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Nanosystems Engineer

Overview and Key Facts

Nanosystems engineer
Education
Education
Bachelor's degree
Median Pay
Median Pay
$117,750
Job Growth
Job Growth
2.10%
(Below US Average)
Jobs in 2034
Jobs in 2034
162,100

What Do They Do?

A nanosystems engineer could...

 
Tennis player
Develop a new material to make a lightweight tennis racket that can withstand the force of a powerful serve.
Nanotechnology
Create tiny particles that can move around a patient's body, finding and killing cancer cells, like in this video.
Suit
Design a new lightweight, but super-strong, fabric out of nanomaterials to make into stylish bulletproof suits.
Eco battery
Use nanotechnology to create a new generation of smaller, longer-lasting, more eco-friendly batteries.
 
Tennis player Nanotechnology Suit Eco battery

Overview Listen to this section

Imagine creating a new material, medicine, or electrical component that is too small to see. How would you design it? What could the new invention do? These are precisely the types of questions that nanosystems engineers answer every day. Nanosystems engineers design and build new technologies using the smallest building blocks, atoms, and molecules.
In this video, nanosystem engineers find impactful ways to apply advances in physics and chemistry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRnW2Q0ZV1M

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of a Nanosystems Engineer?


  1. Speaking: ?
  2. Reading Comprehension: ?
  3. Critical Thinking: ?
  4. Science: ?
  5. Writing: ?
More skills...

Core Tasks

Think about if you'd like the typical tasks a Nanosystems Engineer might do:
  • Provide scientific or technical guidance or expertise to scientists, engineers, technologists, technicians, or others, using knowledge of chemical, analytical, or biological processes as applied to micro and nanoscale systems.
  • Supervise technologists or technicians engaged in nanotechnology research or production.
  • Conduct research related to a range of nanotechnology topics, such as packaging, heat transfer, fluorescence detection, nanoparticle dispersion, hybrid systems, liquid systems, nanocomposites, nanofabrication, optoelectronics, or nanolithography.
  • Synthesize, process, or characterize nanomaterials, using advanced tools or techniques.
  • Prepare reports, deliver presentations, or participate in program review activities to communicate engineering results or recommendations.
  • Design or conduct tests of new nanotechnology products, processes, or systems.
  • Create designs or prototypes for nanosystem applications, such as biomedical delivery systems or atomic force microscopes.
  • Write proposals to secure external funding or to partner with other companies.
  • Generate high-resolution images or measure force-distance curves, using techniques such as atomic force microscopy.
  • Develop processes or identify equipment needed for pilot or commercial nanoscale scale production.
  • Provide technical guidance or support to customers on topics such as nanosystem start-up, maintenance, or use.
  • Engineer production processes for specific nanotechnology applications, such as electroplating, nanofabrication, or epoxy.
  • Apply nanotechnology to improve the performance or reduce the environmental impact of energy products, such as fuel cells or solar cells.
  • Identify new applications for existing nanotechnologies.
  • Design or engineer nanomaterials, nanodevices, nano-enabled products, or nanosystems, using three-dimensional computer-aided design (CAD) software.
  • Design nano-enabled products with reduced toxicity, increased durability, or improved energy efficiency.
  • Coordinate or supervise the work of suppliers or vendors in the designing, building, or testing of nanosystem devices, such as lenses or probes.

Salary & Job Openings

Median Salary (Yearly Pay)

Tap or scroll over map to see median salaries for each state

Future Jobs

Blast-Off:

How Will Nanosystems Engineer Jobs Grow by 2034?
Projected % Growth
Rapid growth
(10% or higher)
Much faster than average
(7% - 10%)
Faster than average
(5% - 7%)
About as fast as average
(3% - 5%)
Slower than average
(0% - 3%)
Decreasing
Average of all U.S. jobs (5.3%)
Nanosystems Engineer jobs (2.10%)
Source: https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/occupational-projections-and-characteristics.htm

Steps to Get There: Becoming a Nanosystems Engineer

High School Subjects to Study

Aim to study the yellow-shaded subjects.
Math
Algebra 1
Geometry
Algebra 2
Pre-Calculus
Calculus
Statistics
Science
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Environmental Science
Physiology
Bio-Medical / Biotech
IT &
Engineering
Computer Science
Applied Technology
Drafting & CAD Training
Core
English
Foreign Language
Business
Psychology / Sociology

Career Pathway Listen to this section

Some entry-level job opportunities are available with a bachelor's degree. These are more likely to be jobs that involve the manufacturing of nanotechnology devices and materials using common techniques. Candidates for these jobs should have either a bachelor's degree in nanosystems engineering, or a degree in a related field, like chemical engineering, materials science, or bioengineering, and laboratory experience with nano production. Hands-on experience can be gained either through college classes, working as an undergraduate research assistant, or corporate internships.

However, most employers prefer candidates with either a master's or a PhD in either nanosciences, nanoengineering, or a related field like physics, chemical engineering, materials sciences, bioengineering, or microprocessing. Hands-on laboratory experience with nanoengineering is critical.

Education- Typical Degree Needed After High School Listen to this section

Degree
Post
high school credential
AA
Bachelor's
Master's
Doctoral or Professional Degree

Typical degree for an entry-level position: Bachelor's degree ? Types of Degrees and Credentials

To become a nanosystems engineer, students need a bachelor's degree in either nanoengineering or in a related engineering field like chemical engineering, materials science, or bioengineering. Students should take classes in both general engineering principles and courses that specifically teach the concepts of nanoscience and the laboratory techniques required to create and manipulate nanomaterials.

People interested in careers that emphasize novel applications for nanotechnology will need a higher degree, like a master's or a PhD. Jobs as a professor or permanent researcher at an academic institute require a PhD.

Companies That Hire Nanosystems Engineers

Try it Out with an Activity or Project

STEM Activities

STEM activities are fun hands-on explorations that usually take from 10 minutes to one hour and use readily available household or classroom materials while introducing you to STEM concepts common in this career.

Science Project Ideas

Project Ideas are in-depth STEM explorations that have a strong focus on controlling variables, taking accurate measurements, and analyzing data suitable for investigating the scientific method or the engineering design process.

On the Job

Role Models

Meet Katerina Aifantis, whose research spans a wide array of topics, including nanotechnology, biomedical engineering and improving lithium ion batteries.
When theory and experiment combine, when you’re able to see an equation fall on the experimental data, I think that’s just beautiful and it’s exciting 
Katerina Aifantis, Ph.D.
Read this interview to find out how Sangeeta Bhatia's team discovered by chance that nanosensors could detect disease in the body and come out harmlessly in the urine. Also discover her lifelong interest in the liver, somewhat neglected until recently by medicine.
These teeny, tiny particles [about a thousand times narrower than a human hair] can be injected in the bloodstream and circulate in your body looking for disease. We make them responsive to certain enzymes that are disease associated. 
Sangeeta Bhatia, Ph.D.

Nature of the Work

Nanosystems engineers design, develop, and characterize materials on the nanoscale. This means that the materials with which they work are only a few nanometers in size. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, which makes it roughly 100,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair! On the nanoscale, materials behave differently than they do on the macroscale. Nanosystems engineers study the properties of materials on this scale and use that information to engineer new technologies to benefit society. These products can appear in any number of fields, including medicine, cosmetics, the creation of electrical devices and computer parts, clean energy, and imaging.

Work Environment

Nanosystems engineers work in laboratories. They might spend a great deal of time using the computer to design and model nanodevices. When fabricating and testing their devices, they use sophisticated machinery and chemistry.

Nanosystems engineers usually work in teams with other engineers, and as such, need good communication and group problem-solving skills. They are typically employed by either military or corporate research and development laboratories, or run their own research laboratories in academic settings. Most nanosystems engineers have standard 40-hour work weeks.

More Information

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