What Does a Mechanical Engineer Assistant Do?
Mechanical engineer assistants handle the hands-on and drafting side of mechanical engineering so the engineers can concentrate on design decisions. In a manufacturing plant, product development lab or HVAC design firm, they turn an engineer's markups into SolidWorks or AutoCAD drawings, build and instrument test rigs, run performance and stress tests, and record what the gauges and sensors show. They also order prototype parts from the machine shop, measure finished parts against the drawing and keep the bill of materials and change records current. The role sits between the shop floor and the engineering office.
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Engineering Laboratory Technician (Engineering Lab Technician), Engineering Technical Analyst, Engineering Technician (Engineering Tech), Engineering Technologist, Manufacturing Engineering Technician (Manufacturing Engineering Tech), Mechanical Designer, Mechanical Technician (Mechanical Tech), Process Engineering Technician (Process Engineering Tech).
Mechanical Engineer Assistant Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a mechanical engineer assistant include:
- Create 3D models and detail drawings in SolidWorks or AutoCAD from engineering sketches, applying dimensions and tolerances.
- Prepare drawing packages and request prototype parts from the machine, sheet metal or welding shops.
- Assemble and take apart prototypes, fixtures and test equipment with hand tools, power tools and torque wrenches.
- Set up tests with accelerometers, load cells, thermocouples and dataloggers to measure vibration, strength, temperature or flow.
- Run tests to the written procedure, read dials and meters, and log results in Excel or the lab's data system.
- Compare test data with the design specifications and summarize the results, with charts, for the responsible engineer.
- Inspect parts with calipers, micrometers and height gauges and report anything out of tolerance.
- Work out basic equipment sizing, such as fan or pump capacity, for an engineer to check and approve.
- Maintain the bill of materials, engineering change notices and revision history for each assembly.
- Support production technicians on the floor when a new fixture, jig or tool goes into use.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a mechanical engineer assistant, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Dassault Systemes SolidWorks and Autodesk AutoCAD for modeling and detail drawings
- Reading engineering drawings, including geometric dimensioning and tolerancing symbols
- Precision measurement with calipers, micrometers, dial indicators and gauge blocks
- Instrumentation and data acquisition: wiring sensors, configuring dataloggers and cleaning up the data
- Applied math and physics for basic stress, flow and heat transfer calculations, often worked in Excel
- Shop skills with hand and power tools, and some exposure to welding and machining
- Writing test reports that state the setup, the results and what went wrong, without padding
- Asking an engineer the right questions about a vague sketch before spending a day modeling the wrong part
Education and Training
The usual path is a two-year associate's degree in mechanical engineering technology, ideally from an ABET-accredited program, covering drafting, materials, manufacturing processes, fluid power and testing. Backgrounds vary in this occupation: 37 percent of workers report a bachelor's degree, 33 percent a post-secondary certificate and 14 percent an associate's degree. Some assistants are engineering students in co-op or internship roles, and others come from the trades with machining or maintenance experience. Employers usually train you on their CAD system and test procedures, and an associate-level SolidWorks certification can help an application. With experience you can advance to senior technician or designer, or to engineer after finishing a bachelor's degree.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $59,510 - $88,110 per year, with a median of $74,510.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians.
Mechanical engineer assistant roles provide a pathway into mechanical engineering careers. With further education and experience, assistants can advance to full mechanical engineer positions.
Mechanical Engineer Assistant Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $48,400 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $59,510 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $74,510 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $88,110 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $106,050 |
Highest-Paying States for Mechanical Engineer Assistants
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are Louisiana ($102,800), New Mexico ($97,560), Missouri ($92,150), California ($87,390), Connecticut ($82,660). Pay is lowest in Kansas ($55,390), South Dakota ($53,670), West Virginia ($47,660).
Median pay in all 44 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $60,350 |
| Arizona | $72,090 |
| California | $87,390 |
| Colorado | $77,090 |
| Connecticut | $82,660 |
| Delaware | $77,820 |
| Florida | $59,720 |
| Georgia | $73,870 |
| Idaho | $68,310 |
| Illinois | $77,020 |
| Indiana | $77,220 |
| Iowa | $71,670 |
| Kansas | $55,390 |
| Kentucky | $77,990 |
| Louisiana | $102,800 |
| Maine | $76,790 |
| Maryland | $79,180 |
| Massachusetts | $62,390 |
| Michigan | $68,170 |
| Minnesota | $63,990 |
| Mississippi | $70,570 |
| Missouri | $92,150 |
| Nebraska | $80,050 |
| Nevada | $72,950 |
| New Hampshire | $66,740 |
| New Jersey | $65,180 |
| New Mexico | $97,560 |
| New York | $78,210 |
| North Carolina | $62,360 |
| North Dakota | $76,440 |
| Ohio | $78,500 |
| Oklahoma | $61,480 |
| Oregon | $80,840 |
| Pennsylvania | $70,820 |
| Rhode Island | $81,600 |
| South Carolina | $69,580 |
| South Dakota | $53,670 |
| Tennessee | $62,270 |
| Texas | $76,610 |
| Utah | $61,870 |
| Virginia | $75,650 |
| Washington | $79,410 |
| West Virginia | $47,660 |
| Wisconsin | $67,850 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as mechanical engineering technologists and technicians about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 87% use email every day
- 82% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
- 77% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
- 74% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 70% wear safety gear such as gloves, safety glasses or a hard hat every day
- 60% usually work more than 40 hours a week
- 50% are on the phone every day
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree | 37% |
| Post-secondary certificate | 33% |
| Associate's degree | 14% |
| Some college | 9% |
Tools and Software Mechanical Engineer Assistants Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy hands-on work with tools, machines or the outdoors as well as analyzing problems and working with ideas.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Complex Problem Solving, Writing.
Knowledge areas used most: Engineering and Technology, Mechanical, Design, Mathematics, English Language.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 3 of 5, which means medium preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 17-3027.00 (Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.