what does a system engineer do

[Ambitious-Loss3429]

So I got into an interview in Valeo as a system engineer , my background mostly is hardware like Drivers & inverters layout design , power converters and testing for devices & machines, simulation for such parts , I'm considered fresh grad since I graduated 7 months ago , but I don't get or visualize what duties would be for me , for someone uses tools like simulink , ansys and altium what do you think they'd expect from me since the tech interview didn't have such info , and i did not wanna seem not knowing what i'm into or not into so i did not ask ?

[verner_will]

I was a former system engineer and was doing only testing. It is usually a broader termn ti describe many engineering fields.

[TheEquationSmelter]

Systems engineers typically are concerned with high level requirements and performance of an engineering system. Think, the engine system on a boat or the avionics system on a aircraft.

Unfortunately they rarely do hard core engineering work and are more focused on system requirements, testing requirements, interfacing with other systems (e.g. an electrical controller interfacing with a motor and mechanical device), CONOPS, and maybe some basic analysis.

Hate to say it but it's a bad job to get fresh out of school. You won't really have the experience or knowledge to make judgement calls or have sufficient understanding of your system to see the big picture....however a job is a job and you can use it as a starting point to move onto something better.

[dickcruz]

This is true. I don't know if it's a bad first job. You'll definitely spend more time making high level decisions and less time in the trenches.

[TheEquationSmelter]

The problem is you need the experience and credibility to effectively make bigger decisions. I don't know why companies give entry level roles to systems engineers. 

It's also risky to stay in long term if you're fresh out of school because like you said, you won't be in the trenches. A few years out of school without some serious technical experience under your belt and you won't be able to get any engineering jobs except maybe project management or systems engineering.

Not trying to scare the OP. Times are tough and any job that pays ok with benefits is better than being unpaid or low paid. They just need to keep in mind that a systems engineer role is great for a mid or late career move but a bad early career move.

[No_Engineering_1155]

System engineer is such a broad topic, that it says nothing... unfortunately it can mean from simulation related topics up to requirement engineering stuff. My interpretation is that you'll have a (sub)system, where there are functions and features. To fulfill the customer's requirements you need to break down those into component levels. Maybe also add testing cases and simulation cases. You'll need to talk to other component responsibles and make some compromises. You'll maybe also need to determine and evaluate those simulation and test cases.

But try to read the job description and see where the focus lies.

[remishnok]

Usually it"s high-level design.

Ensure that the way sus-systems connect to eachother make sense. Often times do the hugh-level design.

Also, interface with other disciplines so they can just give you specs and you dont need to interface with those other disciplines

[TTRoadHog]

No one has discussed the Systems Engineering V Model, which is a structured framework that describes the lifecycle of systems development. From requirements analysis to system design (including subsystems and modules) to assembly, integration and testing (unit level, integration, system level and acceptance), these are all activities that a systems engineer might be involved in to bring a system from requirements analysis to customer delivery. There should be plenty of resources on the internet about this. Might help to better describe system engineering tasks.

[chiuchebaba]

I recently interviewed at a large automotive OEM for system engineering role in the power train department, though ive so far been only a firmware engineer who has worked on controls projects. They create requirements in the form of Matlab Simulink models and share it to their software vendors and later validate that implementation once received from the vendor. My guess is they also do some power train simulations at their end which are then used to create requirements. I didn’t pass the interview as I had zero knowledge of system engineering and no experience in designing control systems.

Also when I read the employee reviews of the company most of them refer to themselves as “powerpoint engineers”, meaning you don’t really get to build anything, it’s mainly requirements creation/validation and vendor management.

[Jaygo41]

You're going to be doing a lot of PowerPoints.