Engineer (Alien Rank)
An Engineer is one of the middle tier Alien Ranks, and is one of the found moderately commonly in various mission profiles. Their role on board is to maintain the UFOs power source and also to keep other key facets of the crafts operational equipment in working order. Due to their proximity to the UFO Power Source and engines of the UFO they are the only type of alien whose occurence is significantly different depending on the mission type - in UFO Crash Recovery missions they are the most likely to have died before X-COM soldiers arrive.
In combat an Engineer is the equal of the soldier but no better, except for noticeably increased intelligence (and the fact that they are usually armed with Small Launchers). The only exception to this is Muton Engineers who wear better armour than their lower ranked colleagues. In terms of equipment it is important to note that on some mission profiles the Engineer will carry a Blaster Launcher.
Deployment
| UFO Type | Beg./Exp. | Vet./Gen. | Super. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Scout | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Medium Scout | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Large Scout | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2-3 |
| Abductor | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Harvester | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Supply Ship | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Terror Ship | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Battleship | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Alien Base | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Captured Engineers
Interrogating a captured engineer will provide details of one of the 8 Alien Ships.