Career Guide to Becoming a Motorsport Engineer

Hermione Morgan
Nov 19, 2025
5 min read

Motorsport captures the imagination like few other industries in the world. The roar of engines, precision teamwork and constant hunt for speed make it one of the most innovative and intense engineering environments in the world. Behind every race -- whether it's Formula 1, IndyCar, Nascar, rally or karting -- lies a team of engineers dedicated to delivering on-track performance.

If you dream of being someone to deliver this high-level performance, this guide walks you through an idea of the full career pathway into motorsport engineering! What to study, how to get experience, and how to break into one of the most competitive engineering fields today.

What Exactly Do Motorsport Engineers Do?

Before you plan your career, it helps to understand the huge variety of roles motorsport engineering includes. Here is a snippet of a few different roles you can go into.

Race Engineer

Often considered the "driver's right hand," race engineers communicate with the driver during practise, qualifying and races. They make decisions on the car setup, included suspensions, aerodynamics, brakes and the balance. Also, they have the responsibility of coordinating the full engineering team during events.

Performance Engineer

Performance engineers dig into the data and do the analysis and research. They analyse telemetry, tire wear, fuel usage, driver inputs, car balance & handling metrics. Their job is to find lap time in the details. Discovering where their driver could push a little bit more could mean the difference between tenth place and first place.

Design Engineer

Design engineers work at the core of the factory, using CAD/CAM software and many other simulation tools to create a variety of things. This includes suspension geometry, tire models, any weight transfer, aerodynamic maps and track simulation.

Trackside/Performance Technician

These engineers work in the garage during race weekends. They handle a plethora of things including data systems, sensors, electrical systems, diagnostics and reliability. If you want to be directly involved in race day action, this path is the closest to it.

Educational Pathways into Motorsport

One of the most crucial things to do when beginning your journey into motorsport is picking an engineering degree, or other educational pathway, that aligns with the sport and area you want to go into.

While there are no single required degree, some of the most common pathways include:

Motorsport Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Automotive Engineering
Aerospace Engineering
Electrical/Electronic Engineering

The "best" degree isn't simply just the title, it factors in so much more than that like the hands-on opportunities. It is recommended to choose universities or programmes that offer things like a Formula Student (FSAE) team, strong workshop and lab facilities or partnerships with motorsport teams or automotive companies. Other opportunities that make universities more attractive is opportunites for industrial placements and access to professional software.

Master's Degree? Do you bother?

A master's can help if you want to specialise in certain areas like aerodynamics, composites and simulation. It is not mandatory, but it can give you an edge in competitive series like Formula 1.

The same thing can be said about a degree in general. It is not always necessary. This is why researching the best paths into motorsport is always recommended.

Join A Student Race Team

Ask most engineers working in motorsport today, and you'll most likely hear the same thing: Formula Student can be the deciding factor in whether you get hired.

It's as close as students get to real motorsport engineering. You'll get experience with CAD design, manufacturing, vehicle dynamics, data acquisition, project management, testing & validation and race event operations.

Recruiters care deeply about hands-on experience, and student racing proves your drive and ability to work in a high-pressure team environment.

Be aware, Formula Student teams aren't always common in different areas of the world, or in more rural areas. It is not a "must-do" if you want to get into motorsport engineering. It simply gives you a little head start.

Gaining Real-World Experience

You don't need to start at the top, in Formula 1 for example. In fact, most engineers begin in smaller racing series and work their way up.

Where can you build experience?

You can gain valuable experience in a number of ways. Including karting teams, club-level motorsport, local race shops and garages, trackside volunteering and internships.

Opportunities like this help you to understand how race weekends actually run, how teams collaborate in real time and demonstrates how teams collaborate with each other in real time.

Motorsport rewards those who show initiative and drive. Don't underestimate the value of starting small.

Technical Skills Teams Look For

To stand out, build a strong foundation in both theory and tools used in the industry.

Core Engineering Skills

Vehicle dynamics
Aerodynamics
Thermodynamics
Materials engineering
Combustion & engine systems
Suspension & steering geometry
Data analysis

Software and manufacturing skills are also highly valuable in motorsport engineering. Having wealthy knowledge of highly valuable tools and hands-on fabrication experience makes you extremely employable. The skills include:

CNC machining
CAD software
Carbon fibre
Data analysis
Simulation
Wiring harness fabrication

Networking: Unwritten Rule of Motorsport Careers

Despite having a degree, a master's degree and four hundred pages of portfolio work, sometimes it's who you know - not what you know.

Motorsport is built on relationships. Making connections can open far more doors than online applications alone. This is why you see a lot of people in niche careers, like motorsport, on platforms like LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a great platform to connect with people within a specific industry.

When it comes to choosing where to network, people often network in paddocks at local race events, technical conferences, motorsport engineering forums, alumni networks and FSAE alumni groups.

In terms of how to approach people regarding networking, don't straight up "ask for a job", unless it's a job posting. Instead, ask for advice or their career path, show interests in their projects, or share your own progress or portfolio. This can be applied to all career paths, not just motorsport engineering. Many first jobs come from a causal conversation that leads to a referral.

Continuing Career Growth

Motorsport evolves fast - convenient isn't it. Tomorrow's race cars will rely more heavily on electrification, artificial intelligence and more advanced aerodynamics. Engineers who keep expanding their skill set will always be in demand.

Recommended next steps include getting extra certifications on the side, taking part in courses in composition or additive manufacturing, training in EV and hybrid systems. Attending industry and seminars/conferences and publishing engineering projects or research online can also help develop career growth.

Our Final Thoughts

Motorsport engineering is challenging, competitive, and fast-paced. But it's always one of the most rewarding careers an engineer can pursue. The pathway to success combines a strong engineering education, hands-on project experience, real-world motorsport involvement, persistence and smart networking.

Whether your dream is to stand on the pit wall of a Formula 1 Grand Prix or support a grassroots karting team, every step you take builds the foundation for the next.

If you're passionate, committed and willing to learn -- you can make it into motorsport.