2

One of my friend is supposed to be a "Quality Engineer", but I don't know how to say that in French. After a few googling, I found that the notion of Quality Engineering is something more American, but as my friend is studying "Quality Engineering" in France-in English), there should be a specific name for that. I'm wondering what is the name. Ingénieur qualité? Ingénieur de qualité? Ingénieur de la qualité? Assureur de qualité? Assurance de qualité??? as I've seen something called QA (Quality Assurance)...

Thank you for your answer!

1 Answer 1

3

The literal translation “ingénieur qualité” is the correct one. The man in the street wouldn't know what that means, but then the same applies to “quality engineer” in English. You can find many occurrences on Linguee. The expression will be understood on a CV.

There isn't really a way to translate “quality engineering” as such. The word “engineering” has no exact French equivalent, it depends on the context. The discipline can be translated as “ingénierie qualité”, but not the activity. “Génie” (TLF III.B) is an old-fashioned word for “ingénierie”, and it remains strong in traditional expressions such as “génie mécanique”, “génie électrique” and even in the more modern “génie logiciel”, but “génie qualité” hasn't taken off in France (apparently it is used in Canada though), perhaps due to the combined awkwardness of the word génie used in a relatively uncommon meaning and of the noun qualité used as if it was an adjective.

For “quality engineering” or “quality assurance” as a role or an activity, “contrôle qualité” is common.

As for “certified”, again the literal translation “certifié” is correct. However note that engineering is not regulated in France: anyone can claim to be an engineer. The title “ingénieur diplômé” is regulated, but it isn't equivalent: “diplômé” corresponds to a university diploma, not to a professional certification that you get after a number of years of experience.

2
  • Merci beaucoup Gilles. It's really helpful. I was not aware of the difference between a certified engineer and a "ingénieur diplômé" before. insteresting...
    – LN_HE
    Feb 21, 2015 at 17:14
  • Compléments: termium; GD; L.R.Q., c. I-9 a. 22.
    – user3177
    Mar 10, 2015 at 15:04

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.