Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians

Operate, install, adjust, and maintain integrated computer/communications systems, consoles, simulators, and other data acquisition, test, and measurement instruments and equipment, which are used to launch, track, position, and evaluate air and space vehicles. May record and interpret test data.

The occupation "Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians" carries an automation risk of 35.8%, which is slightly lower than its base risk of 36.4%. This moderate risk reflects the occupation’s blend of repetitive technical tasks and complex problem-solving activities. Many duties involve hands-on work with aerospace systems, testing, and maintenance—areas susceptible to automation, given technological advances in robotics, sensors, and artificial intelligence. However, these roles also demand knowledge integration and adaptability, which technology currently struggles to fully replicate. Therefore, while some core aspects of the job are automatable, the need for expert oversight and creative technical solutions mitigates risk. The most automatable tasks in this occupation typically involve repetitive or rule-based activities. For example, testing aircraft systems under simulated operational conditions, identifying required data and setting up equipment, and inspecting, diagnosing, and operating test setups all involve standardized procedures easily programmed into automated systems. These processes can often be executed by machines with high precision, consistency, and efficiency, especially as aerospace manufacturing and maintenance increasingly adopt advanced automation tools. As a result, the automation risk for these routine tasks is relatively high, contributing significantly to the overall risk profile. Conversely, the most resistant tasks require a combination of technical ingenuity and manual dexterity, making them difficult to automate. Designing electrical and mechanical systems for avionic instrumentation, constructing and maintaining specialized test facilities, and performing vehicle instrumentation and deinstrumentation demand higher-level problem-solving, system integration, and improvisation. These activities benefit from human originality, a bottleneck skill reflected by its low automatability scores of 2.9% and 3.0%. The creative thinking, real-time adaptation, and cross-disciplinary expertise involved in these tasks ensure continued reliance on human technicians, preventing full automation of the occupation despite advancements in technology.