Engineering Department
Engineering is responsible for the propulsive and structural systems of a ship or station, as well as maintenance, overhaul, and operation of these systems. They handle the most energy-intensive and critical systems of any ship or station, especially those concerned with taking a ship from place to place. This department is often also tasked with building and repair tasks on away missions. Engineering is often the largest department.
Standard Engineering Positions
Chief Engineering Officer
The Chief Engineering Officer is the unit's senior engineer, with ultimate responsibility for propulsive and structural systems. They set the duty schedules for their staff, and need to be consulted on any change in status of the ship's systems to ensure they do not interfere with normal operations. Their duty station is most often in Main Engineering, but some captains prefer their engineer to be on the bridge during alert situations, and the engineering station there duplicates the engineering command functions in the engine room.
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
The Assistant Chief Engineering Officer is second-in-command of the engineering department, assisting their department head in their duties and coordinating with the executive officer to form duty rosters. They also work with any section chiefs under them and other engineers to perform other duties around the ship.
Engineering Officer
A generalist position, officers in this role have been trained and certified in the functioning of all major systems on the starships/facilities they serve aboard. From running diagnostics to leading repair teams, these officers are the backbone of the engineering department. They will often be looking to gain the management experience needed to move into Chief Engineer positions of their own.
Engineering Specialist
This is a position with broad scope typically filled by a junior enlisted crewmember. Generally speaking, Engineering Specialists might assist with the design, development and maintenance of equipment and systems. Crewmen in this role will be used to doing the heavy lifting, scrubbing conduits and sealing stem bolts. They will often be rostered to perform regular maintenance checks and good officers will consult them before any system improvements or overhauls.
Additional Engineering Positions
Shift Engineer
A Shift Engineer is the senior engineer present during any given shift in the engine room, serving akin to the officer having the conn on the bridge, with on-call authority over every engineering compartment on the ship in the absence of the Chief Engineering Officer. To be entrusted with this duty, an engineer needs to have significant experience on the class of ship they're working on. On larger ships, there might be several senior officer Shift Engineers in addition to any Engineering Officers or Engineering Specialists in the department. On smaller ships, Chief Petty Officers might be used in this role, depending on the size and composition of the crew.
Warp Systems Engineering Officer
Aboard starships, these officers are of vital importance for the regulation and maintenance of the entire warp engine assembly. From matter/antimatter reaction stability to warp coil alignment, this position requires expertise in every aspect of a starship’s FTL technology, including the specific intricacies of the starship on which they serve. Other Starfleet facilities may require an officer in this role to carry out warp systems checks for a fleet of small craft. Warp engine repairs for docked starships might also be a responsibility for these officers aboard starbases.
Impulse Systems Engineering Officer
Specialists in fusion reactor technology, plasma exhaust and vectored thrust nozzles, these officers are responsible for ensuring all sublight propulsion and maneuvering thrusters are in working order. Like warp specialists above, officers in this role might find themselves in small craft and starship repair roles when assigned to larger Starfleet facilities.
Structural Systems Engineering Officer
These officers might find themselves engaged in the reviewing and redesigning of internal/external space aboard starships or other facilities. Perhaps the most creative role in the engineering department, structural systems engineers must take into account a whole host of factors in their work. Starship based officers (especially aboard light cruisers and smaller) may find themselves focused more on technical and efficiency design aspects. Those serving on capital ships, starbases and planetary installations must further consider economic, aesthetic and social dimensions of their work.
Shield Systems Engineering Officer
Responsible for the upkeep and repair of the shield grid, Engineers of this specialism can be seen carrying out diagnostics and energy dissipation modelling throughout any ship or facility. The real test of these Engineers takes place in combat situations, where they are often called upon to restore shield functionality while racing against the clock with catastrophic consequences should they fail. Consequently, shield restoration and combat scenario drills take up a significant portion of their time on duty.
Damage Control Officer
Trained in rapid emergency response, damage control officers will be the first to arrive at the scene of an accident, environmental hazard or critical equipment malfunction. Their first priority is to ensure the safety of their fellow crew. Engineers of this specialism are likely to be severely tested in combat operations. To ensure they are prepared for the challenges of the role, their holodeck training is regular and frequent.
Engineer's Mate
The Engineer’s Mate is the senior enlisted member of any engineering department. Any crewman holding this position is expected to have demonstrable working knowledge of all key ship/facility systems. This allows the Engineer’s Mate to act as a mentor for any enlisted department members, helping towards promotion and development of their own specialisms. A moderate number of enlisted crew across engineering departments makes this special title relatively common. Not all units will make use of it, however.
Engineering Department In-Play
- Engineering makes the ship move. The matter/anti-matter intermix levels, impulse power regulation, shuttle and small craft maintenance are all planned and executed by teams sent out from Main Engineering.
- Enlisted members of this department are responsible for the day-to-day repair and upkeep of critical ship's systems. Think scrubbing the plasma conduits, aligning sensor palettes and adjusting environmental controls.
- A good rule of thumb: Engineering fix & maintain the ship. Operations operate the ship. The Science department will frequently be consulting Engineering too with novel ideas and use cases for ship/station systems.
- The Engineering Department may frequently find itself saying "no", or at least providing clarity on what exactly the ship/station can and cannot do.
- The sections outlined in the above section would all need to be accounted for on any starship, but only medium-large ships would have an officer in every role. Bases and planet-side facilities may still require propulsion specialist roles for the repair of docked/orbiting craft, shuttles and runabouts.
- On certain remote or smaller facilities, for example Deep Space 9, this department might even be combined with operations with the Chief of Operations serving as department head.