Bioenergy Career Map: Mechanical Engineer

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The job of mechanical engineer is a mid-level position in bioenergy, in the engineering and manufacturing career sub-sector. Job seekers with engineering and manufacturing backgrounds or a career in engineering could consider this type of mid-level bioenergy job.

Mechanical engineers work as staff specialists to design mechanical systems for energy or automotive applications. People in these positions may have careers in bioenergy mechanical engineering.

Mechanical Engineer

Alternate Title(s)Automotive Engineer; Quality Engineer
Education & Training Level DescriptionMaster’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or be a licensed professional engineer.
Experience3–10 years
Job Skills
  • Thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering
  • Knowledge of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic, and sub- atomic structures and processes
  • Skill in conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance
  • Demonstrated ability to produce efficient designs and accurate drawings for fabrication and assembly.
Job Profile

The bioenergy landscape of the future requires significant innovations in the field of engineering. This includes, but not limited to, developing technologies for the cost-effective harvest collection, preprocessing, storage, and transport of biomass, scaling up biochemical and thermochemical conversion pathways for full-scale commercialization, and ensuring that next-generation advanced biofuels are compatible with existing infrastructure. Due to their broad skill sets, mechanical engineers are uniquely qualified to address these needs and play a critical role in nearly all stages of the bioenergy value chain.
 
These specialists utilize their knowledge of materials, solid and fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, control, instrumentation, design, and manufacturing to develop robust, commercially viable bioenergy systems. Mechanical engineers help design and develop the industrial equipment and systems used to process and convert biomass into electric power, fuels, and chemicals at the biorefinery as well as design automotive engines optimized to run more efficiently on affordable, scalable, and sustainable biofuels.
 
At the middle levels, mechanical engineers work as staff specialists and should be experienced with designing mechanical systems for energy or automotive applications. A master’s degree in a professional engineering discipline is recommended. Significant experience in the field and professional licensure may be a substitute for additional education.