Marine Systems Engineer

A rowboat is a rather simple affair: It has a hull, two seats, and two oars. It may be easy to build and maintain, but very few Sailors would choose a rowboat for a long trip across the sea. Instead, they’d sail in a vessel full of high-tech equipment handled by a Marine Systems Engineer. A Marine Systems Engineer creates the heating, steering, and engine systems, and so much more.

As a Marine Systems Engineer, you can work for a manufacturing company and develop new vessels. Or, you can work for the military or some other company that owns a large number of ships. In the latter case, your job is to maintain the equipment that has already been crafted, tested, and installed.

To build new systems, you create a series of drawings that detail how each piece should work and where it all should be located on the vessel. These are more than just sketches. They’re detailed plans that Contractors can use in their work. When these drawings are done and manufacturing begins, you supervise and make sure everything is moving along according to plan.

To manage old ships, you keep detailed records of how old everything is and what types of problems they have experienced in the past. Sometimes, you hop aboard and run a series of tests. Other times, you collect reports from Captains, Sailors, and Mechanics that detail all of the onboard problems. If you spot a problem you can fix, you create a series of drawings that outline what should be done, and you supervise as Contractors do the work.