Research & Development Engineer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Research & Development Engineer researches and invents new methods or improves existing ones within engineering and manufacturing.
Job Outlook
There were 292 Research & Development Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 9698 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Mechanical Engineer industry, which includes the Research & Development Engineer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Research & Development Engineer jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $109,665.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $104,783.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Research & Development Engineer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $83,562.
Education and Experience
Posted Research & Development Engineer jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 70.24% |
| Master's Degree | 43.65% |
| Doctoral Degree | 23.29% |
| Other | 2.65% |
Posted Research & Development Engineer jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 23.17% |
| 3 to 5 years | 41.64% |
| 6 to 8 years | 20.71% |
| 9+ years | 14.48% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Research & Development Engineer positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (39.69%)
- Research (37.77%)
- Innovation (31.9%)
- Problem Solving (29.11%)
- Leadership (21.1%)
- Management (20.9%)
- Operations (17.54%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (16.42%)
- Presentations (15.8%)
- Writing (14.55%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- New Product Development (38.76%)
- Python (Programming Language) (21.01%)
- R (Programming Language) (24.79%)
- Medical Devices (23.43%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Scripting (4.2%)
- Test Planning (6.48%)
- Software Engineering (12.18%)
- Verification And Validation (7.52%)
- Simulations (11.17%)
- Research And Development (14.29%)
- Process Development (8.61%)
- Product Design (9.48%)
- Prototyping (15.96%)
- Physics (12.54%)
- MATLAB (12.52%)
- Mechanical Engineering (28.41%)
- Machine Learning (8.1%)
- Manufacturing Processes (10.43%)
- Project Management (17.85%)
- ISO 13485 Standard (4.81%)
- Marketing (11.74%)
- Electronics (5.03%)
- Debugging (5.9%)
- Linux (4.14%)
- SolidWorks (CAD) (18.6%)
- Commercialization (9.54%)
- Computer Science (15.23%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (8.29%)
- Chemical Engineering (9.53%)
- C++ (Programming Language) (12.86%)
- Automation (9.14%)
- Biomedical Engineering (13.1%)
- Data Analysis (13.59%)
- Software Development (10.09%)
- Chemistry (7.69%)
- Electrical Engineering (20.98%)
- Systems Engineering (8.51%)
- Algorithms (8.43%)
- C (Programming Language) (7.48%)
- 3D Modeling (7.11%)
- Computer-Aided Design (18.09%)
- Quality Management Systems (7.28%)
- Workflow Management (6.4%)
- Product Requirements (4.02%)
- Materials Science (11.28%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Medical Device Development (6.98%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- R (Programming Language) (72.83%)
- Python (Programming Language) (61.74%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Research & Development Engineer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- RD Engineer
- Principal Engineer
- Engineering Intern
- Research and Development Engineer
- Research and Development Software Engineer
- Lead Software Engineer
- Mechanical Engineer
- Systems Engineer
- Packaging Engineer
- Research and Development Technician
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Product Development Engineer
- Manufacturing Process Engineer
- Automotive Engineer
- Product Design Engineer
- Research Scientist
- Mechanical Product Design Engineer
- Optical / Laser Engineer
- Aerospace Engineer
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Research & Development Engineer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Sandia Corporation (278)
- Boston Scientific (275)
- Zimmer Biomet (233)
- General Motors (217)
- Ansys (207)
- Medtronic (205)
- Johnson & Johnson (184)
- TE Connectivity (172)
- GAF Materials Corporation (168)
- Honeywell International (167)
North Carolina
- TE Connectivity (29)
- Hitachi (24)
- ABB (22)
- General Motors (17)
- BD (16)
- Teleflex (13)
- Cook Medical (10)
- Ansys (7)
- Duke University (7)
- GAF Materials Corporation (6)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Materials Science and Engineering Graduate Certificates
- Nanoengineering Master's Degrees
- Textile Engineering Master's Degrees
- Textiles Master's Degrees
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.