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Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Apply knowledge of engineering, biology, chemistry, computer science, and biomechanical principles to the design, development, and evaluation of biological, agricultural, and health systems and products, such as artificial organs, prostheses, instrumentation, medical information systems, and health management and care delivery systems.

Related: Biochemists & Biophysicists Bioinformatics Scientists Chemical Engineers Nanosystems Engineers Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists & Technicians

Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical Manufacturing Wholesale/Commercial Sales Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Develop methodologies for transferring procedures or biological processes from laboratories to commercial-scale manufacturing production.
Evaluate the safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of biomedical equipment.
Design or develop medical diagnostic or clinical instrumentation, equipment, or procedures, using the principles of engineering and biobehavioral sciences.
Develop bioremediation processes to reduce pollution, protect the environment, or treat waste products.
Design and deliver technology, such as prosthetic devices, to assist people with disabilities.
Collaborate with manufacturing or quality assurance staff to prepare product specification or safety sheets, standard operating procedures, user manuals, or qualification and validation reports.
Manage teams of engineers by creating schedules, tracking inventory, creating or using budgets, or overseeing contract obligations or deadlines.
Prepare technical reports, data summary documents, or research articles for scientific publication, regulatory submissions, or patent applications.
Analyze new medical procedures to forecast likely outcomes.
Prepare project plans for equipment or facility improvements, including time lines, budgetary estimates, or capital spending requests.
Communicate with bioregulatory authorities regarding licensing or compliance responsibilities.
Review existing manufacturing processes to identify opportunities for yield improvement or reduced process variation.
Prepare project plans for equipment or facility improvements, including time lines, budgetary estimates, or capital spending requests.
Develop statistical models or simulations, using statistical or modeling software.
Consult with chemists or biologists to develop or evaluate novel technologies.
Develop models or computer simulations of human biobehavioral systems to obtain data for measuring or controlling life processes.
Advise hospital administrators on the planning, acquisition, and use of medical equipment.
Prepare project plans for equipment or facility improvements, including time lines, budgetary estimates, or capital spending requests.
Recommend process formulas, instrumentation, or equipment specifications, based on results of bench or pilot experimentation.
Communicate with suppliers regarding the design or specifications of bioproduction equipment, instrumentation, or materials.
Adapt or design computer hardware or software for medical science uses.
Conduct training or in-services to educate clinicians and other personnel on proper use of equipment.
Advise manufacturing staff regarding problems with fermentation, filtration, or other bioproduction processes.
Write documents describing protocols, policies, standards for use, maintenance, and repair of medical equipment.
Design or conduct follow-up experimentation, based on generated data, to meet established process objectives.
Maintain databases of experiment characteristics or results.
Research new materials to be used for products, such as implanted artificial organs.
Read current scientific or trade literature to stay abreast of scientific, industrial, or technological advances.
Conduct research, along with life scientists, chemists, and medical scientists, on the engineering aspects of the biological systems of humans and animals.
Design or direct bench or pilot production experiments to determine the scale of production methods that optimize product yield and minimize production costs.
Prepare technical reports, data summary documents, or research articles for scientific publication, regulatory submissions, or patent applications.
Confer with research and biomanufacturing personnel to ensure the compatibility of design and production.
Lead studies to examine or recommend changes in process sequences or operation protocols.

Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.

Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

125010/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

60.1/hr

Currently Employed

860

Yearly Projected Openings

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out. They do well at jobs that need:

Analytical Thinking
Integrity
Attention to Detail
Persistence
Achievement/Effort
Cooperation

Accelerometers
Acoustic sensors
Air samplers or collectors
Amplifiers
Analytical balances
Autosamplers
Bacteria transformation kits
Benchtop centrifuges
Binocular light compound microscopes
Biometric identification equipment
Blotting or transfer apparatus
Calorimeters
Camera based vision systems for automated data collection
Cardiac pacemaker generators or cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers CRT-P
Chemical absorption gas analyzers
Chemiluminescence or bioluminescence analyzers
Circuit tester
Complementary deoxyribonucleic acid cDNA synthesis kits
Compression testers
Computed tomography CT or CAT radiotherapy simulators
Deflecting devices
Desktop computers
Digital camcorders or video cameras
Digital cameras
Dissolved oxygen meters
Drug delivery systems
Dry wall single chamber carbon dioxide incubators
Dye sublimination printers
Dynamometers
Electro pneumatic transducers
Electroencephalograph EEGs
Electrometers
Electromyography EMG units
Electronic actuators
Electronic counters
Electronic loads
Endoscope maintenance units
Extruders
Fatigue testers
Flame ionization analyzers
Flexure or transverse testing machines
Flow injection analysis equipment
Fluorescent microscopes
Fog or mist generators
Force or torque sensors
Forced air or mechanical convection general purpose incubators
Freeze dryers or lyopholizers
Frequency calibrator or simulator
Gas chromatographs
Gas detectors
Gas or vapour concentration measuring instruments
Gel documentation systems
Glass injection moldings
HEPA filtered enclosures
Hardness testers
Hemacytometer sets
High pressure liquid chromatograph chromatography
Immunology or serology quality controls or calibrators or standards
Impact testers
Inductively coupled plasma ICP spectrometers
Infrared spectrometers
Injection molding machines
Instrumentation for capillary electrophoresis
Ion chromatographs
Isolators
Laboratory vacuum pumps
Laminar flow cabinets or stations
Laser cutting machine
Liquid chromatographs
Lux or light meter
Magnetometers
Mass spectrometers
Medical computed tomography CT or CAT scanners or tubes
Medical magnetic resonance imaging MRI scanners
Medical positron emission tomography PET units
Medical radiation dosimeters
Medical single photon emission computed tomography SPECT units
Medical ultrasound or doppler or echocardiograph probes
Medical ultrasound or doppler or echocardiograph transducer
Medical ultrasound or doppler or pulse echocardiograph or echocardiograph units for general diagnostic use
Medical x ray units for general diagnostic use
Microbiology analyzers
Microbiology fermentation equipment
Microcontrollers
Microplate readers
Microplate washers
Microplates
Microscopic structure estimation apparatus
Milling machines
Modulators
Multimeters
Neuromuscular stimulators or kits
Notebook computers
Nuclear magnetic resonance NMR spectrometers
Optical diffraction apparatus
Orbital shakers
Organic carbon analyzers
Oscilloscopes
Oxygen sensors
Personal computers
Phase modulation circuit
Photosynthesis measurement apparatus
Physiological recorders
Piezo electric crystals
Plastic injection moldings
Pneumatic actuators
Pressure indicators
Pressure sensors
Proton spectrometers
Pulse oximeter units
Q Meters
Rapid amplification or complementary deoxyribonucleic acid ends RACE technology products
Reactors or fermenters or digesters
Refrigerated and heated reach in environmental or growth chambers
Rheometers
Robot machines
Robotic or automated liquid handling systems
Scanning electron microscopes
Scanning light or spinning disk or laser scanning microscopes
Scanning probe microscopes
Skinfold calipers
Sonometers
Spectrofluorimeters or fluorimeters
Spectrometers
Spectrophotometers
Spirometers
Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
Sterilization sets
Strain gauges
Sugar analyzers
Surface tension measuring instruments
Temperature cycling chambers or thermal cyclers
Tensiometers
Tension testers
Thermocouples
Thickness measuring devices
Tissue culture apparatus
Tissue culture coated plates or dishes or inserts
Tissue culture incubators
Titration equipment
Transmission electron microscopes
Treadmills
Tweezers
Ultra pure water systems
Viscosimeters
Wattmeters
Wave generators
Wear testers
X ray and fluoroscopy RF radiotherapy planning simulators
X ray diffraction equipment
pH electrodes
pH meters