Development Engineer
 
UCI Series Concepts

Class Specifications - E.20
Principal Development Engineer (7180)
Senior Development Engineer (7181)
Senior Development Engineer Supervisor (7186)
Associate Development Engineer (7182)
Associate Development Engineer - Supervisor (7187)
Assistant Development Engineer (7183)
Junior Development Engineer (7184)

May, 1972
 
SERIES CONCEPT

The Development Engineer performs and/or supervises the performance of design
engineering for laboratory and experimental facilities, equipment, and
instrument systems; supervises and/or coordinates the construction, assembly,
and testing of laboratory and experimental facilities, equipment, and
instrument systems, and performs other related duties as required.

Positions in this series are characterized by the application of theoretical
and/or mathematical approaches in determining the feasibility of engineering
designs with consideration of such factors as system effectiveness,
reliability, configuration, and cost.

Incumbents typically are assigned responsibility for the coordination of the
engineering aspects of research projects involving the design, construction,
assembly, and test of experimental equipment and instrument systems; provide
professional engineering information and advice to principal investigators
and/or other faculty and research personnel with administrative responsibility
for the research program or teaching facility; act as engineering liaison
officer in relationships with investigators, shop personnel, vendors, and
extramural funding agencies; design or supervise the design of electrical,
mechanical, electronic, and/or optical instruments and of computer-associated
systems and equipment; supervise or perform the recording and reduction of
test data for instrument design and evaluation purposes; assemble and
evaluate information and prepare reports with respect to feasibility,
engineering design criteria, and performance of instrument systems.

The development engineering series includes electrical, electronic,
mechanical, and industrial engineering specialties. The fields of application
include the physical sciences, engineering, oceanography, biological
sciences and medicine, and newly emerging interdisciplinary teaching and
research efforts. Other branches of engineering and fields of application
may be included, when equivalent technical knowledges and skills are
required or are recognized as distinct occupations.

CLASS CONCEPTS

Principal Development Engineer

Under general direction, incumbents are responsible to a principal
investigator or research facility administrator for planning, organizing, and
supervising the work of professional engineering and support staffs engaged
in design, construction, and test of laboratory facilities, equipment, and
instrument systems; represent the officer or researcher to whom they are
responsible at meetings and conferences involving campus, University, and
extramural funding agency levels of authority in matters related to
engineering design considerations and financial requirements dependent on
engineering design considerations; carry major responsibility for
accomplishment of research objectives in relationships with investigators,
manufacturers, contractors, and University staff members as a principal
assistant to the faculty investigator or research administrator in charge.

Examples of assignments allocated to this level of difficulty and
responsibility are:

Supervisor of the professional engineering and technical support staff
of a research and development laboratory facility, providing biomedical
engineering services to teaching and research units in the health
sciences, with responsibility for all engineering specialties engaged,
activities of technical and shop personnel, and successful fiscal
management of the enterprise.

Supervisor of the professional engineering and technical support staff
of an environmental physiology research laboratory facility, providing
engineering services for biological experiments involving major
investments in airborne bio-instrumentation systems, with
responsibility for all engineering specialties engaged, activities of
technical and shop personnel, negotiation and monitoring of contracted
services, coordination of scheduling commitments with experimental
objectives and technical design criteria, and successful fiscal
management.

Supervisor of the professional engineering and technical support staff
of a marine physical research laboratory facility, providing engineering
services for major research projects in the field of underwater
communications, with responsibility for all engineering specialties
engaged, activities Of technical and shop personnel, negotiation and
monitoring of contracted services, coordination of scheduling
commitments with experimental objectives and technical design criteria,
and successful technical achievements within time and financial
constraints.

Principal level assignments typically carry engineering management
responsibility covering all engineering specialties engaged, which
necessitates the effective integration of all sub-systems and engineering
fields, such as mechanical, electrical, and electronic.  The professional
engineering staff supervised typically includes three or more Development
Engineers, including one or more at the Associate level.

Senior Development Engineer

Under direction, incumbents assist a campus or research facility administrator,
principal investigator, or Principal Development Engineer, in planning,
organizing, supervising, and/or performing the work of a professional
engineering staff engaged in a specialized engineering phase of a teaching
and/or research program; represent the officer to whom they are responsible at
meetings and conferences involving campus, University, and extramural funding
agency levels of authority in matters related to engineering design
considerations and financial requirements dependent on engineering design
considerations; carry major responsibility for accomplishment of research
objectives in relationships with investigators, manufacturers, contractors and
University staff members, as a senior assistant to the Principal Development
Engineer or faculty investigator in charge.

Examples of assignments allocated to this level of difficulty and
responsibility are:

Supervisor of one of the engineering specialties (electrical,
electronic, mechanical, or industrial) of the engineering staff of a
major research program, in which two or more engineering specialties
are required and recognized.

Supervisor of the professional engineering and technical support staff
of a teaching and/or research facility, providing engineering services
to faculty members and investigators, with responsibility for the
engineering specialty engaged, activities of technical and shop
personnel, and successful technical achievements within time and
financial constraints.

Specialist, advisor, and consultant on engineering design problems in a
highly specialized field of application, with responsibility for planning
and designing large and/or novel engineering systems, instrumentation
systems, or computer-related systems.

Senior level assignments typically carry responsibility for the supervision
of Associate, Assistant, and/or Junior Development Engineers, as well as
technical and shop personnel involved in the construction, assembly, and
test of equipment and instruments. Non-supervisory assignments at the Senior
level are reserved for specialists, who are widely recognized and consulted by
University staff members for their expert knowledge of an engineering
specialty and/or field of application. The criterion for allocation of a non-
supervisory assignment to the senior level may be met by one of the following:

Successful application of technical knowledges and skills in an
engineering specialty to a variety of research efforts, involving the
integration of substantial scientific subject matter knowledge and
engineering expertise.

Successful application of technical knowledges and  skills in more than
one engineering specialty to a highly specialized field of application,
involving the integration of substantial scientific subject matter
knowledge and engineering expertise.

Senior Development Engineer Supervisor

Performs range of duties outlined in the Class Concepts for Senior Development Engineer
and, in addition, meets the HEERA requirements for designation as a supervisory
employee.

Associate Development Engineer

Under direction, incumbents perform all or many of the duties indicated for
the series under the Series Concept.  This is the full professional level at
which incumbents are expected to operate rather independently in a specialized
engineering phase of a major teaching and/or research effort.  Supervision
over such positions is usually exercised by a Senior or Principal Development
Engineer or by a faculty investigator.

Examples of assignments allocated to this level of difficulty and
responsibility are:

Design engineer (electrical, electronic, or mechanical) for an
instrumentation system required in support of a major research
effort involving substantial investments in staff time and equipment,
with responsibility for engineering liaison and coordination through
construction, assembly, and test.

Design engineer (electrical, electronic, or mechanical) and supervisor
of a technical support staff of a teaching and/or research laboratory
facility, providing engineering services to faculty members and
investigators, with responsibility for the engineering specialty
engaged, activities of technical and shop personnel, and successful
technical achievements within time and financial constraints.

Associate level assignments typically carry responsibility for supervision
and/or coordination of technical and shop personnel involved in drafting,
construction, assembly, and test of experimental equipment.  These assignments
typically do not carry responsibility for supervision of other professional
engineers, although this kind of responsibility is not precluded in a training
and development assignment leading to a Senior level position.  Associate
level assignments typically require concentration in a scientific field of
application where scientific subject matter knowledge relevant to research
objectives and methodology is of great value in understanding and
establishing engineering design criteria.  This kind of knowledge of the
field of application is usually attained through several years of experience
as a Junior and/or Assistant Development Engineer in the specific field of
application.

The examples cited above are typical for teaching and/or research laboratory
facilities. Other kinds of professional engineering endeavor may be recognized
at the Associate level when they involve comparable technical skills and
knowledges in such applications as engineering systems analysis, engineering
feasibility analysis, and operations research.

Associate Development Engineer – Supervisor

Performs range of duties outlined in the Class Concepts for Associate Development
Engineer and, in addition, meets the HEERA requirements for designation as a
supervisory employee.

Assistant Development Engineer

Under general supervision, incumbents design and prepare engineering plans
and specifications for novel laboratory equipment and instruments; coordinate
construction, assembly, and laboratory and field testing of equipment and
instruments; and participate in the engineering and mathematical analysis of
experimental data or in the mathematical solution of physical and engineering
problems. Assignments at this level are expected to be of moderate difficulty
and responsibility, with work subject to checking and review by a licensed
engineer or other professional engineer of comparable qualifications.

Incumbents typically are expected to progress to the class of Associate
Development Engineer.

Junior Development Engineer

Under supervision, incumbents perform entry level professional engineering
work. Incumbents make design calculations and cost of material estimates;
assemble and calibrate laboratory equipment and instruments; set up a variety
of test samples and run routine tests; collect and reduce experimental data
and analyze results of tests using engineering principles and mathematical
techniques; participate in preparation of technical reports, and demonstrate
engineering laboratory techniques and procedures to new technical staff
members and/or graduate students.

This is the entry level class for graduates in engineering. Assignments are
structured to provide training experience under supervision of a licensed
engineer or other professional engineer of comparable qualifications.
Incumbents typically are expected to progress to the class of Assistant
Development Engineer.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Principal Development Engineer

Graduation from college with major work in engineering and six years of
engineering experience in the planning, development, and construction of
engineering systems including three years of specialized design work or
an equivalent combination of additional education and experience.

Senior Development Engineer

Graduation from college with major work in engineering and five years of
engineering experience in the planning, development, and construction of
engineering systems, including two years in specialized design work or
an equivalent combination of additional education and experience.

Associate Development Engineer

Graduation from college with major work in engineering and three years of
engineering experience including one year of responsible design work or
an equivalent combination of additional education and experience.

Assistant Development Engineer

Graduation from college with major work in engineering and two years of
engineering experience or an equivalent combination of additional education
and experience.

Junior Development Engineer

Graduation from college with major work in engineering.

Note:  In all of the above qualification standards, a California professional
engineering license may be substituted for the B.S. degree in engineering.
A B.S. or higher degree in physics may be substituted for the B.S. degree
in engineering.