Sensor engineering technician

Description

Sensor engineering technicians collaborate with sensor engineers to develop sensors, sensor systems, and products equipped with sensors. They build, test, maintain, and repair the sensor equipment.

Other titles

The following job titles also refer to sensor engineering technician:

assistant in sensor engineering
electronics sensor technician
sensor technician
sensor systems technician
sensor design technician
technician in electronic sensors
sensor engineering assistant
technician in sensor engineering
sensor and actuator technician
sensor development technician
electronic sensor technician
electronic sensor technologist

Minimum qualifications

An associate’s degree in electronics or a related field is generally the minimum required to work as a sensor engineering technician.

ISCO skill level

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

  • the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
  • the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
  • the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Sensor engineering technician is a Skill level 3 occupation.

Sensor engineering technician career path

Similar occupations

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to sensor engineering technician.

microelectronics engineering technician
microsystem engineering technician
electronics engineering technician
automation engineering technician
optoelectronic engineering technician

Long term prospects

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of sensor engineering technician. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of sensor engineering technician with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

microelectronics engineer
sensor engineer
microsystem engineer
medical device engineer
optoelectronic engineer

Essential knowledge and skills

Essential knowledge

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of sensor engineering technician.

  • Circuit diagrams: Read and comprehend circuit diagrams showing the connections between the devices, such as power and signal connections.
  • Electronic test procedures: Testing protocols that enable a variety of analyses of electronic systems, products, and components. These tests include the testing of electrical properties, such as voltage, current, resistance, capacitance, and inductance as well as the testing of specific electronic components, such as electron tubes, semiconductors, integrated circuits, and batteries. These tests include visual inspection, performance tests, environment tests, and safety tests.
  • Electronic equipment standards: The national and international quality and safety standards and regulations with regards to the use and manufacture of electronic equipment and its components, such as semiconductors and printed circuit boards.
  • Design drawings: Understand design drawings detailing the design of products, tools, and engineering systems.
  • Sensors: Sensors are transducers that can detect or sense characteristics in their environment. They detect changes in the apparatus or environment and provide a corresponding optical or electrical signal. Sensors are commonly divided in six classes: mechanical, electronic, thermal, magnetic, electrochemical, and optical sensors.
  • Electronics: The functioning of electronic circuit boards, processors, chips, and computer hardware and software, including programming and applications. Apply this knowledge to ensure electronic equipment runs smoothly.

Essential skills and competences

These skills are necessary for the role of sensor engineering technician.

  • Apply soldering techniques: Apply and work with a variety of techniques in the process of soldering, such as soft soldering, silver soldering, induction soldering, resistance soldering, pipe soldering, mechanical and aluminium soldering.
  • Inspect quality of products: Use various techniques to ensure the product quality is respecting the quality standards and specifications. Oversee defects, packaging and sendbacks of products to different production departments.
  • Solder electronics: Operate and use soldering tools and soldering iron, which supply high temperatures to melt the solder and to join electronic components.
  • Record test data: Record data that has been explicitly identified during preceding tests to verify that outputs of the test produce specific results or to review the subject’s reaction under exceptional or unusual input.
  • Assemble sensors: Mount chips on a sensor substrate and attach them using soldering or wafer bumping techniques.
  • Adjust engineering designs: Adjust designs of products or parts of products so that they meet requirements.
  • Align components: Align and lay out components in order to put them together correctly according to blueprints and technical plans.
  • Test sensors: Test sensors using appropriate equipment. Gather and analyse data. Monitor and evaluate system performance and take action if needed.
  • Meet deadlines: Ensure operative processes are finished at a previously agreed-upon time.
  • Read engineering drawings: Read the technical drawings of a product made by the engineer in order to suggest improvements, make models of the product or operate it.
  • Liaise with engineers: Collaborate with engineers to ensure common understanding and discuss product design, development and improvement.
  • Fasten components: Fasten components together according to blueprints and technical plans in order to create subassemblies or finished products.
  • Operate scientific measuring equipment: Operate devices, machinery, and equipment designed for scientific measurement. Scientific equipment consists of specialised measuring instruments refined to facilitate data acquisition.
  • Assist scientific research: Assist engineers or scientists with conducting experiments, performing analysis, developing new products or processes, constructing theory, and quality control.
  • Prepare production prototypes: Prepare early models or prototypes in order to test concepts and replicability possibilities. Create prototypes to assess for pre-production tests.

Optional knowledge and skills

Optional knowledge

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of sensor engineering technician. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

  • Electrical engineering: Understand electrical engineering, a field of engineering that deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism.
  • Microelectronics: Microelectronics is a subdiscipline of electronics and relates the study, design, and manufacture of small electronic components, such as microchips.
  • Firmware: Firmware is a software program with a read-only memory (ROM) and a set of instructions that is permanently inscribed on a hardware device. Firmware is commonly used in electronic systems such as computers, mobile phones, and digital cameras.
  • Digital camera sensors: Types of sensors used in digital cameras, such as charged coupled devices (CCD) and complementary metal oxide semiconductor sensors (CMOS).
  • Consumer electronics: The functioning of electronic consumer goods such as TVs, radios, cameras and other audio and video equipment.
  • CAE software: The software to perform computer-aided engineering (CAE) analysis tasks such as Finite Element Analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics.
  • Microprocessors: Computer processors on a microscale that integrate the computer central processing unit (CPU) on a single chip.
  • Mechanical engineering: Discipline that applies principles of physics, engineering and materials science to design, analyse, manufacture and maintain mechanical systems.
  • Microassembly: The assembly of nano, micro or mesoscale systems and components with dimensions between 1 µm to 1 mm. Because of the need for precision on a microscale, micro assemblies require reliable visual alignment equipment, such as ion beam imaging systems and stereo electronic microscopes, as well as precision tools and machines, such as microgrippers. The microsystems are assembled according to techniques of doping, thin films, etching, bonding, microlithography, and polishing.
  • Cad software: The computer-aided design (CAD) software for creating, modifying, analysing or optimising a design.
  • Precision measuring instruments: Instruments used for precision measuring or manufacture, such as micrometers, calipers, gauges, scales, and microscopes.
  • Control engineering: Subdiscipline of engineering that focuses on controlling the behaviour of systems through the use of sensors and actuators.
  • Microsensors: Devices with a size smaller than 1 mm that can convert a non-electric signal, such as temperature, into an electrical signal. Because of their size, microsensors offer better accuracy, range, and sensitivity compared to larger sensors.

Optional skills and competences

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of sensor engineering technician. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

  • Wear cleanroom suit: Wear garments appropriate for environments that require a high level of cleanliness to control the level of contamination.
  • Monitor machine operations: Observe machine operations and evaluate product quality thereby ensuring conformity to standards.
  • Resolve equipment malfunctions: Identify, report and repair equipment damage and malfunctions; communicate with field representatives and manufacturers to obtain repair and replacement components.
  • Perform data analysis: Collect data and statistics to test and evaluate in order to generate assertions and pattern predictions, with the aim of discovering useful information in a decision-making process.
  • Perform test run: Perform tests putting a system, machine, tool or other equipment through a series of actions under actual operating conditions in order to assess its reliability and suitability to realise its tasks, and adjust settings accordingly.
  • Maintain sensor equipment: Diagnose and detect malfunctions in sensor components, systems, and products using sensors and remove, replace, or repair these components when necessary. Execute preventative equipment maintenance tasks, such as storing the components in clean, dust-free, and non-humid spaces.
  • Create technical plans: Create detailed technical plans of machinery, equipment, tools and other products.
  • 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.
  • Write technical reports: Compose technical customer reports understandable for people without technical background.
  • Use precision tools: Use electronic, mechanical, electric, or optical precision tools for precision work.
  • Apply technical communication skills: Explain technical details to non-technical customers, stakeholders, or any other interested parties in a clear and concise manner.
  • Keep records of work progress: Maintain records of the progress of the work including time, defects, malfunctions, etc.
  • Program firmware: Program permanent software with read-only memory (ROM) on a hardware device, such as an integrated circuit.
  • Operate precision machinery: Operate machinery used for the making of small systems or components with a high level of precision.

ISCO group and title

3114 – Electronics engineering technicians


References
  1. Sensor engineering technician – ESCO
Last updated on February 14, 2023