Computer Hardware Engineers
Architecture and Engineering Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 17-2061.00
Research, design, develop, or test computer or computer-related equipment for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use. May supervise the manufacturing and installation of computer or computer-related equipment and components.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
Very high· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.145
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.42
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
Exposed tasks only18 rated tasks · 16 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (88.9%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- All rated tasks are in the O*NET 31.0 task list.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
| Task (O*NET 20.1) | Claude.aiRaw / share % | APIRaw / share % |
|---|---|---|
Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements.17-2061.00 | 0.215147.5 | 0.500684.2 |
Analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan layout, including type of computers and peripheral equipment modifications.17-2061.00 | 0.194943.0 | 0.084814.3 |
Write detailed functional specifications that document the hardware development process and support hardware introduction.17-2061.00 | 0.01202.6 | 0.00430.7 |
Evaluate factors such as reporting formats required, cost constraints, and need for security restrictions to determine hardware configuration.17-2061.00 | 0.00881.9 | —0 |
Analyze user needs and recommend appropriate hardware.17-2061.00 | 0.00841.9 | 0.00230.4 |
Confer with engineering staff and consult specifications to evaluate interface between hardware and software and operational and performance requirements of overall system.17-2061.00 | 0.00761.7 | 0.00230.4 |
Design and develop computer hardware and support peripherals, including central processing units (CPUs), support logic, microprocessors, custom integrated circuits, and printers and disk drives.17-2061.00 | 0.00300.7 | —0 |
Provide technical support to designers, marketing and sales departments, suppliers, engineers and other team members throughout the product development and implementation process.17-2061.00 | 0.00180.4 | —0 |
Provide training and support to system designers and users.17-2061.00 | 0.00150.3 | —0 |
| Not observed on any surface — 9 task(s) — These tasks have no row in the source for this release. The 0 in the share row is a display-stage composition ratio; absence is what the — in the raw row states. | ||
Update knowledge and skills to keep up with rapid advancements in computer technology. | —0 | —0 |
Test and verify hardware and support peripherals to ensure that they meet specifications and requirements, by recording and analyzing test data. | —0 | —0 |
Monitor functioning of equipment and make necessary modifications to ensure system operates in conformance with specifications. | —0 | —0 |
Build, test, and modify product prototypes using working models or theoretical models constructed with computer simulation. | —0 | —0 |
Direct technicians, engineering designers or other technical support personnel as needed. | —0 | —0 |
Select hardware and material, assuring compliance with specifications and product requirements. | —0 | —0 |
Specify power supply requirements and configuration, drawing on system performance expectations and design specifications. | —0 | —0 |
Assemble and modify existing pieces of equipment to meet special needs. | —0 | —0 |
Recommend purchase of equipment to control dust, temperature, and humidity in area of system installation. | —0 | —0 |
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime. The unit and the meaning differ from the observed shares (%) in the other tabs, so do not place them on the same axis.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Update knowledge and skills to keep up with rapid advancements in computer technology.O*NET Task ID 7391 | 1.0 |
Test and verify hardware and support peripherals to ensure that they meet specifications and requirements, by recording and analyzing test data.O*NET Task ID 7393 | 1.0 |
Monitor functioning of equipment and make necessary modifications to ensure system operates in conformance with specifications.O*NET Task ID 7394 | 1.0 |
Confer with engineering staff and consult specifications to evaluate interface between hardware and software and operational and performance requirements of overall system.O*NET Task ID 7399 | 1.0 |
Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements.O*NET Task ID 7401 | 1.0 |
Write detailed functional specifications that document the hardware development process and support hardware introduction.O*NET Task ID 7402 | 1.0 |
Specify power supply requirements and configuration, drawing on system performance expectations and design specifications.O*NET Task ID 7403 | 1.0 |
Evaluate factors such as reporting formats required, cost constraints, and need for security restrictions to determine hardware configuration.O*NET Task ID 7406 | 1.0 |
Design and develop computer hardware and support peripherals, including central processing units (CPUs), support logic, microprocessors, custom integrated circuits, and printers and disk drives.O*NET Task ID 7407 | 1.0 |
Provide technical support to designers, marketing and sales departments, suppliers, engineers and other team members throughout the product development and implementation process.O*NET Task ID 7392 | 0.5 |
Analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan layout, including type of computers and peripheral equipment modifications.O*NET Task ID 7395 | 0.5 |
Build, test, and modify product prototypes, using working models or theoretical models constructed with computer simulation.O*NET Task ID 7396 | 0.5 |
Analyze user needs and recommend appropriate hardware.O*NET Task ID 7397 | 0.5 |
Select hardware and material, assuring compliance with specifications and product requirements.O*NET Task ID 7400 | 0.5 |
Provide training and support to system designers and users.O*NET Task ID 7404 | 0.5 |
Recommend purchase of equipment to control dust, temperature, and humidity in area of system installation.O*NET Task ID 7408 | 0.5 |
Direct technicians, engineering designers or other technical support personnel as needed.O*NET Task ID 7398 | 0.0 |
Assemble and modify existing pieces of equipment to meet special needs.O*NET Task ID 7405 | 0.0 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Anthropic Economic Index, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (18)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Update knowledge and skills to keep up with rapid advancements in computer technology. | Core |
| Provide technical support to designers, marketing and sales departments, suppliers, engineers and other team members throughout the product development and implementation process. | Core |
| Test and verify hardware and support peripherals to ensure that they meet specifications and requirements, by recording and analyzing test data. | Core |
| Monitor functioning of equipment and make necessary modifications to ensure system operates in conformance with specifications. | Core |
| Build, test, and modify product prototypes, using working models or theoretical models constructed with computer simulation. | Core |
| Analyze user needs and recommend appropriate hardware. | Core |
| Direct technicians, engineering designers or other technical support personnel as needed. | Core |
| Confer with engineering staff and consult specifications to evaluate interface between hardware and software and operational and performance requirements of overall system. | Core |
| Select hardware and material, assuring compliance with specifications and product requirements. | Core |
| Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements. | Core |
| Write detailed functional specifications that document the hardware development process and support hardware introduction. | Core |
| Specify power supply requirements and configuration, drawing on system performance expectations and design specifications. | Core |
| Provide training and support to system designers and users. | Core |
| Evaluate factors such as reporting formats required, cost constraints, and need for security restrictions to determine hardware configuration. | Core |
| Design and develop computer hardware and support peripherals, including central processing units (CPUs), support logic, microprocessors, custom integrated circuits, and printers and disk drives. | Core |
| Analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan layout, including type of computers and peripheral equipment modifications. | Supplemental |
| Assemble and modify existing pieces of equipment to meet special needs. | Supplemental |
| Recommend purchase of equipment to control dust, temperature, and humidity in area of system installation. | Supplemental |
0.27/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
Robot environment tiers (E0–E3)
E0 noneDetails
Rated not doable by robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated, even in a purpose-built setting
E1 purpose-built robot settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting built around the machine, such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line
E2 structured facilitiesDetails
Rated doable in a human work facility that an institution keeps to a working standard, such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port
E3 unstructured settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting that no institution keeps to a working standard, such as a private home or a construction site
Only tasks classified as physical are listed; other tasks have no tier in the source.
| Task (O*NET 29.3) | Robot environment tier |
|---|---|
| Test and verify hardware and support peripherals to ensure that they meet specifications and requirements, by recording and analyzing test data. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Monitor functioning of equipment and make necessary modifications to ensure system operates in conformance with specifications. | E0 none |
| Build, test, and modify product prototypes, using working models or theoretical models constructed with computer simulation. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Assemble and modify existing pieces of equipment to meet special needs. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 76K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 83K
- Change (2025–35)
- +9.1%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $161,740
- Typical education needed for entry
- Bachelor's degree
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22110 | 컴퓨터 하드웨어 기술자 및 연구원 | Same scope | confirmed |
| 23421 | 메모리반도체 기술자 및 연구원 | Related, not a match | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 2152Electronics Engineers
The definition, tasks and examples below are the ILO's description of that unit group, not of this occupation.
Electronics engineers conduct research on, design and direct the construction functioning, maintenance and repair of electronic systems, and study and advise on technological aspects of electronic engineering materials, products or processes.
Tasks
- (a) advising on and designing electronic devices or components, circuits, semi-conductors and systems;
- (b) specifying production or installation methods, materials and quality standards, and directing production or installation work of electronic products and systems;
- (c) establishing control standards and procedures to ensure efficient functioning and safety of electronic systems, motors and equipment;
- (d) organising and directing maintenance and repair of existing electronic systems and equipment;
- (e) designing electronic circuits and components for use in fields such as aerospace guidance and propulsion control, acoustics, or instruments and controls;
- (f) researching and advising on radar, telemetry and remote control systems, microwaves and other electronic equipment;
- (g) designing and developing signal processing algorithms and implementing these through appropriate choice of hardware and software;
- (h) developing apparatus and procedures to test electronic components, circuits and systems.
Example occupations
Computer hardware engineer · Electronics engineer · Instrumentation engineer
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- computer hardware engineerESCO 2152.1.1Same scope
Computer hardware engineers design and develop computer hardware systems and components, such as circuit boards, modems, and printers. They draught blueprints and assembly drawings, develop and test the prototypes, and supervise the production process.
- electronics engineerESCO 2152.1This occupation is narrower
Electronic engineers research, design, and develop electronic systems such as circuits, semiconductor devices, and equipment that use electricity as a source of power. They work with capacitators, transistors, diodes or resistors to create electronic circuits and applications of use in fields such as telecommunications, acoustics, instruments, and control.
- computer hardware engineering technicianESCO 3114.1.2Overlapping, not the same
Computer hardware engineering technicians collaborate with computer hardware engineers in the development of computer hardware, such as motherboards, routers, and microprocessors. Computer hardware engineering technicians are responsible for building, testing, monitoring, and maintaining the developed computer technology.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| H1206 | Ingénieur / Ingénieure R&D en industrie | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
| H1209 | Technicien / Technicienne en électricité et électronique études et développement | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| M1892 | Ingénieur / Ingénieure en informatique embarquée | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 2442 | Ingenieros electrónicos | This occupation is narrower |
| 2472 | Ingenieros técnicos en electrónica | Related, not a match |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 26304 | Berufe in der Elektrotechnik (ohne Spezialisierung) - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
| 43124 | Berufe in der technischen Informatik - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
| 26324 | Berufe in der Mikrosystemtechnik - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | Related, not a match |
| 43123 | Berufe in der technischen Informatik - komplexe Spezialistentätigkeiten | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 072 | 電気・電子・電気通信技術者（通信ネットワーク技術者を除く）（開発） | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
| 082 | 電気・電子・電気通信技術者（通信ネットワーク技術者を除く）（開発を除く） | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources