Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles. At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinking principles to organize this body of knowledge.
Systems Engineering is a transdisciplinary and integrative approach to enable the successful realization, use, and retirement of engineered systems, using systems principles and concepts, and scientific, technological, and management methods.
Systems engineers analyze organizational systems to find more efficient ways of doing things. Typical activities include: Analyzing system challenges and identifying the best solution to meet project needs, also taking a project from conception to completion.
Systems engineers oversee all aspects of a project or system in a variety of fields, such as software, transportation, product development, and manufacturing. Their job is to develop a system that creates a product from the beginning to the end.
Control engineering and its design and implementation of control systems used extensively in nearly every industry is a big sub-field of systems engineering. The cruise control on an automobile and the guidance system for a ballistic missile are two examples of system engineering.
Systems engineers work for government agencies, computer companies, and many industries that need to solve large and complex engineering problems. Large research projects sponsored by government, industry, or universities also employ teams of scientists and engineers, including systems engineers.