automotive designer
Automotive designers create model designs in 2D or 3D and prepare isometric drawings and graphics. They work closely with computer hardware engineers to develop hardware designs for the next generation of automotive applications including advanced driver-assistance and vehicle-to-everything systems. They re-evaluate vehicle design, materials and manufacturing technologies, anticipating changes to vehicle architecture and power management, vehicle features and seating functionality and safety.
automotive designer automotive designers create model designs in 2D or 3D and prepare isometric drawings and graphics. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include engineering principles, CAM software, material mechanics, CADD software, mathematics.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £36,848 a year for Clothing, fashion and accessories designers (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 3422). ONS rates this estimate acceptable: it rests on a small sample, so treat it as a rough guide. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only automotive designer, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 2. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Engineering and Technology
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Mechanical
- Design
- Computers and Electronics
- Transportation
- English Language
What you'd actually do
- Conduct or direct system-level automotive testing.
- Provide technical direction to other engineers or engineering support personnel.
- Perform failure, variation, or root cause analyses.
- Calibrate vehicle systems, including control algorithms or other software systems.
- Design or analyze automobile systems in areas such as aerodynamics, alternate fuels, ergonomics, hybrid power, brakes, transmissions, steering, calibration, safety, or diagnostics.
- Prepare or present technical or project status reports.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does automotive designer do?
Automotive designers create model designs in 2D or 3D and prepare isometric drawings and graphics. They work closely with computer hardware engineers to develop hardware designs for the next generation of automotive applications including advanced driver-assistance and vehicle-to-everything systems. They re-evaluate vehicle design, materials and manufacturing technologies, anticipating changes to vehicle architecture and power management, vehicle features and seating functionality and safety.
What skills does automotive designer need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include engineering principles, CAM software, material mechanics, CADD software, mathematics, physics. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace automotive designer?
Our AI-durability model gives automotive designer a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.