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
Engineering Specialist
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.