# Aerospace Engineers

> Perform engineering duties in designing, constructing, and testing aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. May conduct basic and applied research to evaluate adaptability of materials and equipment to aircraft design and manufacture. May recommend improvements in testing equipment and techniques.

- **SOC code:** 17-2011.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2011-00
- **Also known as:** Aerospace Engineer, Design Engineer, Flight Test Engineer, Systems Engineer, Aeronautical Engineer, Aerospace Stress Engineer, Avionics Engineer, Flight Controls Engineer
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Formulate mathematical models or other methods of computer analysis to develop, evaluate, or modify design, according to customer engineering requirements.
- Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
- Plan or coordinate investigation and resolution of customers' reports of technical problems with aircraft or aerospace vehicles.
- Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations.
- Write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers.
- Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products.
- Diagnose performance problems by reviewing reports or documentation from customers or field engineers or by inspecting malfunctioning or damaged products.
- Evaluate product data or design from inspections or reports for conformance to engineering principles, customer requirements, environmental regulations, or quality standards.
- Direct aerospace research and development programs.
- Develop design criteria for aeronautical or aerospace products or systems, including testing methods, production costs, quality standards, environmental standards, or completion dates.
- Analyze project requests, proposals, or engineering data to determine feasibility, productibility, cost, or production time of aerospace or aeronautical products.
- Maintain records of performance reports for future reference.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Develop and test autonomous systems for uncrewed aerospace vehicles.
- Develop software for aerospace systems.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Engineering and Technology _(knowledge)_
- Mathematics _(knowledge)_
- Design _(knowledge)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Physics _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Science _(essential_skill)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Information Ordering _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Physics _(Specialized Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Active Learning _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Autodesk AutoCAD _(hot technology, in demand)_
- C _(hot technology, in demand)_
- C++ _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Dassault Systemes SolidWorks _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Python _(hot technology, in demand)_
- The MathWorks MATLAB _(hot technology, in demand)_
- C# _(hot technology)_
- Extensible markup language XML _(hot technology)_
- Linux _(hot technology)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 83rd percentile (High) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 90th percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 83rd percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 66th percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 13th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 6.1% growth (About average); 4.5k annual openings; 71.6k → 75.9k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $134,830; 68,440 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 41% automation, 49% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 3.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** task iteration.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers. _(1.6% of measured AI use; task iteration)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

---
_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2011-00_