With India on the road map of Industrial Revolution 4.0, it has become imperative for enterprises to build new products with smart technological features that focus on providing a better experience to consumers and end users. While design and manufacturing are considered vital for this process, these two segments have undergone a makeover post-pandemic.
Product development being the key focus for most global markets in the changing landscape, India is gaining momentum with its rapid digitization and make-in-India initiatives thus creating a tremendous paradigm shift in design, automation, and product automation.
Also, with India being the leading exporter of ER&D services today projecting the ER&D services sourcing market to grow at a CAGR of 12% by 2025, despite the impact of the pandemic in the last years, the ER&D exports from India continued to grow owing to the ease of doing business, IP protection, technical excellence, a large pool of engineers, demographic advantages, and quality infrastructure. CAD/CAM and CAE markets in India are continually growing, making it one of the most promising careers shortly.
The usage of computer-aided engineering (CAE) is increasing as it simplifies simulation and resolves several engineering problems by validating and improving manufacturing tools, products, and processes. CAD vendors include CAE in design tools that provide quick and detailed analysis of the design to achieve the next level of engineering by analyzing simulations that create a user experience with AI /VR. The mere computer software that is used to analyse and virtually test engineering products is now designing & re-engineering customer experience. The Indian CAD software market size recorded $445.6 million in 2019 and is also expected to reach $696.9 million by 2025.
The need for CAE is also expanding significantly and is expected to rise by 30% to 35% by FY 2025. The market industry is also estimated to grow by 16.14% YOY as of 2022 with the APAC region increasing its contribution from 39% to 41% by 2025.
In terms of markets, a more diverse set of industries are increasingly adopting the use of CAE tools such as IOT and 3D printing, lithium-ion batteries in consumer electronics applications, aircraft designing, telecommunications, automotive, medical devices, electrical and electronics, defence and aerospace.
Currently, the focus is on the growth of product/system-level CAE expertise, functional/technical expertise and value-added services. Organizations need constant recommendations in order to optimize or develop designs, build support for new technologies in electrification, autonomous vehicle development, Big data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, the Internet of things (IoT) and virtual reality. They also require assistance in pre-integrated solutions such as industrial design, product design, testing, manufacturing, project management. Thus creating the need for the development of niche areas in CAE is gaining more importance as part of engineering solutions.
90% of the customers in India have adopted 3D modeling / 3D designing, while the next level of CAE is adopted by more than 60% of the customers, dominated by FEA and CFD.
The growth rate of 8.2% is expected to be achieved by 2025 with 3D being the fastest growing sector as it enables design automation, performance validation and receiving support for 3D printing. While Maharashtra emerged as the highest contributor between 2019 and 2021, the North Region seems to be capturing the markets with the South leading the charts by 2025.
Organizations need CAEs with a minimum experience of 2 to 3 years with qualifications either Diploma or BE but certifications in 3D and Creo are definitely an added advantage. The future job roles would require a working knowledge of Finite Element Analysis, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Heat Transfer, Applied Solid Mechanics, Material Science and other Computational Numerical Methods that are key for any CAE Engineer. Overall hiring of CAEs has increased by 10 – 15% as compared to last year and is expected to grow beyond 18% in the next 3 years.
The annual Salary for a Senior Software engineer ranges from 14.1 Lacs to 19.0 Lacs, whereas for a Lead Engineer the salary ranges between 30.0 Lacs to 45.0 Lacs. For Freshers with 1 to 2 years of experience, the salary is average at 4.2 Lacs PA designated as Design Engineer.
CAE Analysts is another interesting portfolio attracting huge opportunities in R&D, Powertrain, and design. Candidates with a minimum of 3 yrs. of experience can expect an annual package of 11.0 L to 15.0 Lacs whereas with experience of 7+ years the salary ranges between 16.0 Lacs to 22.0 Lacs PA, Preferred Skill sets for a CAE Analyst role are Nodal Analysis, CAE, Catia, Structure Analysis, and others. One can witness a high level of gender diversity in CAE analyst roles along with an upwards salary hike for every female candidate, For every ₹100 paid to men, women are paid ₹ 108. While for the CAE engineering roles for every ₹100 paid to men, women are paid ₹ 88.
CAE Analysis Engineer, CAE Design Analyst, and FEA Engineer are a few key roles in demand for mechanical engineers. Engineers are required to keep up with the latest trends, technologies, and tools to be able to provide data analysis, there is a constant need to have strong engineering fundamentals and good engineering judgment in supporting projects.
Simulation engineers, Application CAE Lead, Technical Leads, and Senior CAE design research are upcoming roles in Leading Automotive Mfg., R&D, Industrial, Chemical, and Medical companies. The skills needed are NASTRAN, Abaqus, Hyper mesh, CAE, and others.
While it is crucial to adapt to CAE and CAD simulations, finding the right talent is challenging for this role fitment, Human Resources and Organizations are presently at War to bring in and retain the key talent in these functions, Digitalization and Technology disrupting the markets have made it even more difficult to attract Talent to the traditional R&D, Manufacturing and R&T centers.