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Date: 08/25/2025

Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists

Design objects, facilities, and environments to optimize human well-being and overall system performance, applying theory, principles, and data regarding the relationship between humans and respective technology. Investigate and analyze characteristics of human behavior and performance as it relates to the use of technology.

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  • Work Activities
  • Skills
  • WorkKeys®
  • Abilities
  • Knowledge
  • Career Video
  • Pay
  • Ohio Employment Trends
  • Typical Education
  • Personality
  • Tools
  • Technology
  • Provide human factors technical expertise on topics, such as advanced user-interface technology development or the role of human users in automated or autonomous sub-systems in advanced vehicle systems.
  • Perform statistical analyses, such as social network pattern analysis, network modeling, discrete event simulation, agent-based modeling, statistical natural language processing, computational sociology, mathematical optimization, or systems dynamics.
  • Investigate theoretical or conceptual issues, such as the human design considerations of lunar landers or habitats.
  • Develop or implement research methodologies or statistical analysis plans to test and evaluate developmental prototypes used in new products or processes, such as cockpit designs, user workstations, or computerized human models.
  • Prepare reports or presentations summarizing results or conclusions of human factors engineering or ergonomics activities, such as testing, investigation, or validation.
  • Write, review, or comment on documents, such as proposals, test plans, or procedures.
  • Collect data through direct observation of work activities or witnessing the conduct of tests.
  • Conduct interviews or surveys of users or customers to collect information on topics, such as requirements, needs, fatigue, ergonomics, or interfaces.
  • Design or evaluate human work systems, using human factors engineering and ergonomic principles to optimize usability, cost, quality, safety, or performance.
  • Inspect work sites to identify physical hazards.
  • Assess the user-interface or usability characteristics of products.
  • Develop or implement human performance research, investigation, or analysis protocols.
  • Apply modeling or quantitative analysis to forecast events, such as human decisions or behaviors, the structure or processes of organizations, or the attitudes or actions of human groups.
  • Advocate for end users in collaboration with other professionals, including engineers, designers, managers, or customers.
  • Review health, safety, accident, or worker compensation records to evaluate safety program effectiveness or to identify jobs with high incidence of injury.
  • Train users in task techniques or ergonomic principles.
  • Analyze complex systems to determine potential for further development, production, interoperability, compatibility, or usefulness in a particular area, such as aviation.
  • Design cognitive aids, such as procedural storyboards or decision support systems.
  • Integrate human factors requirements into operational hardware.
  • Recommend workplace changes to improve health and safety, using knowledge of potentially harmful factors, such as heavy loads or repetitive motions.
  • Design or evaluate human work systems, using human factors engineering and ergonomic principles to optimize usability, cost, quality, safety, or performance.
  • Operate testing equipment, such as heat stress meters, octave band analyzers, motion analysis equipment, inclinometers, light meters, thermoanemometers, sling psychrometers, or colorimetric detection tubes.
  • Estimate time or resource requirements for ergonomic or human factors research or development projects.
  • Estimate time or resource requirements for ergonomic or human factors research or development projects.
  • Establish system operating or training requirements to ensure optimized human-machine interfaces.
  • Perform functional, task, or anthropometric analysis, using tools, such as checklists, surveys, videotaping, or force measurement.
  • Provide technical support to clients through activities, such as rearranging workplace fixtures to reduce physical hazards or discomfort or modifying task sequences to reduce cycle time.
  • Conduct research to evaluate potential solutions related to changes in equipment design, procedures, manpower, personnel, or training.

Work Activities

Work Activities

  • Provide human factors technical expertise on topics, such as advanced user-interface technology development or the role of human users in automated or autonomous sub-systems in advanced vehicle systems.
  • Perform statistical analyses, such as social network pattern analysis, network modeling, discrete event simulation, agent-based modeling, statistical natural language processing, computational sociology, mathematical optimization, or systems dynamics.
  • Investigate theoretical or conceptual issues, such as the human design considerations of lunar landers or habitats.
  • Develop or implement research methodologies or statistical analysis plans to test and evaluate developmental prototypes used in new products or processes, such as cockpit designs, user workstations, or computerized human models.
  • Prepare reports or presentations summarizing results or conclusions of human factors engineering or ergonomics activities, such as testing, investigation, or validation.
  • Write, review, or comment on documents, such as proposals, test plans, or procedures.
  • Collect data through direct observation of work activities or witnessing the conduct of tests.
  • Conduct interviews or surveys of users or customers to collect information on topics, such as requirements, needs, fatigue, ergonomics, or interfaces.
  • Design or evaluate human work systems, using human factors engineering and ergonomic principles to optimize usability, cost, quality, safety, or performance.
  • Inspect work sites to identify physical hazards.
  • Assess the user-interface or usability characteristics of products.
  • Develop or implement human performance research, investigation, or analysis protocols.
  • Apply modeling or quantitative analysis to forecast events, such as human decisions or behaviors, the structure or processes of organizations, or the attitudes or actions of human groups.
  • Advocate for end users in collaboration with other professionals, including engineers, designers, managers, or customers.
  • Review health, safety, accident, or worker compensation records to evaluate safety program effectiveness or to identify jobs with high incidence of injury.
  • Train users in task techniques or ergonomic principles.
  • Analyze complex systems to determine potential for further development, production, interoperability, compatibility, or usefulness in a particular area, such as aviation.
  • Design cognitive aids, such as procedural storyboards or decision support systems.
  • Integrate human factors requirements into operational hardware.
  • Recommend workplace changes to improve health and safety, using knowledge of potentially harmful factors, such as heavy loads or repetitive motions.
  • Design or evaluate human work systems, using human factors engineering and ergonomic principles to optimize usability, cost, quality, safety, or performance.
  • Operate testing equipment, such as heat stress meters, octave band analyzers, motion analysis equipment, inclinometers, light meters, thermoanemometers, sling psychrometers, or colorimetric detection tubes.
  • Estimate time or resource requirements for ergonomic or human factors research or development projects.
  • Estimate time or resource requirements for ergonomic or human factors research or development projects.
  • Establish system operating or training requirements to ensure optimized human-machine interfaces.
  • Perform functional, task, or anthropometric analysis, using tools, such as checklists, surveys, videotaping, or force measurement.
  • Provide technical support to clients through activities, such as rearranging workplace fixtures to reduce physical hazards or discomfort or modifying task sequences to reduce cycle time.
  • Conduct research to evaluate potential solutions related to changes in equipment design, procedures, manpower, personnel, or training.

Skills

  • Equipment Maintenance

    Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

  • Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

  • Systems Evaluation

    Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

  • Technology Design

    Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

  • Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

  • Operations Analysis

    Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

  • Troubleshooting

    Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

  • Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • Service Orientation

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • Active Listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • Installation

    Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

  • Systems Analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

  • Repairing

    Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

  • Management of Financial Resources

    Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

  • Quality Control Analysis

    Testing how well a product or service works.

  • Complex Problem Solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • Management of Personnel Resources

    Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

  • Mathematics

    Using math to solve problems.

  • Judgment and Decision Making

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

  • Negotiation

    Bringing people together to solve differences.

  • Coordination

    Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

  • Critical Thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • Equipment Selection

    Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

  • Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • Operations Monitoring

    Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

  • Active Learning

    Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

  • Reading Comprehension

    Reading work-related information.

  • Operation and Control

    Using equipment or systems.

  • Science

    Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

  • Management of Material Resources

    Managing equipment and materials.

  • Time Management

    Managing your time and the time of other people.

  • Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • Social Perceptiveness

    Understanding people's reactions.

  • Programming

    Writing computer programs.

  • Learning Strategies

    Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

WorkKeys®

Applied Math
7
Workplace Documents
6
Graphic Literacy
5

Abilities

  • Hearing Sensitivity

    Telling the difference between sounds.

  • Night Vision

    Seeing at night or under low light.

  • Sound Localization

    Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

  • Dynamic Strength

    Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

  • Fluency of Ideas

    Coming up with lots of ideas.

  • Mathematical Reasoning

    Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

  • Gross Body Coordination

    Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

  • Time Sharing

    Doing two or more things at the same time.

  • Flexibility of Closure

    Seeing hidden patterns.

  • Arm-Hand Steadiness

    Keeping your arm or hand steady.

  • Speech Recognition

    Recognizing spoken words.

  • Near Vision

    Seeing details up close.

  • Peripheral Vision

    Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

  • Extent Flexibility

    Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

  • Originality

    Creating new and original ideas.

  • Inductive Reasoning

    Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

  • Oral Comprehension

    Listening and understanding what people say.

  • Number Facility

    Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

  • Perceptual Speed

    Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • Wrist-Finger Speed

    Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

  • Reaction Time

    Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

  • Written Expression

    Communicating by writing.

  • Dynamic Flexibility

    Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

  • Problem Sensitivity

    Noticing when problems happen.

  • Category Flexibility

    Grouping things in different ways.

  • Deductive Reasoning

    Using rules to solve problems.

  • Gross Body Equilibrium

    Keeping your balance or staying upright.

  • Explosive Strength

    Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

  • Trunk Strength

    Using your lower back and stomach.

  • Selective Attention

    Paying attention to something without being distracted.

  • Information Ordering

    Ordering or arranging things.

  • Memorization

    Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

  • Glare Sensitivity

    Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

  • Static Strength

    Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

  • Visualization

    Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

  • Manual Dexterity

    Holding or moving items with your hands.

  • Oral Expression

    Communicating by speaking.

  • Stamina

    Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

  • Response Orientation

    Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

  • Spatial Orientation

    Knowing where things are around you.

  • Finger Dexterity

    Putting together small parts with your fingers.

  • Control Precision

    Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

  • Speech Clarity

    Speaking clearly.

  • Speed of Limb Movement

    Quickly moving your arms and legs.

  • Written Comprehension

    Reading and understanding what is written.

  • Visual Color Discrimination

    Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

  • Depth Perception

    Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

  • Multilimb Coordination

    Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

  • Speed of Closure

    Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

  • Far Vision

    Seeing details that are far away.

  • Rate Control

    Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

  • Auditory Attention

    Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

Knowledge

  • Engineering and Technology

    Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

  • Geography

    Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

  • Telecommunications

    Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

  • Law and Government

    Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

  • Public Safety and Security

    Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

  • Biology

    Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

  • Medicine and Dentistry

    Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

  • Customer and Personal Service

    Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

  • Psychology

    Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

  • Foreign Language

    Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

  • Economics and Accounting

    Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

  • English Language

    Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • Education and Training

    Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • Therapy and Counseling

    Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

  • Administration and Management

    Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

  • Mechanical

    Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

  • Mathematics

    Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

  • Chemistry

    Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

  • Communications and Media

    Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

  • Philosophy and Theology

    Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

  • Food Production

    Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

  • Sales and Marketing

    Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • Sociology and Anthropology

    Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

  • Personnel and Human Resources

    Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

  • Computers and Electronics

    Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • Building and Construction

    Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

  • Physics

    Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

  • Production and Processing

    Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

  • Transportation

    Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

  • Administrative

    Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

  • History and Archeology

    Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

  • Design

    Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

  • Fine Arts

    Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

Career Video

Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

Pay

  • Typical Salary
  • $135,160
    $99,490
    $71,960
    Ohio
    US
    $157,140
    $101,140
    $70,000
  • Typical Hourly Wage
  • $65
    $48
    $35
    Ohio
    US
    $76
    $49
    $34

Ohio Employment Trends

  • Currently Employed 20,760
  • Yearly Projected Openings 1260

Typical Education

Personality

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.They do well at jobs that need:
  • Integrity
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Attention to Detail
  • Cooperation
  • Initiative
  • Concern for Others

Tools

  • Air velocity and temperature monitors
  • Aircraft flight simulators or trainers
  • Cardiac output CO monitoring units
  • Colorimeters
  • Compression testers
  • Desktop computers
  • Digital camcorders or video cameras
  • Digital voice recorders
  • Distance meters
  • Dynamometers
  • Electrocardiography EKG units
  • Electroencephalograph EEGs
  • Electromyography EMG units
  • Electronic blood pressure units
  • Flowmeters
  • Goniometers or arthrometers
  • Heat stress monitors
  • Laser printers
  • Lux or light meter
  • Mercury blood pressure units
  • Microphones
  • Multimedia projectors
  • Notebook computers
  • Oxygen gas analyzers
  • Personal computers
  • Physiological recorders
  • Psychrometers
  • Skinfold calipers
  • Sound measuring apparatus or decibel meter
  • Tablet computers
  • Thickness measuring devices
  • Touch pads
  • Touch screen monitors
  • Treadmills

Technology

  • Analytical or scientific software
  • Computer aided design CAD software
  • Content workflow software
  • Desktop publishing software
  • Development environment software
  • Document management software
  • Electronic mail software
  • Enterprise application integration software
  • Graphical user interface development software
  • Graphics or photo imaging software
  • Internet browser software
  • Object or component oriented development software
  • Office suite software
  • Operating system software
  • Presentation software
  • Process mapping and design software
  • Program testing software
  • Spreadsheet software
  • Video creation and editing software
  • Web page creation and editing software
  • Web platform development software
  • Word processing software
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