<p>If the hardware fairy delivers hardware on your bench to do the work you’re a software engineer
If you are the hardware fairy you’re the hardware engineer
If there’s a problem with your bench you can pray for a hardware fairy or a systems engineer.
Systems engineers, like fairies, exist. But they’re busy traveling to nice locations like Sunnyvale or to talk to the other mythical creature, the Customer. So you never see them.
Systems engineers deal with abstractions like DOORS, requirements, test plans, validation, etc.</p>
<p>If you don’t understand anything from above you’re a manager </p>
<p>:)] </p>