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Fuel Cell Engineers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Design, evaluate, modify, or construct fuel cell components or systems for transportation, stationary, or portable applications.

Related: Automotive Engineers Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology & Product Development Managers Chemical Engineers Electrical Engineers Microsystems Engineers

Industries: Manufacturing Professional, Science, & Technical

Summary
Details

Develop or evaluate systems or methods of hydrogen storage for fuel cell applications.
Analyze fuel cell or related test data, using statistical software.
Integrate electric drive subsystems with other vehicle systems to optimize performance or mitigate faults.
Prepare test stations, instrumentation, or data acquisition systems for use in specific tests of fuel cell components or systems.
Design fuel cell systems, subsystems, stacks, assemblies, or components, such as electric traction motors or power electronics.
Develop or evaluate systems or methods of hydrogen storage for fuel cell applications.
Plan or implement fuel cell cost reduction or product improvement projects in collaboration with other engineers, suppliers, support personnel, or customers.
Conduct post-service or failure analyses, using electromechanical diagnostic principles or procedures.
Develop fuel cell materials or fuel cell test equipment.
Read current literature, attend meetings or conferences, or talk with colleagues to stay abreast of new technology or competitive products.
Design or implement fuel cell testing or development programs.
Authorize release of fuel cell parts, components, or subsystems for production.
Provide technical consultation or direction related to the development or production of fuel cell systems.
Plan or conduct experiments to validate new materials, optimize startup protocols, reduce conditioning time, or examine contaminant tolerance.
Evaluate the power output, system cost, or environmental impact of new hydrogen or non-hydrogen fuel cell system designs.
Validate design of fuel cells, fuel cell components, or fuel cell systems.
Write technical reports or proposals related to engineering projects.
Fabricate prototypes of fuel cell components, assemblies, stacks, or systems.
Plan or implement fuel cell cost reduction or product improvement projects in collaboration with other engineers, suppliers, support personnel, or customers.
Characterize component or fuel cell performances by generating operating maps, defining operating conditions, identifying design refinements, or executing durability assessments.
Plan or implement fuel cell cost reduction or product improvement projects in collaboration with other engineers, suppliers, support personnel, or customers.
Recommend or implement changes to fuel cell system designs.
Identify or define vehicle and system integration challenges for fuel cell vehicles.
Simulate or model fuel cell, motor, or other system information, using simulation software programs.
Manage fuel cell battery hybrid system architecture, including sizing of components, such as fuel cells, energy storage units, or electric drives.
Calculate the efficiency or power output of a fuel cell system or process.
Coordinate fuel cell engineering or test schedules with departments outside engineering, such as manufacturing.
Define specifications for fuel cell materials.
Write technical reports or proposals related to engineering projects.
Conduct fuel cell testing projects, using fuel cell test stations, analytical instruments, or electrochemical diagnostics, such as cyclic voltammetry or impedance spectroscopy.

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

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

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.
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.
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.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
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.
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.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
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.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
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.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
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.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
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.
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.
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.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
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.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

109370/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

52.58/hr

Currently Employed

9,340

Yearly Projected Openings

710

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Innovation
Achievement Orientation
Intellectual Curiosity
Cautiousness
Attention to Detail
Dependability

Calorimeters
Chemical absorption gas analyzers
Chemiluminescence or bioluminescence analyzers
Crucible furnaces
Desktop computers
Engine or component test stands
Flame ionization analyzers
Forming machine
Frequency analyzers
Gas chromatographs
High pressure liquid chromatograph chromatography
Homogenizers
Infrared spectrometers
Isolation glove boxes
Laboratory balances
Laboratory mechanical convection ovens
Laboratory mills
Mass spectrometers
Microcontrollers
Multi gas monitors
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Power meters
Reactors or fermenters or digesters
Scanning electron microscopes
Spectrofluorimeters or fluorimeters
Spectrometers
Spectrophotometers
Thermal differential analyzers
Thermo gravimetry analyzers
Transmission electron microscopes
Tube furnaces
Vacuum ovens
Volumeters
X ray diffraction equipment

Analytical or scientific software
Computer aided design CAD software
Data base user interface and query software
Development environment software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Industrial control software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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Fuel Cell Engineers

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