[robomartin]

Imagination. Problem solving. Ability/desire to learn. Non-dogmatic. Excellent communication skills. Exposed to and experience in a range of domains (this could be through hobbies, not necessarily work). Thrives --rather than crumbles-- when things don't go well. Not afraid to admit not knowing something. Not afraid to ask for help (in some ways that's about not being egotistical). Good sense of humor.

I could go on.

Notice I didn't mention any specifics (i.e., knows compiler xyz, can use 3D CAD tool abc, etc.). None of that matters. Virtually none of the tools and technologies I use today existed when I was getting started. A simple example of this are FPGA's.

What matters to me isn't what list of "tools and features" a person brings to the table but rather who they are and how they got there. Someone who has the right drive and approach can learn anything, and thrive. That, to me, is what makes a strong engineer.

A couple of decades ago I hired an engineer out of Intel. I though I was going to learn a bunch from him. Quite to the contrary. The guy had spent so many years living in a professional silo that he did not do well in an environment where you have to do more than one thing. At Intel all he did was design power supplies. He didn't even deal with suppliers and order parts, he had groups of people who did that for him. He also didn't do much in the way of PCB layout and did no embedded software at all. It was a very rough start with us. He required a tremendous amount of coaching. In the end what made him keep the job was a strong work ethic and the desire and willingness to learn.

[rramadass]

Well said.

A good attitude, persistence and willingness to "muddle through" Complex/Complicated/Foggy Requirements/Understanding to arrive at a solution is the prime requirement.