If you’re having difficulty fitting a new project into your team’s bandwidth, it might be time to consider hiring a new engineer. When the job’s posted and the applications start pouring in, you want to make sure you’re getting the best engineering candidate, right?
Engineering is a highly technical and diverse industry. When you need to fill an open engineering position, it’s important to understand many commonly used engineering phrases and terms. To engineers and people in the industry, these terms are commonplace, but they might not be to others.
At Austin Nichols, we want to make sure you are getting the right engineering candidate for the job. To do this, we’ve put together a list of top engineering terms you need to know before conducting an interview.
25 Engineering Terms Recruiters Need to Know Before Interviewing
- Supply Chain: The complete flow of a product, from ideation to manufacturing to distribution to purchase.
- Lean Manufacturing: A business principle limiting the number of unnecessary steps in a production chain to maximize efficiency.
- Inventory Management: Gathering, storing, and profiting from raw goods and products. Commonly used in industrial and civil engineering.
- Six Sigma: A business method involving 6 steps to increase production performance.
- Benchmarking: Measuring business processes and performance and comparing to industry standards.
- Human-Computer Interaction: The study of computer use and design.
- Human Systems Integration (HSI): The process of developing new systems to advance human capabilities and limitations affordably. Popular in mechanical engineering.
- Product Development: The process of bringing a product to market, from conception to release.
- Simulation: Recreating and testing stimuli using computer-based modeling to test reactions and changes over time.
- Prototyping: Developing designs and samples of an early model of a product.
- High Volume Manufacturing: The full production of products on a mass scale. Commonly known as mass production.
- Low-Volume Manufacturing: Full production of specialized parts or products, usually with a maximum volume of 100,000 or fewer. This is common for large equipment and machinery.
- Product Part Approval Process (PPAP): Requirements used to ensure engineered parts and specifications meet industry standards. Typically used in the automotive supply chain.
- Additive Manufacturing: The process of building from a CAD or three-dimensional model. More commonly known as 3D Printing.
- Capital Projects: A project to improve efficiency and increase production capabilities for a manufacturing plant or site. These projects include manufacturers procuring major equipment or machinery, performing maintenance on a site or facility, or increasing the size of a facility.
- Micro Processing: Processing information and data into a single integrated circuit known as a microprocessor.
- Machine Operation: Automated functions a machine is designed to perform using a computer.
- Data Management: The process of gathering, analyzing, sharing, and storing data as a valuable resource.
- Manufacturing: The process of making goods to be sold. Oftentimes, products can be mass-produced depending on demand.
- Innovation Design: The process of improving existing technologies and products.
- International Organization of Standardization (ISO): An international, non-government group established in 1947 to set worldwide industrial, commercial, and proprietary standards in manufacturing.
- Finite Element Analysis (FEA): Method used to digitally predict how a product will respond to real-life forces, such as changes in temperature and vibrations.
- Machine Learning: Using computer algorithms to process data and improve functionality automatically.
- Material Handling: Moving materials and products a short distance, either automatically or manually, typically within a warehouse or between a warehouse to a transportation vehicle. Deliberate action is taken to ensure protection, storage, and control throughout the whole process.
- Custom Engineering: Tailoring engineering solutions to a specific problem or issue. This can include new product development or innovations to an existing one.
Why Should a Hiring Manager Know These Engineering Terms?
As a hiring manager, your goal is to determine the most qualified engineer for the role through your recruitment and interview process. These common terms can help you stay informed and understand some of the more in-depth conversations that might occur.
Engineering is a highly diverse field, and as such, requires interviewers to have a broad understanding of engineering skills and terminology. If it seems a little overwhelming, consider hiring an engineering recruitment firm.
When you work with Austin Nichols for your engineering recruitment and staffing needs, the stress of hiring the right candidate disappears. We help you determine the technical skills needed for an engineering project and manage the hiring process from start to finish. Our team also assists in providing clarity to candidates and hiring managers and offering extensions and counteroffers when needed.
Austin Nichols is the top engineering recruitment firm in Kansas City. Our exceptional team is ready to help you recruit engineers and get you the right fit. Call us at 816-471-5575 to get started.
