I am a systems engineer. In my opinion, the two most important aspects of systems engineering are process and connections. Process is fundamental, because you can’t be an expert at everything. Process keeps everyone in sync from a technical point of view.<p>Likewise, because you will sometimes need an expert, your connections can help to bring in a consultant when you need them. It doesn’t really matter whether you are building a nuclear reactor or a large software system—these basic aspects of the trade are the same.<p>The systems engineer helps to define what needs to be done and to what degree, while the project manager tracks how it is done. Systems engineers identify requirements, focus on technology challenges with prototypes and simulations, conduct technical reviews, ferret out problems, set goals and objectives, and document everything. It takes a lot of experience and a mind for detail.
The work by a systems engineer depends on where they work.<p>When I worked in roles described as systems engineer, it required me to design, specify, manage staff and contractors and often do some hands-on work. It included AC power circuits, air conditioning, data centre physical security, racking layouts, hot / cold aisle allocation, network design and configuration, SAN and network cabling, scripting, administering *nix servers (I don't touch MS products), being a DBA and supporting users.<p>Basically the only thing I didn't work on was programming application software. But did write lots of shell scripts to handle interoperability requirements for poorly intergrated ERP systems.