoCAD/Civil 3D Design: Use AutoCAD/Civil 3D to prepare plans and provide graphic information relating to roadway design and other transportation facility design
- Field Investigation and Analysis: Participate in field investigations, analyzing data, and formulating design and safety decisions related to Neighbourhood Renewal program-related projects
- Drafting Support: Provide drafting support to senior technologists and engineers
- Utility Information Compilation: Compile utility information
- Survey Data Processing: Process field survey data and prepare baselines
- Plan and Grade Sheet Preparation: Prepare plans and grade sheets for renewal projects such as overlays, alleys, and as-builts
- Map and Plan Preparation: Prepare maps and plans for public meetings
- Land Requirement Determination: Determine land requirements for road right-of-way
- Crossing Plan Preparation: Prepare pipeline/railway/environmental crossing plans
- Quantity Take-off Drawing: Prepare quantity take-off drawings for cost estimating at various phases of the design
- Cost Estimate Take-offs: Complete quantity take-offs for cost estimates
- Administrative Support: Participate in Administrative Duties such as participating in team meetings, assisting other staff with plotting/printing/scanning, and converting or translating files into other file formats
4. Engineering Technologist Additional Details
- Data Recording and Maintenance: Accurately recording and maintaining street light and electrical graphical and nongraphical data information following applicable procedures and practices using GeoMedia and ArcGIS software
- Information Coordination: Coordinate information from surveyors and developers/consultants for retrieval of accurate street light as-built information
- Condition Assessment Assistance: Assist in the condition assessment analysis preparation of system damage reports (SDR)
- Secondary Electrical Documentation: Assist in the condition assessment analysis and documentation preparation of the secondary electrical (metered service) on City ROW
- Inspection Services: Perform inspection services related to street light and signal SDR ensuring compliance with the City of Edmonton Road and Walkway Lighting Manual
- Documentation Coordination: Coordinate, file, and monitor SDR information and documentation with Electrical Contractors and Internal City Departments
- Plan Review and Approval: Review and approve plans, Utility Line Assignments (ULA's), Construction Completion Certificates (CCC), and Final Acceptance Certificates (FAC) submissions
- Administrative Support: Perform administrative functions such as filing plans, and responding to inquiries from citizens, councilors, and city departments
- Pharmaceutical Equipment Handling: Work hands-on with sophisticated, cutting-edge pharmaceutical equipment and developmental prototypes
- Test Assembly Troubleshooting: Create, reconfigure, and troubleshoot test assemblies
- Documentation Development: Develop and maintain documentation, including test documentation and work instructions
5. Engineering Technologist Role Purpose
- Work Order and Invoice Management: Manage all work orders, invoices, requests for information, bids, and proposals, as well as change orders invoices throughout the life cycle of projects
- Project Execution Consultation: Consult with project teams and key departments to ensure timely project execution
- CMR Responsibilities Execution: Execute all CMR responsibilities while maintaining a Zero Incident Mindset culture with Team Members and Contractors
- Safety Performance Evaluation: Evaluate safety performance and provide recommendations for continuous improvement
- Meeting Attendance and Site Visits: Attend coordination and progress meetings, make regular trips to departments during construction including bid walk-downs, preconstruction walks, in-progress site visits, punch list walk-downs, and construction closeout
- Problem Resolution Assistance: Assist contracted forces to resolve problems in the field with engineering, operating, and maintenance forces
- Construction Planning and Coordination: Planning, coordination, and reporting on the status of construction per project deliverables
- Contract and Vendor Relationship Management: Maintain and update SOW and preconstruction documents and monitor contract obligations to build relationships with reliable contractors and vendors
- Delay and Cost Management: Inform the project team of any delays and cost increases in terms of equipment, material receipt, or construction force issues and respond appropriately to keep the project on track
- Documentation and SAP Activities: Perform documentation and SAP activities throughout the project