Technical development engineers are engineering professionals who tend to be responsible for big picture issues, such as design, construction, and the effectiveness and efficiency of regular operations. Individuals who practice as technical development engineers in community or civil engineering contexts often are responsible for integrating community feedback and performing reviews to ensure that projects meets standards of quality and community requirements. When technical engineers work in the private sector, on the other hand, they tend to be responsible for seeing that projects meet company standards of quality and of regulatory compliance and also might oversee design and construction initiatives, as well as participate in task delegation, recruiting, and in other aspects of employee management.
To become a technical development engineer, it usually is necessary to earn an undergraduate degree in an engineering field. Some industries like the pharmaceutical industry, however, may require more field-specific areas of concentration. In order to become a technical development engineer, it also is important to have at least five years of experience specifically in development, and for senior development engineers more experience and education usually is required.
A person who wants to become a technical development engineer should decide early in his or her academic career in which industry he or she would like to work since this decision can affect the courses he or she takes. For instance, a person who wants to become a technical development engineer in the software industry needs to take courses specifically in computer engineering, while a person who is interested in working in a medical field should take medical engineering classes and become familiar with medical regulations. By enrolling in the right kind of program, an aspiring technical development engineer also can engage in internships, which allow him or her to get a head start in a career, making it easier to find work after college.
To become a technical development engineer, it is important to be familiar with all aspects of the development process. In other words, a professional in this field should be able to oversee and optimize all functions that occur from the moment procedures and projects are designed to the stage when projects are complete and undergoing quality evaluation. For this reason, technical development engineers usually begin as assistant or junior engineers to more established professionals and make their way into higher level positions as they become more and more familiar with different workflow processes and how they impact one another. People who become senior technical development engineers often have advanced education in their fields are able to provide expert consultation at all levels of engineering processes.