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Microsystems Engineers

Occupation · SOC 17-2199.06

Research, design, develop, or test microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices.

Also called: Process Engineer · Product Design Engineer · Project Engineer · Radio Frequency Design Engineer (RF Design Engineer) · Control Systems Engineer · MEMS Integration Engineer (Microelectrical Mechanical Integration Engineer) · Microsystems Engineer · Project Design Engineer · System Engineer · Systems Engineer · Applications Engineer · Arrhythmia Engineer

Job family: Architecture and Engineering Occupations

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A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch /roles/role-17-2199-06/context.md directly.

AI work map

A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.

Use as a copilot

Task areas where people work with AI — iterating, learning, or checking — staying in the loop rather than handing the task off.

  • Investigate characteristics such as cost, performance, or process capability of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device designs, using simulation or modeling software. · 0.9%
  • Develop or validate specialized materials characterization procedures, such as thermal withstand, fatigue, notch sensitivity, abrasion, or hardness tests. · 0.9%
  • Conduct experimental or virtual studies to investigate characteristics and processing principles of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. · 0.8%
See collaboration patterns →

Keep a human in the loop

Task areas where a human was still judged necessary in a large share of observed conversations — not a safety ruling, an observed-need signal.

  • Develop customer documentation, such as performance specifications, training manuals, or operating instructions. · 96.8% need a human
  • Conduct experimental or virtual studies to investigate characteristics and processing principles of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. · 86.6% need a human
  • Develop or validate specialized materials characterization procedures, such as thermal withstand, fatigue, notch sensitivity, abrasion, or hardness tests. · 78.4% need a human
See the boundary tasks →

67th-percentile task overlap — yet about 9,300 openings a year (+2.1% projected, BLS), and observed AI use leans 5919% copilot, not hand-off (AEI) . What exposure means →

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

Measure Rank vs all occupations Percentile Score
Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) High 67th 0.8
LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate 64th 0.8
AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) High 71st 0.2

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.2), with simple added tooling (β 0.5), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.8). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

Most of this job's tasks can be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman), which tends to track with higher digital and AI exposure.

Historical automation estimate (2013)

A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.

Frey–Osborne probability 0.0 · 9th percentile among occupations · Low

How AI is actually used in this job

Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.

Investigate characteristics such as cost, performance, or process capability of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device designs, using simulation or modeling software. 4.4%
Conduct experimental or virtual studies to investigate characteristics and processing principles of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. 1.6%
Design or develop energy products using nanomaterials or nanoprocesses, such as micro-nano machining. 0.9%
Create schematics and physical layouts of integrated microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) components or packaged assemblies consistent with process, functional, or package constraints. 0.8%
Develop or validate specialized materials characterization procedures, such as thermal withstand, fatigue, notch sensitivity, abrasion, or hardness tests. 0.7%
Propose product designs involving microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, considering market data or customer requirements. 0.5%

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

Outlook About average · +2.1% by 2034
Projected annual openings 9,300
Employment 2024 → 2034 158,800 → 162,100

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient

The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.

30% mean task exposure (2025)
57th percentile of 427 placed occupations
+8 pts shift 2023 → 2025
International occupation (ISCO-08) Task exposure (2025) Most tasks fall in
Engineering Professionals Not Elsewhere Classified · 2149 30% Not exposed

Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.

Working with AI in this job

How people actually apply AI to this occupation's tasks, from Claude.ai (Free and Pro) conversations in the Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15. This is one AI assistant's consumer sample — not all AI, not the whole workforce. Autonomy and the collaboration mix are model-rated estimates; figures below the sample floor are hidden.

Augmentation vs. automation 59.2% working with AI · 6.5% handed to AI
Most common way people use AI here Learning · you ask AI to explain or teach
Typical AI autonomy 4.0 / 5 · higher = AI acts more independently
Used for work (vs. personal / coursework) 40.8%

What people delegate to AI

The role's most common tasks in AI conversations, each tagged with how people work with the AI on it. “Usage” is the share of observed conversations, not of the job.

Task How Usage
Investigate characteristics such as cost, performance, or process capability of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device designs, using simulation or modeling software. Learning 0.9%
Develop or validate specialized materials characterization procedures, such as thermal withstand, fatigue, notch sensitivity, abrasion, or hardness tests. Learning 0.9%
Conduct experimental or virtual studies to investigate characteristics and processing principles of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Learning 0.8%
Develop customer documentation, such as performance specifications, training manuals, or operating instructions. Iteration 0.3%

Where a human is still needed

Tasks where the model most often judged that a person remained necessary — a useful read on the current boundary, not a guarantee.

Develop customer documentation, such as performance specifications, training manuals, or operating instructions. 96.8%
Conduct experimental or virtual studies to investigate characteristics and processing principles of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. 86.6%
Develop or validate specialized materials characterization procedures, such as thermal withstand, fatigue, notch sensitivity, abrasion, or hardness tests. 78.4%
Investigate characteristics such as cost, performance, or process capability of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device designs, using simulation or modeling software. 77.4%

What people most often hand AI here

Example prompts phrased from the tasks people most often delegate to AI in this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index). Each shows the underlying measured task and its share of observed AI use. They are suggested phrasings of real tasks — starting points, not endorsed instructions.

  • Help me investigate characteristics such as cost, performance, or process capability of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device designs, using simulation or modeling software.

    From: Investigate characteristics such as cost, performance, or process capability of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device designs, using simulation or modeling software. · 0.9% of measured AI use · learning

  • Help me develop or validate specialized materials characterization procedures, such as thermal withstand, fatigue, notch sensitivity, abrasion, or hardness tests.

    From: Develop or validate specialized materials characterization procedures, such as thermal withstand, fatigue, notch sensitivity, abrasion, or hardness tests. · 0.9% of measured AI use · learning

  • Help me conduct experimental or virtual studies to investigate characteristics and processing principles of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology.

    From: Conduct experimental or virtual studies to investigate characteristics and processing principles of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. · 0.8% of measured AI use · learning

  • Help me develop customer documentation, such as performance specifications, training manuals, or operating instructions.

    From: Develop customer documentation, such as performance specifications, training manuals, or operating instructions. · 0.3% of measured AI use · task iteration

Tasks

All 31 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

Work activities

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Knowledge

Computers and Electronics 4.6
Engineering and Technology 4.6
Mathematics 4.1
Physics 4.0
Design 3.9
English Language 3.5
Production and Processing 3.3

Abilities

Oral Comprehension 4.1
Written Comprehension 4.1
Oral Expression 3.9
Deductive Reasoning 3.9
Inductive Reasoning 3.9
Written Expression 3.8
Problem Sensitivity 3.8
Fluency of Ideas 3.6
Information Ordering 3.6
Originality 3.5
Category Flexibility 3.5
Visualization 3.5
Selective Attention 3.5
Near Vision 3.5
Speech Recognition 3.5
Mathematical Reasoning 3.4
Speech Clarity 3.4

Essential skills

Reading Comprehension 4.0
Active Listening 4.0
Critical Thinking 4.0
Writing 3.8
Speaking 3.6
Science 3.6
Monitoring 3.6
Active Learning 3.5
Mathematics 3.4
Learning Strategies 3.3

Transferable skills

Complex Problem Solving 3.9
Systems Analysis 3.8
Judgment and Decision Making 3.6
Systems Evaluation 3.5
Time Management 3.5
Operations Monitoring 3.3

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

Showing the top 40 of 52.

Tools & technology

Example Category
Adobe Photoshop Graphics or photo imaging software Hot technology
Apple macOS Operating system software Hot technology
Autodesk AutoCAD Computer aided design CAD software Hot technology
Bash Operating system software Hot technology
C Development environment software Hot technology
C# Object or component oriented development software Hot technology
C++ Object or component oriented development software Hot technology
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Computer aided design CAD software Hot technology
Facebook Web page creation and editing software Hot technology
Git File versioning software Hot technology
JavaScript Web platform development software Hot technology
Linux Operating system software Hot technology
Microsoft Access Data base user interface and query software Hot technology
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet software Hot technology
Microsoft Office software Office suite software Hot technology
Microsoft Outlook Electronic mail software Hot technology
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation software Hot technology
Microsoft Project Project management software Hot technology
Microsoft Visual Basic Development environment software Hot technology
Microsoft Windows Operating system software Hot technology
Microsoft Windows Server Operating system software Hot technology
Microsoft Word Word processing software Hot technology
Oracle Java Object or component oriented development software Hot technology
Perl Object or component oriented development software Hot technology
Python Object or component oriented development software Hot technology
SAP software Enterprise resource planning ERP software Hot technology
SAS Analytical or scientific software Hot technology
Shell script Operating system software Hot technology
The MathWorks MATLAB Analytical or scientific software Hot technology
UNIX Operating system software Hot technology
Anisotropic Crystalline Etch Simulation ACES Analytical or scientific software
Ansys Fluent Analytical or scientific software
ANSYS LS-DYNA Analytical or scientific software
ANSYS Multiphysics Analytical or scientific software
Beige Bag Software B2 Spice Analytical or scientific software
Cadence PSpice Analytical or scientific software
CAzM Analytical or scientific software
Circuit simulation software Analytical or scientific software
COMSOL Multiphysics Analytical or scientific software
Coventor ARCHITECT3D Analytical or scientific software

Showing the top 40 of 89.

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

E-Mail 4.8
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams 4.7
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled 4.7
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team 4.5
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals 4.4
Freedom to Make Decisions 4.4
Telephone Conversations 4.4
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate 4.2
Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities 4.2
Contact With Others 3.9
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results 3.8
Spend Time Sitting 3.7
Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers 3.5
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General 3.3
Frequency of Decision Making 3.3
Time Pressure 3.3
Level of Competition 3.2
Written Letters and Memos 3.1
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks 2.9
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls 2.9
Health and Safety of Other Workers 2.9
Physical Proximity 2.8
Public Speaking 2.6
Consequence of Error 2.6
Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable 2.5
Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions 2.5
Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled 2.5
Spend Time Standing 2.4
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets 2.4
Conflict Situations 2.2
Exposed to Contaminants 2.2
Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions 2.1
Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People 2.1
In an Enclosed Vehicle or Operate Enclosed Equipment 2.1
Exposed to Hazardous Conditions 2.1
Outdoors, Under Cover 2.0
Exposed to Cramped Work Space, Awkward Positions 2.0
Exposed to Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting Conditions 1.9
Degree of Automation 1.9
Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures 1.7

How to get in

Job zone
Zone 5 — Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Education
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
Related experience
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Preparation level
SVP (8.0 and above) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

What to study: Engineering , Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians , Health Professions and Related Programs . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.

Education of current workers

Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.

Master's Degree 34.2%
Bachelor's Degree 30.6%
Doctoral Degree 21.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate 13.1%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) 0.3%

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Interest areas

Engineering 6.6
Information Technology 5.0
Mathematics/Statistics 4.9
Physical Science 4.6
Mechanics/Electronics 4.6

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Investigative 6.2
Realistic 5.5
Conventional 4.9

Work styles

Dependability 6.0
Attention to Detail 5.0
Cautiousness 4.0
Intellectual Curiosity 3.0
Innovation 2.5
Achievement Orientation 2.1

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

$63k10th$86k25th$118kMedian$153k75th$184k90th
Annual wages by percentile — U.S. (BLS OEWS). The light band spans the 10th–90th percentile; the darker band is the middle half (25th–75th); the line is the median.
159k2024162k2034 (proj.)+2.1% · About average
Projected U.S. employment, 2024–2034 (BLS Employment Projections). A labor-market forecast for the occupation, not an AI-impact forecast.
10th percentile $62,840
25th percentile $85,750
Median (50th) $117,750
75th percentile $152,670
90th percentile $183,510
People employed 150,750

Wages and employment are reported by BLS for the broader occupation group this specialty belongs to (SOC 17-2199), not for the specialty alone.

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Industry Workers National median pay
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector 37,330 $112,040
Manufacturing · Sector 36,850 $107,590
Engineering Services · National industry 16,150 $101,730
Wholesale Trade · Sector 6,470 $103,760
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector 6,030 $95,040
Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector 5,210 $122,930
Information · Sector 3,800 $159,700
Temporary Help Services · National industry 3,680 $88,000
Construction · Sector 3,520 $81,570
Utilities · Sector 2,970 $118,630
Testing Laboratories and Services · National industry 2,780 $102,200
Educational Services · Sector 2,720 $98,560

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Industry Concentration Workers
Solar Electric Power Generation · National industry 19.8× 270
Testing Laboratories and Services · National industry 16.69× 2,780
Engineering Services · National industry 14.29× 16,150
Wind Electric Power Generation · National industry 11.33× 110
Utilities · Sector 5.24× 2,970
Nuclear Electric Power Generation · National industry 5.23× 190
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation · National industry 5.16× 360
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector 3.55× 37,330

Part of the Advanced Manufacturing , Agriculture , Construction and Energy & Natural Resources career clusters.

Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay Microsystems Engineers sits at the 67th percentile of AI task-overlap and the 92nd percentile of median pay, placed here against 12 adjacent occupations on the same two axes. Lower overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · lower pay Lower overlap · lower pay Microsystems Engineers Photonics Technicians Materials Scientists Computer Hardware Engineers AI task-overlap percentile → ↑ Median pay
AI task-overlap percentile (horizontal) vs. median-pay percentile (vertical), across all scored occupations. This occupation is highlighted; related occupations are plotted alongside it. Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation.

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Microsystems Engineers — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Skills that travel

Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.

Paths in

How people typically prepare for this work.

Zoom out

On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 57th percentile of 427 international occupations.

Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation

Microsystems Engineers show 67th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 9,300 annual U.S. openings

  • Microsystems Engineers rank in the 67th percentile (High band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
  • The occupation is projected to see about 9,300 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • BLS projects employment to be about average (+2.1%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • Median annual pay is $117,750, across about 150,750 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
  • Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 59% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census.2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2
Copy the whole kit
Microsystems Engineers show 67th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 9,300 annual U.S. openings

• Microsystems Engineers rank in the 67th percentile (High band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE)
• The occupation is projected to see about 9,300 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• BLS projects employment to be about average (+2.1%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• Median annual pay is $117,750, across about 150,750 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024))
• Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 59% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census. (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2)

Source: Singulariki — "Microsystems Engineers". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2199-06
Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.

AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom

Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.

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.

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

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Microsystems Engineers." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2199-06

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Microsystems Engineers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2199-06

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-17-2199-06,
  title  = {Microsystems Engineers},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2199-06}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.

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