Fuel Cell Engineers: Career Overview
Design, evaluate, modify, or construct fuel cell components or systems for transportation, stationary, or portable applications.
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What Do Fuel Cell Engineers Perform?
Typical responsibilities of fuel cell engineers cover:
- Plan or conduct experiments to validate new materials, optimize startup protocols, reduce conditioning time, or examine contaminant tolerance.
- Provide technical consultation or direction related to the development or production of fuel cell systems.
- 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.
- Conduct fuel cell testing projects, using fuel cell test stations, analytical instruments, or electrochemical diagnostics, such as cyclic voltammetry or impedance spectroscopy.
- Analyze fuel cell or related test data, using statistical software.
- Conduct post-service or failure analyses, using electromechanical diagnostic principles or procedures.
- Define specifications for fuel cell materials.
Skills and Knowledge
Top fuel cell engineers rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
The competencies most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Related Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Design Cell Engineer
- Engineer
- Fuel Cell Designer
- Fuel Cell Engineer
- Fuel Cell Systems Engineer
- Fuel Cell Test Engineer
- Research Engineer
- Space Battery Technician
Job Outlook
There are about 157,340 fuel cell engineers working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to decline by -1.8% over the projection horizon.
Fuel Cell Engineers Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $137,020 |
| Hourly median | $65.88 |
| 10th percentile | $93,140 |
| 25th percentile | $115,080 |
| 75th percentile | $158,959 |
| 90th percentile | $180,899 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| New Mexico | $141,490 |
| District of Columbia | $130,000 |
| Alaska | $129,990 |
| California | $126,370 |
| Massachusetts | $122,670 |
| Wyoming | $116,910 |
| Rhode Island | $115,270 |
| Louisiana | $114,050 |
| Maryland | $111,740 |
| Washington | $109,370 |
| Texas | $108,240 |
| Colorado | $108,060 |
| New Jersey | $107,020 |
| Connecticut | $106,600 |
| Delaware | $106,020 |
| South Carolina | $105,360 |
| New York | $105,130 |
| New Hampshire | $103,890 |
| Idaho | $103,660 |
| Michigan | $102,730 |
| Arizona | $102,510 |
| Maine | $101,500 |
| Oregon | $101,290 |
| North Carolina | $100,990 |
| West Virginia | $100,610 |
| Vermont | $100,520 |
| Illinois | $99,730 |
| Kentucky | $99,410 |
| Virginia | $99,350 |
| Tennessee | $99,330 |
| Montana | $99,250 |
| Indiana | $99,200 |
| Utah | $99,050 |
| Minnesota | $98,980 |
| Nevada | $98,110 |
| Iowa | $97,570 |
| Alabama | $97,550 |
| Pennsylvania | $97,450 |
| Florida | $97,190 |
| Georgia | $96,820 |
| Ohio | $96,330 |
| Hawaii | $95,250 |
| Wisconsin | $94,820 |
| Missouri | $91,890 |
| Kansas | $91,770 |
| Mississippi | $90,730 |
| South Dakota | $90,590 |
| Oklahoma | $90,510 |
| North Dakota | $84,020 |
| Nebraska | $82,510 |
| Arkansas | $78,570 |
| Puerto Rico | $62,520 |
| Guam | $60,700 |
Pay by U.S. Region
Pay for fuel cell engineers vary by region. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $119,653 | 14.5% | 0.93 |
| New England | $113,963 | 7.1% | 1.52 |
| Southwest | $107,712 | 9.8% | 0.78 |
| Rocky Mountains | $104,904 | 4.3% | 1.12 |
| Middle Atlantic | $103,845 | 12.1% | 0.96 |
| Great Lakes | $99,669 | 26.2% | 2.45 |
| Southeast | $99,253 | 18.7% | 0.87 |
| Plains States | $94,360 | 7.2% | 1.15 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Fuel Cell Engineers
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $147,730 | 3,910 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $145,640 | 4,670 |
| Salinas, CA | CA | $141,420 | 60 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | LA | $132,850 | 480 |
| Anchorage, AK | AK | $129,990 | 400 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | CA | $129,190 | 200 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | CA | $128,660 | 3,320 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | TX | $126,870 | 7,010 |
Which Industries Hire Fuel Cell Engineers
The largest employers of fuel cell engineers are found across these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 127,220 | $99,990 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 89,470 | $106,190 |
| Wholesale Trade | 18,910 | $98,380 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 11,080 | $108,040 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 8,330 | $94,330 |
| Construction | 5,680 | $97,790 |
| Utilities | 1,710 | $130,420 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 1,710 | $98,770 |
Fuel Cell Engineers work in the following industries:
Tech Stack
- Computer aided design CAD software: Autodesk AutoCAD (hot technology)
- Development environment software: C (hot technology)
- Object or component oriented development software: C++ (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Microsoft Windows (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Oracle Database (hot technology)
- Object or component oriented development software: Python (hot technology)
- Analytical or scientific software: The MathWorks MATLAB (hot technology)
Work Environment
The work environment for fuel cell engineers reflects the following characteristics:
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
- Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets
How to Become Fuel Cell Engineers
Typical fuel cell engineers positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
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Degree Programs
Future fuel cell engineers commonly pursue programs in:
Engineering
3 programs across 3 majors
About the Data
Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 17-2141.01 (Mechanical Engineers).
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