Design electronic or computer equipment or instrumentation.

Design electronic or computer equipment or instrumentation. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 9 occupations and seen in 22 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Design electrical or electronic systems or equipment. in Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment .

Detailed work activities are the most granular shared layer in O*NET's work-activity hierarchy (Generalized → Intermediate → Detailed → occupation-specific task). The figures below describe how this activity shows up across the economy and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the work will be automated.

AI exposure

Of the 22 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 19 (86%) are flagged as directly exposed to language models (E1) or exposed via model-powered tools (E2).

The Anthropic Economic Index observes real AI use on 3 of these tasks, with a mean mapped-usage share of 0.034% per task.

Exposure estimates overlap with model capabilities — whether a model could speed the task up — not whether the work will be done by software. Observed AI use is augmentation and assistance today, not jobs replaced.

Member tasks

Occupation-specific tasks O*NET maps to this detailed work activity, most important first.

• Design and develop computer hardware and support peripherals, including central processing units (CPUs), support logic, microprocessors, custom integrated circuits, and printers and disk drives. · Computer Hardware Engineers · importance 4.2 · direct LLM exposure
• Integrate tags, readers, or software in radio frequency identification device (RFID) designs. · Radio Frequency Identification Device Specialists · importance 4.2 · direct LLM exposure
• Develop optical or imaging systems, such as optical imaging products, optical components, image processes, signal process technologies, or optical systems. · Photonics Engineers · importance 4.1 · exposure with tools
• Design electronic components, software, products, or systems for commercial, industrial, medical, military, or scientific applications. · Electronics Engineers, Except Computer · importance 4.1 · exposure with tools
• Design, integrate, or test photonics systems or components. · Photonics Engineers · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Engineer, install, maintain, or repair security systems, programmable logic controls, or other security-related electronic systems. · Security Management Specialists · importance 3.7 · direct LLM exposure
• Assist engineers in the development of new products, fixtures, tools, or processes. · Photonics Technicians · importance 3.6 · exposure with tools
• Design electro-optical sensing or imaging systems. · Photonics Engineers · importance 3.6 · exposure with tools
• Design sensing, measuring, and recording devices, and other instrumentation used to study plant or animal life. · Agricultural Engineers · importance 3.5 · exposure with tools
• Plan or develop applications or modifications for electronic properties used in components, products, or systems to improve technical performance. · Electronics Engineers, Except Computer · importance 3.4 · exposure with tools
• Design photonics products, such as light sources, displays, or photovoltaics, to achieve increased energy efficiency. · Photonics Engineers · importance 3.4 · exposure with tools
• Design, build, or modify fixtures used to assemble parts. · Photonics Technicians · importance 3.4 · no direct exposure
• Build instrumentation or laboratory test equipment for special purposes. · Automotive Engineering Technicians · importance 3.4 · no direct exposure
• Design gas lasers, solid state lasers, infrared, or other light emitting or light sensitive devices. · Photonics Engineers · importance 3.2 · exposure with tools
• Design test control apparatus or equipment or develop procedures for testing products. · Mechanical Engineers · importance 3.2 · exposure with tools
• Devise automated lab validation test stations or other test fixtures or equipment. · Validation Engineers · importance 2.8 · direct LLM exposure
• Design or redesign optical fibers to minimize energy loss. · Photonics Engineers · importance 2.7 · direct LLM exposure
• Develop laser-processed designs, such as laser-cut medical devices. · Photonics Engineers · importance 2.5 · exposure with tools
• Design or develop new crystals for photonics applications. · Photonics Engineers · importance 2.4 · direct LLM exposure
• Design laser machining equipment for purposes such as high-speed ablation. · Photonics Engineers · importance 2.3 · direct LLM exposure
• Design or develop sensors to reduce the energy or resource requirements to operate appliances, such as washing machines or dishwashing machines. · Microsystems Engineers · direct LLM exposure
• Design sensors or switches that require little or no power to operate for environmental monitoring or industrial metering applications. · Microsystems Engineers · direct LLM exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Computer Hardware Engineers
• Radio Frequency Identification Device Specialists
• Photonics Engineers
• Security Management Specialists
• Photonics Technicians
• Agricultural Engineers
• Automotive Engineering Technicians
• Mechanical Engineers
• Validation Engineers

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-design-electronic-or-computer-equipment-or-instrumentation,
  title  = {Design electronic or computer equipment or instrumentation.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/detailed-activities/design-electronic-or-computer-equipment-or-instrumentation}
}