Jobs · Aerospace engineer

Will AI replace aerospace engineers?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 49% of the working time in a typical aerospace engineer job today. The other 51% still needs a person.

13 responsibilities · a typical aerospace engineer job

51% of the work still needs a person.

Still needs a person: 51% of the timeAI could take on: 49%

Evidence range: 34 to 49%. It runs between what has been measured or rated for each responsibility and our figure, which also follows industry-wide research.

Median pay $134,960 a year in the U.S. (BLS, May 2025).

Still needs a person

  • Run stress and performance tests

AI can do or help with

  • Coordinate engineering and technical staff AI helps
  • Check designs meet engineering and safety standards AI helps
  • Diagnose problems from reports and inspections AI helps
  • Shape the conceptual design of a product AI helps
  • Write technical reports and documentation AI can do it
  • Keep performance report records organized AI can do it

The biggest responsibilities of each kind. "AI helps" means AI takes on part of the work, or most of it with a person checking what it produces. See all 13, with the reason for each and the cost of handing them to AI.

Is this your job?

Upload your résumé to see your Human Edge: how much of this job your experience holds in the 51% that still needs a person. You also get a free plan with what to learn next. We never keep your résumé.

Check my résuméHiring? Check your posting

Questions people ask

Will AI replace aerospace engineers?

Part of the work, not the whole job. AI could take on about 49% of the working time in a typical aerospace engineer job today. The other 51% still needs a person. That is a split of the work, not a forecast of jobs lost.

Which parts of the job can AI do?

The biggest ones AI can do or help with: coordinate engineering and technical staff, check designs meet engineering and safety standards, diagnose problems from reports and inspections, shape the conceptual design of a product, write technical reports and documentation, keep performance report records organized.

Which parts still need a person?

The biggest ones: run stress and performance tests.

How is this measured?

The U.S. Department of Labor lists 14 responsibilities for this job (O*NET 31.0), and the split covers the 13 people in it do today. Each is scored on 4 questions: can AI do it, does it get it right, must a person sign for it, and do people need to deal with a real person. The split is weighted by how much of the job each responsibility takes up. The evidence range is 34 to 49%. It runs between what has been measured or rated for each responsibility and our figure, which also follows industry-wide research. Scores version 0.5.2, updated September 30, 2026.

Responsibilities from O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor). Pay from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025. Scores are calibrated to published research and updated every month. How it works.

Related jobs

All 59 jobs, ranked · Jobs AI can't replace yet