Central to engineering work done at the Lab is creating, managing, and sharing 3D models and designs. The department offers assistance with mechanical computer-aided design (CAD) software and workflows, helping to support and manage this activity. The department also provides training and guidance on best practices for mechanical CAD. On the electrical and electronics engineering side, the department provides technical support for CAD software and workflows, enabling engineers to design and develop complex electrical and electronic systems. This includes assistance with schematic capture, PCB layout, integrated circuits, and simulation toolsets.

The Department provides technical support for the Engineering Division, helping staff members effectively use their workstations and software applications. This includes assistance with operating system issues, deployment of new workstations and hardware, and resolution of technical issues.

Lab users generate millions of CAD objects, each one an important piece of data that may be used or referenced for many years to come. To ensure high-quality data that can be easily transferred across users, the Department verifies that CAD objects meet laboratory standards and regulatory requirements through validation and review processes. This includes verifying that designs comply with industry standards like ANSI and ISO as well as Berkeley Lab-specific guidelines.

The Lab’s underlying philosophy of team science brings together large groups with diverse skill sets working on multi-year projects. Managing the complexity of these undertakings requires specialized skills and experience. The Department implements and manages PLM systems, enabling effective collaboration and data management across the engineering and science community. This includes configuring and maintaining the Lab’s PLM platform to support various engineering disciplines and workflows.

The Department manages and maintains both physical and virtual server infrastructure that supports engineering and scientific applications, ensuring high availability, reliability, and performance. This includes overseeing server hardware, operating systems, network configurations, as well as data retention and business continuity plans. In addition, the department manages large-scale network storage systems that house all engineering data.

Custom software solutions are often needed to support engineering and scientific applications, using a range of programming languages and development methodologies. This includes designing and implementing software tools to automate tasks, improve efficiency, and enhance data analysis. A specialty involves the integration and connection of multiple tools in the overall engineering process flow.