What Does an Electrical Engineer Do?
The disciplines electrical engineers actually work in — PCB design, embedded systems, power electronics, automation and RF — and how to pick the right specialist.
Updated · 8 min read
Electrical engineers design, test and maintain the systems that move or process electrical energy and information. In practice the title covers a very wide range of day-to-day work: one engineer may spend the week routing a six-layer board, another commissioning a substation, another writing firmware for a battery management system. Knowing which slice of the field you actually need is the single biggest factor in hiring the right person.
The core disciplines
PCB and hardware design
Schematic capture, component selection, multi-layer stack-ups, signal- and power-integrity analysis, and design-for-manufacture reviews. The deliverable is usually a validated board that passes EMC and survives production.
Embedded systems and firmware
Microcontroller selection, bring-up, drivers, RTOS integration, communication stacks (CAN, Modbus, BLE, MQTT) and the test rigs that prove the hardware and firmware behave together.
Power electronics
Converters, inverters, battery management, motor drives and thermal design — the work that decides efficiency, size and safety in anything that handles real current.
Industrial automation and controls
PLC programming, SCADA and HMI development, instrumentation, interlock logic and factory/site acceptance testing for production lines and utilities.
Power systems and electrical installations
Load studies, protection coordination, single-line diagrams, cable sizing, earthing and compliance with IEC or NEC standards for buildings, plants and renewable sites.
RF, test and compliance
Antenna and RF front-end design, pre-compliance testing, EMC debugging and preparing a product for certification in its target markets.
A typical project lifecycle
- Requirements and specification — electrical, environmental, regulatory and cost constraints.
- Architecture and feasibility — topology choices, key component selection, risk areas.
- Detailed design — schematics, layout, firmware, control logic, calculations.
- Prototype and bring-up — bench testing, measurement, debugging, design iteration.
- Validation and compliance — EMC, safety, thermal, environmental and functional testing.
- Transfer to production — DFM review, test fixtures, documentation and support.
Electrical vs. electronics engineering
Electrical engineering traditionally covers higher-power systems — generation, distribution, machines and drives. Electronics engineering focuses on low-power circuits, semiconductors, PCBs and embedded systems. The boundary is blurry, and most product companies need both: a power stage designed by one specialist and a control board designed by another.
What skills to look for when hiring
- Evidence of shipped hardware, not just simulations — boards that reached production.
- Fluency with the relevant standards (IEC 61010, IEC 61508, CISPR/EN EMC, NEC/IEC installation codes).
- Toolchain depth: Altium, KiCad, OrCAD, LTspice/PLECS, MATLAB/Simulink, TIA Portal, Studio 5000.
- Clear documentation habits — a design nobody can maintain is a liability.
- Test-first thinking: how they plan to prove the design works before it ships.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a full-time engineer or a specialist for one phase?
Fixed-scope work — a layout, an EMC respin, a firmware bring-up, a PLC integration — is usually faster and cheaper with an experienced specialist than with a generalist hire.
How long does a hardware design cycle take?
A moderately complex board typically runs 6–12 weeks from specification to a validated prototype, plus fabrication and assembly lead times.
What does it cost?
Rates vary by discipline and region. See our pricing page for how VoltLancer structures hourly, monthly and project-based engagements.
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