Supervise engineering or other technical personnel.

Supervise engineering or other technical personnel. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 18 occupations and seen in 21 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Supervise personnel activities. in Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates .

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 21 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 11 (52%) are flagged as directly exposed to language models (E1) or exposed via model-powered tools (E2).

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.

• Provide technical direction or supervision to junior engineers, engineering or computer-aided design (CAD) technicians, or other technical personnel. · Water/Wastewater Engineers · importance 4.7 · direct LLM exposure
• Supervise or direct the work of non-destructive testing trainees or staff. · Non-Destructive Testing Specialists · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Monitor the work of specialists, such as electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, interior designers, or sound specialists to ensure optimal form or function of designs or final structures. · Architects, Except Landscape and Naval · importance 4.3 · exposure with tools
• Supervise technologists or technicians engaged in nanotechnology research or production. · Nanosystems Engineers · importance 4.2 · exposure with tools
• Supervise and train other technologists, technicians, and drafters. · Architectural and Civil Drafters · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Assign work to staff to obtain maximum utilization of personnel. · Petroleum Engineers · importance 4.0 · exposure with tools
• Provide technical supervision regarding traffic control devices to other traffic technicians or laborers. · Traffic Technicians · importance 3.9 · exposure with tools
• Supervise the work of technologists, technicians, and other engineers and scientists. · Materials Engineers · importance 3.9 · exposure with tools
• Manage teams of engineers by creating schedules, tracking inventory, creating or using budgets, or overseeing contract obligations or deadlines. · Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers · importance 3.9 · exposure with tools
• Manage the work of subcontractors to ensure quality control. · Landscape Architects · importance 3.8 · exposure with tools
• Supervise other engineers and crew members and train them for routine and emergency duties. · Marine Engineers and Naval Architects · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Supervise technologists, technicians, or other engineers. · Robotics Engineers · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Supervise, train, and evaluate technicians, technologists, survey personnel, engineers, scientists or other mine personnel. · Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Direct technicians, engineering designers or other technical support personnel as needed. · Computer Hardware Engineers · importance 3.7 · no direct exposure
• Direct workers engaged in product measurement, inspection, and testing activities to ensure quality control and reliability. · Industrial Engineers · importance 3.6 · exposure with tools
• Oversee the work of contractors in accordance with project requirements. · Mechatronics Engineers · importance 3.6 · no direct exposure
• Supervise and train other drafters, technologists, and technicians. · Mechanical Drafters · importance 3.5 · no direct exposure
• Supervise or train project team members, as necessary. · Electrical Engineers · importance 3.4 · no direct exposure
• Supervise and coordinate work activities of workers engaged in drafting, designing layouts, assembling, or testing printed circuit boards. · Electrical and Electronics Drafters · importance 2.9 · exposure with tools
• Supervise or coordinate activities of workers engaged in surveying, plotting data, drafting maps, or producing blueprints, photostats, or photographs. · Surveying and Mapping Technicians · exposure with tools
• Supervise or train other technologists, technicians, or drafters. · Electrical and Electronics Drafters · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Water/Wastewater Engineers
• Non-Destructive Testing Specialists
• Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
• Nanosystems Engineers
• Architectural and Civil Drafters
• Petroleum Engineers
• Materials Engineers
• Traffic Technicians
• Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers
• Landscape Architects
• Marine Engineers and Naval Architects
• Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers
• Computer Hardware Engineers
• Industrial Engineers
• Mechanical Drafters
• Electrical Engineers
• Electrical and Electronics Drafters
• Surveying and Mapping Technicians

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
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

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

@misc{singulariki-supervise-engineering-or-other-technical-personnel,
  title  = {Supervise engineering or other technical personnel.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/detailed-activities/supervise-engineering-or-other-technical-personnel}
}