Engineering ServicesISCO 3118
Marine engineering drafter
Marine engineering drafters convert the marine engineers’ designs into technical drawings usually using software. Their drawings detail dimensions, fastening and assembling methods and other specifications used in the manufacture of all types of boats from pleasure crafts to naval vessels, including submarines.
Check yourself in a minute: marine engineering drafter
Rate 5 of the 16 essential skills of this occupation (European ESCO data). No account needed.
execute analytical mathematical calculations
use CADD software
read engineering drawings
liaise with engineers
use computer-aided engineering systems
About marine engineering drafter
As a marine engineering drafter, you will transform the innovative designs of marine engineers into precise, detailed technical drawings that guide the construction of vessels ranging from luxury yachts to naval submarines. Your role is critical in bridging the gap between design concept and physical manufacturing, using advanced computer-aided design software to create accurate representations of every component, dimension, and assembly specification. You will work closely with engineering teams to understand design intent, conduct research on marine materials and construction methods, and ensure all drawings comply with international maritime standards and regulations.
Key Work Functions
Core areas of responsibility for a marine engineering drafter.
1
Create Technical Drawings
- Develop detailed 2D and 3D technical drawings using CADD software based on engineer specifications
- Include all dimensions, tolerances, materials, and assembly methods on drawings
- Create cross-sections and detail views to clarify complex construction areas
2
Collaborate with Engineering Teams
- Liaise with marine engineers to clarify design intent and resolve technical questions
- Incorporate design modifications and updates from engineering reviews
- Attend design meetings and provide technical input on manufacturability
3
Perform Analytical Calculations
- Execute mathematical calculations to verify structural integrity and component specifications
- Use CAE software to model stress, strain, and hydrodynamic performance
- Document all calculations and ensure compliance with naval architecture standards
4
Review and Quality Assurance
- Review completed drawings for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with standards
- Read and interpret existing engineering drawings to maintain design consistency
- Manage drawing revisions and maintain comprehensive documentation records
European Skills Framework
Skills and knowledge areas required for this occupation based on European classification.
Essential (16)
CADD softwareCADD softwareThe computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) is the use of computer technology for design and design documentation. CAD software replaces manual drafting with an automated process.mathematicsmathematicsMathematics is the study of topics such as quantity, structure, space, and change. It involves the identification of patterns and formulating new conjectures based on them. Mathematicians strive to pr...CAE softwareCAE softwareThe software to perform computer-aided engineering (CAE) analysis tasks such as Finite Element Analysis and Computional Fluid Dynamics.mechanicsmechanicsTheoretical and practical applications of the science studying the action of displacements and forces on physical bodies to the development of machinery and mechanical devices.execute analytical mathematical calculationsexecute analytical mathematical calculationsApply mathematical methods and make use of calculation technologies in order to perform analyses and devise solutions to specific problems.use CADD softwareuse CADD softwareUse computer-aided design and drafting software to make detailed drawings and blueprints of designs.read engineering drawingsread engineering drawingsRead the technical drawings of a product made by the engineer in order to suggest improvements, make models of the product or operate it.liaise with engineersliaise with engineersCollaborate with engineers to ensure common understanding and discuss product design, development and improvement.design drawingsdesign drawingsThe drawings detailing the design of products, tools, and engineering systems.use computer-aided engineering systemsuse computer-aided engineering systemsUse computer-aided engineering software to conduct stress analyses on engineering designs.engineering principlesengineering principlesThe engineering elements like functionality, replicability, and costs in relation to the design and how they are applied in the completion of engineering projects.create technical planscreate technical plansCreate detailed technical plans of machinery, equipment, tools and other products.use technical drawing softwareuse technical drawing softwareCreate technical designs and technical drawings using specialised software.naval architecturenaval architectureThe design of sea vessels, the form and stability of hulls. It also deals with the design of offshore structures of all kinds whether commercial or military.mechanics of vesselsmechanics of vesselsThe mechanical aspects and principles of vessels operations, and the technicalities and mechanical composition of boats and ships.technical drawingstechnical drawingsDrawing software and the various symbols, perspectives, units of measurement, notation systems, visual styles and page layouts used in technical drawings.
Optional (51) — show
solar energysolar energyThe energy which originates from light and heat from the sun, and which can be harnessed and used as a renewable source of energy using different technologies, such as photovoltaics (PV) for electrici...battery fluidsbattery fluidsThe characteristics and properties of battery fluids.business intelligencebusiness intelligenceThe tools used to transform large amounts of raw data into relevant and helpful business information.data miningdata miningThe methods of artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics and databases used to extract content from a dataset.material mechanicsmaterial mechanicsThe behaviour of solid objects when subjected to stresses and strains, and the methods to calculate these stresses and strains.chemical productschemical productsThe offered chemical products, their functionalities, properties and legal and regulatory requirements.electromechanicselectromechanicsThe engineering processes that combine electrical and mechanical engineering in the application of electromechanics in devices that need electricity to create mechanical movement or devices that creat...visual presentation techniquesvisual presentation techniquesThe visual representation and interaction techniques, such as histograms, scatter plots, surface plots, tree maps and parallel coordinate plots, that can be used to present abstract numerical and non-...vessel fuelsvessel fuelsThe characteristics and properties of vessel fuels and lubricants, and the fuel loading specifications of various types of vessels.physicsphysicsThe natural science involving the study of matter, motion, energy, force and related notions.information extractioninformation extractionThe techniques and methods used for eliciting and extracting information from unstructured or semi-structured digital documents and sources.stealth technologystealth technologyThe techniques used to make aircraft, ships, missiles and satellites less detectable to radars and sonars. This includes the design of particular shapes and the development of radar-absorbent material...fuel gasfuel gasThe various qualities, hazards and applications of gaseous fuels, such as oxy-acetylene, oxy-gasoline, oxy-hydrogen and others.energy efficiencyenergy efficiencyField of information concerning the reduction of the use of energy. It encompasses calculating the consumption of energy, providing certificates and support measures, saving energy by reducing the dem...battery chemistrybattery chemistryThe different battery types according to the representative chemical components used in the anode or the cathode such as zinc-carbon, nickel-metal hydride, lead-acid, or lithium-ion.fluid mechanicsfluid mechanicsThe characteristics and properties of fluids, including gases, liquids and plasmas, at rest and in motion, and the forces on them.battery componentsbattery componentsThe physical components, such as wiring, electronics and voltaic cells that can be found in batteries. The components vary according to size and type of battery.3D modelling3D modellingThe process of developing a mathematical representation of any three-dimensional surface of an object via specialised software. The product is called a 3D model. It can be displayed as a two-dimension...data storagedata storageThe physical and technical concepts of how digital data storage is organised in specific schemes both locally, such as hard-drives and random-access memories (RAM) and remotely, via network, internet ...statistical analysis system softwarestatistical analysis system softwareSpecific software system (SAS) used for advanced analytics, business intelligence, data management, and predictive analytics.manual draughting techniquesmanual draughting techniquesTechniques used for creating detailed drawings of designs by using specialised pencils, rulers, templates and scales.guidance, navigation and controlguidance, navigation and controlThe engineering discipline that deals with the design and development of systems that can control the motion of automobiles, ships, space- and aircraft. It includes control over vehicle's trajectory f...cloud technologiescloud technologiesThe technologies which enable access to hardware, software, data and services through remote servers and software networks irrespective of their location and architecture.unstructured dataunstructured dataThe information that is not arranged in a pre-defined manner or does not have a pre-defined data model and is difficult to understand and find patterns in without using techniques such as data mining.product data managementproduct data managementThe use of software to track all information concerning a product such as technical specifications, drawings, design specifications, and production costs.synthetic natural environmentsynthetic natural environmentThe simulation and representation of components of physical world such as climate, wheather and space where military systems exist in order to obtain information and perform tests.renewable energyrenewable energyThe different types of energy sources which cannot be depleted, such as wind, solar, water, biomass, and biofuel energy. The different technologies used to implement these types of energy to an increa...develop energy saving conceptsdevelop energy saving conceptsUse current research results and collaborate with experts to optimise or develop concepts, equipment, and production processes which require a lesser amount of energy such as new insulation practices ...conduct energy auditconduct energy auditAnalyse and evaluate the energy consumption in a systematic manner in order to improve the energy performance.promote sustainable energypromote sustainable energyPromote the use of renewable electricity and heat generation sources to organisations and individuals, in order to work towards a sustainable future and encourage sales of renewable energy equipment, ...analyse energy consumptionanalyse energy consumptionEvaluate and analyse the total amount of energy used by a company or an institution by assessing the needs linked to the operative processes and by identifying the causes of superfluous consumption.perform data miningperform data miningExplore large datasets to reveal patterns using statistics, database systems or artificial intelligence and present the information in a comprehensible way.adjust engineering designsadjust engineering designsAdjust designs of products or parts of products so that they meet requirements.use manual draughting techniquesuse manual draughting techniquesUse non-computerised draughting techniques to make detailed drawings of designs by hand with specialised tools such as pencils, rulers and templates.analyse big dataanalyse big dataCollect and evaluate numerical data in large quantities, especially for the purpose of identifying patterns between the data.create a product's virtual modelcreate a product's virtual modelCreate a mathematical or three-dimensional computer graphic model of the product by using a CAE system or a calculator.archive documentation related to workarchive documentation related to workSelect relevant documentation related to the ongoing or complete work and take steps to archive it in a way that ensures its future accessibility.operate battery test equipmentoperate battery test equipmentOperate equipment used for battery testing, such as a soldering iron, a battery tester, or a multimeter. Detect flaws affecting the battery's performance, test the battery's capacity for accumulating ...analyse test dataanalyse test dataInterpret and analyse data collected during testing in order to formulate conclusions, new insights or solutions.utilise machine learningutilise machine learningUse techniques and algorithms that are able to extract mastery out of data, learn from it and make predictions, to be used for program optimisation, application adaptation, pattern recognition, filter...identify energy needsidentify energy needsIdentify the type and amount of energy supply necessary in a building or facility, in order to provide the most beneficial, sustainable, and cost-effective energy services for a consumer.ensure vessel compliance with regulationsensure vessel compliance with regulationsInspect vessels, vessel components, and equipment; ensure compliance with standards and specifications.manage datamanage dataAdminister all types of data resources through their lifecycle by performing data profiling, parsing, standardisation, identity resolution, cleansing, enhancement and auditing. Ensure the data is fit ...use CAD softwareuse CAD softwareUse computer-aided design (CAD) systems to assist in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimisation of a design.draw blueprintsdraw blueprintsDraw layout specifications for machinery, equipment and building structures. Specify which materials should be used and the size of the components. Show different angles and views of the product.use specific data analysis softwareuse specific data analysis softwareUse specific software for data analysis, including statistics, spreadsheets, and databases. Explore possibilities in order to make reports to managers, superiors, or clients.develop assembly instructionsdevelop assembly instructionsDevelop a code of letters and numbers to label diagrams for assembly instructions.render 3D imagesrender 3D imagesUse specialised tools to convert 3D wire frame models into 2D images with 3D photorealistic effects or non-photorealistic rendering on a computer.manage quantitative datamanage quantitative dataGather, process and present quantitative data. Use the appropriate programs and methods for validating, organising and interpreting data.information structureinformation structureThe type of infrastructure which defines the format of data: semi-structured, unstructured and structured.CAD softwareCAD softwareThe computer-aided design (CAD) software for creating, modifying, analysing or optimising a design.
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Frequently asked questions
What does a marine engineering drafter do?
Marine engineering drafters convert the marine engineers’ designs into technical drawings usually using software. Their drawings detail dimensions, fastening and assembling methods and other specifications used in the manufacture of all types of boats from pleasure crafts to naval vessels, including submarines.
What skills does a marine engineering drafter need?
A marine engineering drafter needs 16 essential skills, including CADD software, mathematics, CAE software, mechanics, execute analytical mathematical calculations.
Will AI replace marine engineering drafter jobs?
The AI disruption score for marine engineering drafter is 44/100 (moderate risk). Skills most exposed to automation: use manual draughting techniques, battery components, information extraction. Most resilient: synthetic natural environment, stealth technology, utilise machine learning.
AI Replacement Risk
44/ 100
Moderate Risk
Low riskHigh risk
Quick Facts
SectorEngineering Services
ISCO GroupScience and engineering associate professionals
Essential Skills16
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