Using engineering techniques to bring new products to life or redesign existing products.
This occupation is found in cross sectors such as aerospace, automotive, motorsport, maritime and other product design engineering or manufacturing sectors. Employers may be directly involved in these activities or as a service provider, original equipment manufacturer or approved solutions provider in large or small to medium organisations providing services such as system design or development, product or component design or development. Products can form part of any mechanical, electrical or electromechanical systems, assemblies, components or complete integrated packages. Design and development of any products, whether they be concepts or approved for manufacture, must conform to appropriate standards and legislation, be environmentally and sustainability informed, and have a design considered approach to the end-to-end life cycle. To design or develop components, products or systems the engineer must be able to understand and apply core fundamentals in mathematics and scientific principles. It is typical for engineers in the industry to understand fundamentals principles such as calculus, equations, integration and differentiation, estimation, data collection and modelling, materials, international system of units, forces, mechanics and electrical and electronic theory. In a number of cases, engineers will have a deep understanding in a number of these areas.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to be able to plan and lead projects or other relevant programmes of work that provides critical analysis, continuous improvement and problem solving to support research, design and development activities. As part of the development of new products and technology, designers and engineers have to analyse requirements and consider any legal implications and limitations to ensure conformity to national or international legislation, standards or directives as well as complying with customer requirements. It is imperative that material properties, capabilities and failures are understood and recognised to allow appropriate material selection. Product design and development engineers use a range of computer packages in order to complete the design or development activity efficiently and effectively including presenting their conceptual ideas. They utilise cutting edge technology to realise a project from initial concept studies to integrated analysis of a complete system. This is made possible with the introduction of advanced Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software packages and the availability of Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) software packages to support the design and development process. Complex, rigorous and extensive testing is utilised to reach the optimum of design and therefore can speed up the design and testing process through the use of simulation packages such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). It is the job of the engineer to design, validate and maintain the mechanical, electrical or integrated system components to ensure they meet the required specification and customer requirements including taking into account how they may interact with other components or systems that could impact on factors such as safety, quality, reliability, performance, power, noise, vibration, harshness, speed, weight, heat generation, ingress of foreign bodies, signal interference and cyber security, are the day to day dealings of an engineer in this field. They must also consider environmental and sustainability when undertaking design and development activities such as material selection, recycling and reusability options The use of physical tools, software and simulation tools and utilising technologies for test, diagnostic and telemetry instruments are fundamental to carrying out tasks associated with designing, developing, testing, building, installing, verification testing and final release of products and any associated equipment or systems.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation will report to a senior manager or director and will normally be part of a multi-disciplinary team for example as a leader or member of a specialist project team that could include personnel from a range of functional areas such as senior design engineers, stress engineers, materials engineers, integration engineers, manufacturing engineers, quality engineers, production engineers, cost engineers, procurement managers or test engineers, maintenance engineer or installation and commissioning teams. This occupation can be plant based, office based, working in the field or a mixture of all of these areas. Some sectors may require the research or design engineers to work outside, such as at outdoor test facilities or in harsh environments.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for ensuring the design, development and optimisation of mechanical or electrical systems, component or product performance, equipment integration or reliability and compliance of systems. Product design and development engineers will also be responsible for identifying and supporting opportunities for cost savings, efficiency and continued improvement in a business environment. They will exercise considerable judgement and autonomy for the work they undertake coupled with a high-level of personal decision making and influence, setting out recommendations and potential options to the employer or customer.
This is a summary of the key things that you – the apprentice and your employer need to know about your end-point assessment (EPA). You and your employer should read the EPA plan for the full details. It has information on assessment method requirements, roles and responsibilities, and re-sits and re-takes.
An EPA is an assessment at the end of your apprenticeship. It will assess you against the knowledge, skills, and behaviours (KSBs) in the occupational standard. Your training will cover the KSBs. The EPA is your opportunity to show an independent assessor how well you can carry out the occupation you have been trained for.
Your employer will choose an end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) to deliver the EPA. Your employer and training provider should tell you what to expect and how to prepare for your EPA.
The length of the training for this apprenticeship is typically 42 months. The EPA period is typically 6 months.
The overall grades available for this apprenticeship are:
The EPA gateway is when the EPAO checks and confirms that you have met any requirements required before you start the EPA. You will only enter the gateway when your employer says you are ready.
The gateway requirements for your EPA are:
For the product design and development engineer (degree), the qualification required is:
BEng Honours or BSc Honours degree accredited by an Engineering Council licensed Professional Engineering Institution (PEI). Employers may use a degree that intends to get accreditation - a PEI must be involved and consulted on content from the outset.
Project with report
You will complete a project and write a report. You will be asked to complete a project. The title and scope must be agreed with the EPAO at the gateway. The report should be a maximum of 9000 words (with a 10% tolerance).
You will have 20 weeks to complete the project and submit the report to the EPAO.
You need to prepare and give a presentation to an independent assessor. Your presentation slides and any supporting materials should be submitted at the same time as the project output. The presentation with questions will last at least 60 minutes. The independent assessor will ask at least 5 questions about the project and presentation.
Professional discussion underpinned by a portfolio of evidence
You will have a professional discussion with an independent assessor. It will last 60 minutes. They will ask you at least 10 questions. The questions will be about certain aspects of your occupation. You need to compile a portfolio of evidence before the EPA gateway. You can use it to help answer the questions.
You should speak to your employer if you have a query that relates to your job.
You should speak to your training provider if you have any questions about your training or EPA before it starts.
You should receive detailed information and support from the EPAO before the EPA starts. You should speak to them if you have any questions about your EPA once it has started.Reasonable adjustments
If you have a disability, a physical or mental health condition or other special considerations, you may be able to have a reasonable adjustment that takes this into account. You should speak to your employer, training provider and EPAO and ask them what support you can get. The EPAO will decide if an adjustment is appropriate.
This apprenticeship aligns with IMechE for Incorporated Engineer
Please contact the professional body for more details.
This apprenticeship aligns with IET for Incorporated Engineer
Please contact the professional body for more details.
| Version | Change detail | Earliest start date | Latest start date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Occupational standard, end-point assessment plan and funding band revised but remained the same. | 04/04/2024 | Not set |
| 1.0 | Approved for delivery | 12/11/2014 | 03/04/2024 |
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