<p>What exactly do engineers who focus on propulsion Or Engines do?</p>
<p>I heard on another board about cycle calcs and that no one group of engineers focus on the jet engine as a whole. What are these smaller parts and What exactly do I do if I were to get a job in propulsion systems and engines?</p>
<p>Well if you are trying to do jet engines, there are a whole bunch of things you could be doing. Jet engines are incredibly complex machines, so there are lots of mechanical engineers, aerospace engineers, electrical engineers, materials scientists and you name it that work on jet engines. You could do anything from the aerodynamics of the air passing through the engine to the specifics of the combustion going on inside to developing new high temperature materials (like CMCs) to controls to performance (the position you mentioned where you work with the thermo cycle) to pretty much everywhere in between. No one works on the whole engine, but every little piece needs a specialist.</p>