Profession materials engineer

Materials engineers research and design new or improved materials for a diverse number of applications. They analyse the composition of materials, conduct experiments, and develop new materials for industry-specific use that can range from rubber, to textiles, glass, metals, and chemicals. They advise companies in damage assessments, quality assurance of materials, and recycling of materials.

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Personality Type

• Investigative / Realistic

Knowledge

• Materials science

  Field of science and engineering that researches new materials on the basis of their structure, properties, synthesis, and performance for a variety of purposes, including increasing fire resistance of construction materials.

• Chemistry

  The composition, structure, and properties of substances and the processes and transformations that they undergo; the uses of different chemicals and their interactions, production techniques, risk factors, and disposal methods.

• Thermoplastic materials

  Types of materials of which the physical state changes when exposed to heat, as well as the specific manner in which the materials react to heat exposure.

• Engineering principles

  The engineering elements like functionality, replicability, and costs in relation to the design and how they are applied in the completion of engineering projects.

• Material mechanics

  The behaviour of solid objects when subjected to stresses and strains, and the methods to calculate these stresses and strains.

• Engineering processes

  The systematic approach to the development and maintenance of engineering systems.

• Analytical chemistry

  Instruments and methods used to separate, identify and quanitfy matter - the chemical components of natural and artificial materials and solutions.

• Manufacturing processes

  The steps required through which a material is transformed into a product, its development and full-scale manufacturing.

• Composite materials

  The properties of different materials developped in a laboratory, their usage per type of products, and how to create them.

Skills

• Develop material testing procedures

  Develop testing protocols in collaboration with engineers and scientists to enable a variety of analyses such as environmental, chemical, physical, thermal, structural, resistance or surface analyses on a wide range of materials such as metals, ceramics or plastics.

• Integrate new products in manufacturing

  Assist with the integration of new systems, products, methods, and components in the production line. Ensure that production workers are properly trained and follow the new requirements.

• Create solutions to problems

  Solve problems which arise in planning, prioritising, organising, directing/facilitating action and evaluating performance. Use systematic processes of collecting, analysing, and synthesising information to evaluate current practice and generate new understandings about practice.

• Work with chemicals

  Handle chemicals and select specific ones for certain processes. Be aware of the reactions which arise from combining them.

• Perform scientific research

  Gain, correct or improve knowledge about phenomena by using scientific methods and techniques, based on empirical or measurable observations.

• Assess environmental impact

  Monitor environmental impacts and carry out assessments in order to identify and to reduce the organisation's environmental risks while taking costs into account.

• Adjust engineering designs

  Adjust designs of products or parts of products so that they meet requirements.

• Perform chemical experiments

  Perform chemical experiments with the aim of testing various products and substances in order to draw conclusions in terms of product viability and replicability.

• Test chemical samples

  Perform the testing procedures on the already prepared chemical samples, by using the necessary equipment and materials. Chemical sample testing involves operations such as pipetting or diluting schemes.

• Apply health and safety standards

  Adhere to standards of hygiene and safety established by respective authorities.

• Analyse production processes for improvement

  Analyse production processes leading toward improvement. Analyse in order to reduce production losses and overall manufacturing costs.

• Approve engineering design

  Give consent to the finished engineering design to go over to the actual manufacturing and assembly of the product.

• Forecast organisational risks

  Analyse the operations and actions of a company in order to assess their repercussions, possible risks for the company, and to develop suitable strategies to address these.

• Test materials

  Test the composition, characteristics, and use of materials in order to create new products and applications. Test them under normal and extraordinary conditions.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB