AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Automotive Engineers?

Task-level automation exposure for Automotive Engineers: 25 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

53% weighted task index

25 of 25 tasks scored

Median Salary

$104,110 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

High

296,810 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+11.2% employment change

17,800 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 53 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$61,510 – $157,710

Highest medians

New Mexico $157,710

District of Columbia $133,300

California $130,900

Delaware $125,130

Colorado $124,430

Lowest medians

Guam $61,510

Puerto Rico $72,240

Arkansas $80,180

Kansas $86,260

North Dakota $86,330

State figures come from the 17-2141 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 53%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 5%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 45%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 8%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 5/100 Low

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

25 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 49%

12 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 31%

8 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 20%

5 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Constituent Tasks

#16438 · Core · 33% automatable

Conduct or direct system-level automotive testing.

interpersonal — Directing design work needs accountability and judgment

Test performance of electrical, electronic, mechanical, or integrated systems or equipment. Direct design or development activities.

#16428 · Core · 65% automatable

Provide technical direction to other engineers or engineering support personnel.

decision support — Technical guidance needs context-specific human judgment

Provide technical guidance to other personnel.

#16429 · Core · 68% automatable

Perform failure, variation, or root cause analyses.

data analysis — Quantitative failure analysis; domain judgment needed

Conduct quantitative failure analyses of operational data.

#16434 · Core · 18% automatable

Calibrate vehicle systems, including control algorithms or other software systems.

physical manipulation — Physical calibration of instruments requires hands

Calibrate scientific or technical equipment.

#16437 · Core · 53% automatable

Design or analyze automobile systems in areas such as aerodynamics, alternate fuels, ergonomics, hybrid power, brakes, transmissions, steering, calibration, safety, or diagnostics.

data analysis — Equipment specs analysis aided; physical testing human

Evaluate characteristics of equipment or systems. Design electromechanical equipment or systems.

#16423 · Core · 80% automatable

Prepare or present technical or project status reports.

text generation — Generate operational reports from structured data

Prepare operational reports.

#16426 · Core · 40% automatable

Conduct research studies to develop new concepts in the field of automotive engineering.

data analysis — Design analysis aided; simulation and build human

Research advanced engineering designs or applications.

#16422 · Core · 65% automatable

Establish production or quality control standards.

decision support — Operational criteria drafted; human decides

Determine operational criteria or specifications.

#16436 · Core · 45% automatable

Alter or modify designs to obtain specified functional or operational performance.

decision support — AI drafts electromechanical designs; engineer verifies

Design electromechanical equipment or systems.

#19638 · Core · 45% automatable

Research or implement green automotive technologies involving alternative fuels, electric or hybrid cars, or lighter or more fuel-efficient vehicles.

information retrieval — Green tech literature aided; engineering validation human

Research design or application of green technologies.

#16432 · Core · 60% automatable

Develop calibration methodologies, test methodologies, or tools.

decision support — Protocols drafted; scientific validity human-owned

Devise research or testing protocols.

#19633 · Core · 32% automatable

Create design alternatives for vehicle components, such as camless or dual-clutch engines or alternative air-conditioning systems, to increase fuel efficiency.

decision support — AI aids concepts; vehicle engineering and testing human

Design energy-efficient vehicles or vehicle components.

#16424 · Core · 50% automatable

Develop or implement operating methods or procedures.

text generation — AI drafts technical methods; expert validates feasibility

Implement design or process improvements. Develop technical methods or processes.

#16431 · Core · 67% automatable

Develop engineering specifications or cost estimates for automotive design concepts.

data analysis — Operational cost estimation from data

Estimate operational costs. Determine design criteria or specifications.

#16433 · Core · 62% automatable

Conduct automotive design reviews.

data analysis — Evaluates technical data impact; engineer owns design

Evaluate technical data to determine effect on designs or plans.

#19635 · Core · 32% automatable

Design vehicles that use lighter materials, such as aluminum, magnesium alloy, or plastic, to improve fuel efficiency.

decision support — AI aids concepts; vehicle engineering and testing human

Design energy-efficient vehicles or vehicle components.

#16425 · Core · 77% automatable

Write, review, or maintain engineering documentation.

text generation — Internal technical reports drafted; human reviews

Prepare technical reports for internal use. Maintain operational records or records systems.

#19636 · Core · 65% automatable

Develop specifications for vehicles powered by alternative fuels or alternative power methods.

decision support — Design criteria drafted; human owns decisions

Determine design criteria or specifications.

#16435 · Core · 60% automatable

Build models for algorithm or control feature verification testing.

data analysis — AI builds computational models; engineer validates assumptions

Create models of engineering designs or methods.

#16427 · Core · 50% automatable

Coordinate production activities with other functional units, such as procurement, maintenance, or quality control.

interpersonal — Cross-party coordination aided; humans own commitments

Coordinate activities with suppliers, contractors, clients, or other departments.

#16439 · Core · 50% automatable

Design control systems or algorithms for purposes such as automotive energy management, emissions management, or increased operational safety or performance.

decision support — AI drafts control logic; engineer validates safety

Design control systems for mechanical or other equipment.

#16430 · Core · 65% automatable

Develop or integrate control feature requirements.

decision support — Design criteria drafted; human owns decisions

Determine design criteria or specifications.

#19637 · Core · 40% automatable

Research computerized automotive applications, such as telemetrics, intelligent transportation systems, artificial intelligence, or automatic control.

data analysis — Design analysis aided; simulation and build human

Research advanced engineering designs or applications.

#16421 · Core · 80% automatable

Read current literature, attend meetings or conferences, or talk with colleagues to stay abreast of new automotive technology or competitive products.

information retrieval — AI tracks technical updates; human validates depth

Update technical knowledge.

#19634 · Core · 32% automatable

Design vehicles for increased recyclability or use of natural, renewable, or recycled materials in vehicle construction.

decision support — AI aids concepts; vehicle engineering and testing human

Design energy-efficient vehicles or vehicle components.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

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