Shipsship-engineers
Ship Engineers
Every ship engineer, the unlock tree, where to engineer each module, the Core Eight path, and the best blueprint + experimental per module.
Verified: September 10, 2026Game: 4.4.x (Rhino SRV update)
Mostly evergreen. Anything that can change is marked ⚠️.
Summary
- There are 25 ship engineers. 21 live near the bubble. 4 live in Colonia.
- 5 are open on day one: Farseer, Martuuk, The Dweller, McQuinn, Liz Ryder.
- Each engineer reveals new engineers once you rank them to the middle of Grade 3 to 4.
- No more RNG since August 2024. At full rep, Grade 1 takes 1 roll, Grade 2 takes 2, and so on.
- Pin one blueprint per engineer. Then craft it at any station or Fleet Carrier.
- Experimental effects only at the engineer's base.
- Best FSD today: buy a pre-engineered SCO drive at a Human Tech Broker, then add Mass Manager. (Module 4)
The Rules
Four steps
Discover, then Invite (meet a requirement), then Unlock (hand over an item), then rank up from G1 to G5.
Referrals
Rank an engineer to the middle of G3 to G4. They reveal the next engineers in their chain.
Ranking up
Craft at the engineer's base. Farseer and Palin also take exploration data for rep. Remote crafting gives zero rep.
Rolls
At full rep: G1 = 1 roll, G2 = 2, G3 = 3, G4 = 4, G5 = 5. A fresh module needs about 15 rolls to hit G5.
No skipping
Every new module starts at G1. You cannot slap G5 on a stock module.
Access carries over
Once an engineer gives you G5 on a module type, that works on every ship you own.
Remote Workshop
Any station or Fleet Carrier. One pinned blueprint per engineer. Caps at that engineer's max grade. No rep. No experimentals.
Experimentals
Only at a base that works on that module. Low rep is fine. One experimental per module. Swapping it does not touch the blueprint.
Storage
Engineering materials do not use cargo space. Unlock items do. Lose the ship, lose the cargo.
The Unlock Tree
Every day one engineer has exactly one Colonia referral.
- Felicity Farseer
- Juri Ishmaak
- Colonel Bris DekkerSol permit
- The Sarge
- Elvira Martuuk
- Zacariah Nemo
- Marco QwentSirius permit
- Professor Palin
- Chloe Sedesi
- Lori JamesonShinrarta Dezhra permit
- Mel BrandonColonia
- The Dweller
- Lei Cheung
- Ram Tah
- Marsha HicksColonia
- Tod "The Blaster" McQuinn
- Selene Jean
- Bill TurnerAlioth permit
- Didi Vatermann
- Petra OlmanovaColonia
- Liz Ryder
- Hera Tani
- Broo Tarquin
- Tiana FortuneAchenar permit
- Etienne DornColonia
Engineer Directory
Bubble (21)
| Engineer | System (Base) | Top Grades | Invite Requirement | Unlock Item |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felicity Farseer | Deciat (Farseer Inc) | G5 FSD. G3 Thrusters, Sensors, DSS | Explorer rank Scout | 1 Meta-Alloy ⚠️ |
| Elvira Martuuk | Khun (Long Sight Base) | G5 FSD. G3 Shield Generator | 300 ly from your start system | 3 Soontill Relics |
| The Dweller | Wyrd (Black Hide) | G5 Power Distributor. G4 Pulse Laser | Deal with 5 black markets | 500,000 CR |
| Tod "The Blaster" McQuinn | Wolf 397 (Trophy Camp) | G5 Multi-cannon, Rail Gun | Earn 15 bounty vouchers | 100,000 CR of bounty vouchers |
| Liz Ryder | Eurybia (Demolition Unlimited) | G5 Missile Rack, Seeker, Torpedo | Cordial with Eurybia Blue Mafia | 200 Landmines |
| Juri Ishmaak | Giryak (Pater's Memorial) | G5 Sensors, DSS, Mining Laser, Abrasion Blaster, Mine Launcher, Enzyme Missile | Claim 50+ federal combat bonds | 100,000 CR of federal bonds (sometimes 1M) ⚠️ |
| Colonel Bris Dekker | Sol (Dekker's Yard) | G4 FSD Interdictor. G3 FSD | Friendly with the Federation | 1M CR of federal bonds (sometimes 10M) ⚠️ |
| The Sarge | Beta-3 Tucani (The Beach) | G5 Cannon, all 4 limpet controllers | Federal Navy Midshipman | 50 Aberrant Shield Pattern Analysis |
| Zacariah Nemo | Yoru (Nemo Cyber Party Base) | G5 Fragment Cannon | Invite from Party of Yoru | 25 Xihe Companions |
| Marco Qwent | Sirius (Qwent Research Base) | G4 Power Plant. G3 Power Distributor | Invite from Sirius Corporation | 25 Modular Terminals |
| Professor Palin | Arque (Abel Laboratory) | G5 Thrusters. G3 FSD | 5,000 ly from your start system | 25 Sensor Fragments ⚠️ |
| Chloe Sedesi | Shenve, Witch Head Nebula (Cinder Dock) | G5 Thrusters. G3 FSD | 5,000 ly from your start system | 25 Sensor Fragments ⚠️ |
| Lori Jameson | Shinrarta Dezhra (Jameson Base) | G5 Sensors, DSS. G4 AFMU, Fuel Scoop, Life Support, Refinery | Combat rank Dangerous | 25 Kongga Ale |
| Lei Cheung | Laksak (Trader's Rest) | G5 Shield Generator, Sensors, DSS. G3 Shield Booster | Trade in 50+ markets | 200 Gold |
| Ram Tah | Meene (Phoenix Base) | G5 Chaff, ECM, Heat Sink, Point Defence, 3 limpet types. G1 Guardian weapons | Explorer rank Surveyor | 50 Classified Scan Databanks |
| Selene Jean | Kuk (Prospector's Rest) | G5 Armour, Hull Reinforcement, Module Reinforcement | Mine 500 tons of ore | 10 mined Painite |
| Bill Turner | Alioth (Turner Metallics Inc) | G5 Sensors, DSS, Plasma Accelerator. G4 Cargo Rack | Hold the Alioth permit | 50 Bromellite |
| Didi Vatermann | Leesti (Vatermann LLC) | G5 Shield Booster. G3 Shield Generator | Trade rank Merchant | 50 Lavian Brandy |
| Hera Tani | Kuwemaki (The Jet's Hole) | G5 Power Plant, DSS. G3 Power Distributor, Sensors | Empire rank Outsider | 50 Kamitra Cigars |
| Broo Tarquin | Muang (Broo's Legacy) | G5 Beam, Burst, Pulse Lasers | Combat rank Competent | 50 Fujin Tea |
| Tiana Fortune | Achenar (Fortune's Loss) | G5 Sensors, KWS, Manifest, Wake Scanner, 4 limpet types. G4 Cargo Rack | Friendly with the Empire | 50 Decoded Emission Data |
Colonia (4) — about 22,000 ly from Sol
| Engineer | System (Base) | Top Grades | Invite Requirement | Unlock Item |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mel Brandon | Luchtaine (The Brig) | G5 FSD, Thrusters, Shield Generator, Shield Booster, FSD Interdictor, all 3 lasers. G4 Shield Cell Bank | Invite from Colonia Council | 100,000 CR of bounty vouchers |
| Etienne Dorn | Los (Kraken's Retreat) | G5 Power Plant, Power Distributor, Sensors, Life Support, DSS, Rail Gun, Plasma Accelerator, KWS, Manifest, Wake Scanner | Trade rank Dealer | 25 Occupied Escape Pods |
| Marsha Hicks | Tir (The Watchtower) | G5 Multi-cannon, Cannon, Fragment Cannon, Fuel Scoop, Refinery, 4 limpet types | Explorer rank Surveyor | 10 mined Osmium |
| Petra Olmanova | Asura (Sanctuary) | G5 Armour, HRP, MRP, AFMU, Chaff, ECM, Heat Sink, Point Defence, all missiles and torpedoes, Mine Launcher | Combat rank Expert | 200 Progenitor Cells |
Permit Key
Full permit list lives in Module 6.
| Permit | Engineer Inside | How to Get It |
|---|---|---|
| Sol | Bris Dekker | Federal Navy rank Petty Officer |
| Achenar | Tiana Fortune | Imperial Navy rank Squire |
| Sirius | Marco Qwent | Sirius Corporation invitation |
| Shinrarta Dezhra | Lori Jameson | At least one Elite rank |
| Alioth | Bill Turner | Friendly with the Alliance, plus Allied with Alioth Independents |
Where to Engineer Each Module
The lookup players need most. Find your module. Go to the name in bold.
Core Internals
| Module | G5 in the Bubble | G5 in Colonia | Next Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frame Shift Drive | Farseer, Martuuk | Brandon | G3 Dekker, Palin, Sedesi |
| Thrusters | Palin, Sedesi | Brandon | G3 Farseer |
| Power Plant | Hera Tani | Dorn | G4 Qwent |
| Power Distributor | The Dweller | Dorn | G3 Tani, Qwent |
| Sensors | Lei Cheung, Ishmaak, Jameson, Turner, Fortune | Dorn | G3 Farseer, Tani |
| Life Support | None | Dorn only | G4 Jameson, G3 Turner |
| Armour (Bulkheads) | Selene Jean | Olmanova | G1 Ryder |
Defense
| Module | G5 in the Bubble | G5 in Colonia | Next Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shield Generator | Lei Cheung | Brandon | G3 Martuuk, Vatermann |
| Shield Booster | Didi Vatermann | Brandon | G3 Lei Cheung |
| Shield Cell Bank | None. No G5 exists. | G4 Brandon only | G3 Jameson |
| Hull and Module Reinforcement | Selene Jean | Olmanova | G1 Ryder (HRP) |
| Chaff, ECM, Heat Sink, Point Defence | Ram Tah | Olmanova | None |
Utility and Optional Internals
| Module | G5 in the Bubble | G5 in Colonia | Next Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| FSD Interdictor | None | Brandon only | G4 Dekker |
| Fuel Scoop | None | Hicks only | G4 Jameson |
| Refinery | None | Hicks only | G4 Jameson |
| AFMU | None | Olmanova only | G4 Jameson |
| Cargo Rack | None. G4 is max. | None | G4 Turner, Ram Tah, Fortune |
| Detailed Surface Scanner | Lei Cheung, Ishmaak, Jameson, Tani, Turner | Dorn | G3 Farseer, Fortune |
| KWS, Manifest, Wake Scanner | Tiana Fortune | Dorn | G3 Turner, Ishmaak, Jameson |
| Collector, Prospector, Fuel Transfer Limpets | The Sarge, Fortune, Ram Tah | Hicks | None |
| Hatch Breaker Limpets | The Sarge, Fortune | Hicks | G3 Ram Tah |
Weapons
| Weapon | G5 in the Bubble | G5 in Colonia | Next Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beam, Burst, Pulse Lasers | Broo Tarquin | Brandon | G4 Pulse at Dweller |
| Multi-cannon | McQuinn | Hicks | G3 Nemo |
| Cannon | The Sarge | Hicks | G2 McQuinn |
| Fragment Cannon | Zacariah Nemo | Hicks | G3 McQuinn |
| Rail Gun | McQuinn | Dorn | G3 Sarge |
| Plasma Accelerator | Bill Turner | Dorn | G2 Nemo |
| Missiles, Seekers, Torpedoes | Liz Ryder | Olmanova | G3 Ishmaak |
| Mine Launcher | Juri Ishmaak | Olmanova | G3 Ryder |
| Mining Laser, Abrasion Blaster, Enzyme Missile | Juri Ishmaak | None | G3 Ryder |
| Guardian Gauss, Plasma Charger, Shard Cannon | None | None | G1 Ram Tah only |
Colonia Only Tops
If you want the absolute max on these, you must fly to Colonia:
- G5 Life Support (Dorn), G4 Shield Cell Bank (Brandon), G5 FSD Interdictor (Brandon), G5 AFMU (Olmanova), G5 Fuel Scoop and Refinery (Hicks).
- Most players never need these. G3 Lightweight Life Support from Bill Turner is close enough for almost every build.
The Core Eight Path
Goal: G5 on every core module and your shields. This is the order that gets you there with the least wasted travel.
| Step | Engineer | You Get | You Need | Opens Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felicity Farseer | G5 FSD, experimentals for your FSD | Explorer rank Scout, 1 Meta-Alloy | Juri Ishmaak |
| 2 | The Dweller | G5 Power Distributor | 5 black markets, 500,000 CR | Lei Cheung |
| 3 | Lei Cheung | G5 Shield Generator, G5 Sensors | Trade in 50 markets, 200 Gold | Ram Tah |
| 4 | Tod McQuinn | G5 Multi-cannon, Rail Gun | 15 bounty vouchers, 100k CR in bounties | Selene Jean |
| 5 | Selene Jean | G5 Armour, HRP, MRP | Mine 500 tons, 10 Painite | Didi Vatermann |
| 6 | Didi Vatermann | G5 Shield Boosters | Trade rank Merchant, 50 Lavian Brandy | Done |
| 7 | Liz Ryder | Stepping stone | Cordial with Eurybia Blue Mafia, 200 Landmines | Hera Tani |
| 8 | Hera Tani | G5 Power Plant | Empire rank Outsider, 50 Kamitra Cigars | Broo Tarquin |
| 9 | Elvira Martuuk, then Marco Qwent | Stepping stones | 300 ly out, 3 Soontill Relics. Then Sirius Corp invite, 25 Modular Terminals | Palin, Sedesi |
| 10 | Professor Palin or Chloe Sedesi | G5 Thrusters | 5,000 ly from your start, 25 Sensor Fragments | Done |
Thrusters are the long pole. They take a 3 engineer chain and a permit. Start Martuuk early. Palin or Sedesi? Same thrusters. Pick whichever is closer to you.
Best Blueprint and Experimental per Module
These are proven starting points, not law. Where good sources disagree, both options are listed.
Core Internals
| Module | Combat and General | Exploration and Travel |
|---|---|---|
| Frame Shift Drive | Pre-engineered SCO drive from a Human Tech Broker + Mass Manager. Manual: Increased Range + Mass Manager. | Same. Deep Charge squeezes a little more single jump range on size 4 and below, but burns more fuel. |
| Thrusters | A rated. Dirty Drives + Drag Drives. | D rated and downsized. Clean G1 + Stripped Down for max range, or Dirty + Drag for speed. |
| Power Plant | A rated. Armoured + Thermal Spread runs cool. Need more power? Use Monstered, or Overcharged if you must. | A rated and downsized. Overcharged + Stripped Down. |
| Power Distributor | A rated. Charge Enhanced + Super Conduits. | D rated and downsized. Engine Focused + Stripped Down or Super Conduits. Keep one boost. |
| Life Support | D rated. Lightweight. No experimental exists. | Same. |
| Sensors | D rated. Long Range. | D rated. Lightweight. |
| Armour | Military Grade. Heavy Duty + Deep Plating. | Lightweight Alloys. Heavy Duty + Deep Plating. Free, because the base armour weighs zero. |
Defense
| Module | Combat and General | Exploration and Travel |
|---|---|---|
| Bi-Weave Shield | Thermal Resistant + Fast Charge. Use Lo-Draw if your distributor is the same size or smaller than the shield. | D rated. Enhanced Low Power + Stripped Down. |
| Prismatic or Normal Shield | Reinforced + Hi-Cap. Then make a couple of boosters Thermal Resistant. | Same as above. |
| Shield Boosters | A rated mix: Resistance Augmented + Super Capacitors, Heavy Duty + Super Capacitors, Thermal Resistant + Super Capacitors. | E rated. Heavy Duty + Super Capacitors. Big shield, tiny mass. |
| Shield Cell Bank | PvE: Specialised + Boss Cells. PvP: Rapid Charge + Recycling Cell. | Not needed. |
| Hull Reinforcement | Heavy Duty + Deep Plating. | Usually skipped for mass. |
Utility and Optional Internals
| Module | Pick |
|---|---|
| Chaff, Point Defence | Ammo Capacity |
| Heat Sinks | Ammo Capacity, or Lightweight if you cannot restock |
| Kill Warrant Scanner | Fast Scan. Bind it to your laser fire group. |
| Wake Scanners | Long Range or Fast Scan |
| Limpet Controllers | Lightweight |
| FSD Interdictor | Expanded Capture Arc |
| Detailed Surface Scanner | Expanded Probe Radius. Low value today. A pre-engineered DSS exists at Tech Brokers. |
| AFMU, Fuel Scoop, Refinery | Leave stock. Shielded only for AX or hull tank builds. |
Weapons
| Weapon | Pick |
|---|---|
| Pulse and Burst Lasers | Long Range + Oversized. Put Emissive on one. |
| Beam Lasers | Long Range + Thermal Vent for heat control. Avoid Efficient with Thermal Vent. |
| Multi-cannons | Overcharged + Incendiary. One small with High Capacity + Corrosive. |
| Rail Guns | Long Range + Plasma Slug. Bring an extra fuel tank. |
| Plasma Accelerators | Efficient + Plasma Slug |
| Fragment Cannons | Overcharged + Incendiary. One with High Capacity + Corrosive. |
Pinning Plan
You get one pin per engineer. Spend it well.
- 1Pin each engineer's unique G5 first. Dweller: Charge Enhanced Distributor. Hera Tani: Power Plant. Lei Cheung: Shield Generator. Vatermann: Shield Booster. Selene Jean: Heavy Duty HRP. Palin or Sedesi: Dirty Drives. Tarquin: your main laser blueprint.
- 2Farseer and Martuuk overlap on G5 FSD. Pin FSD at one. Pin something else at the other.
- 3At Colonia, pin what you cannot get at home. Dorn: Lightweight Life Support. Brandon: Specialised Shield Cell Bank.
- 4Remember the cap. A pinned blueprint only goes as high as that engineer can go. Farseer thrusters pin out at G3.
- 5To change a pin, you must fly back to that engineer.
Gotchas
- Do not land at an engineer base before you are invited. The base treats you as hostile and will shoot.
- Unlock items ride in your cargo hold. Fly a ship with a good rebuy and some shields.
- Kamitra Cigars (Hera Tani): Hammel Terminal in Kamitra will not sell you all 50 at once. Plan on about 3 trips, or have a wingmate buy some and drop them for you.
- Kongga Ale (Lori Jameson): sold at Laplace Ring in the Kongga system.
- Sensor Fragments gate both G5 thruster engineers. Get them early.
- Marco Qwent is a stepping stone. He tops out at G4 Power Plant and G3 Distributor. Do not rank him expecting G5.
- Colonia trip: the Colonia Bridge put dozens of megaships and several starports along the route. You can refuel and repair on the way.
- Mk II modules from the Caspian era take normal engineering. Mk II SCO drives and Mk II thrusters both accept blueprints and experimentals.
- Operations (June 2026): Merc Gear rewards drop at a base level. You upgrade them at the matching engineer.
Needs Checking ⚠️
These can change without a patch note. Check before you fly.
| Item | Why It Is Flagged | Where to Check |
|---|---|---|
| Meta-Alloys (Farseer unlock) | Sources shifted during and after the Thargoid war | Inara commodity search |
| Sensor Fragments (Palin, Sedesi unlock) | Same. Thargoid sourced. | Module 8, Inara |
| Rare goods (Soontill Relics, Kongga Ale, Lavian Brandy, Kamitra Cigars, Fujin Tea, Xihe Companions) | Stock and purchase limits vary | Inara commodity page |
| Federal bond amounts (Ishmaak, Dekker) | Inara lists two possible amounts. Trigger is unknown. | Bring the higher amount |
| Autumn 2026 "feature reboot" | Frontier says a core feature is getting reworked. Could be engineering. | Frontier news page |
| Operations rewards | Frontier plans to keep adding blueprint rewards | Frontier dev logs |
Sources
| Source | Used For |
|---|---|
| Inara Engineers page (inara.cz/elite/engineers) | Every name, base, grade, invite, unlock, and referral |
| Elite Dangerous Wiki (Fandom): Engineers, Remote Workshop, Permits, Achenar | Grade rules, pinning rules, permit ranks |
| Steam guide: Engineering changes in the August 2024 update (Sighman) | Roll counts, material yield changes |
| Massively Overpowered, August 2024 | Confirms the no RNG rework |
| HerzbubeWiki EDShipBuilding (July 2026) | Pre-engineered SCO drives, Mk II modules, exploration builds |
| Sirius Corp Starter Guide to Good Engineering Choices (EDC Academy, Nov 2024) | Combat blueprint and experimental picks |
| E:D PvE Combat Wiki, Defense Strategies | Shield and booster mixes |
| Galnet, 29 AUG 3304 | Colonia engineer roster |
| Elite Dangerous Wiki: Colonia Bridge | Route megaships and starports |
| Frontier Forums, Colonia engineers thread | Hostile base before invite |
| Frontier June 2026 Dev Log | Operations Merc Gear and engineers |
Cross links
Module 2 (Materials)Module 4 (Tech Brokers and pre-engineered modules)Module 6 (Ranks and Permits)Module 8 (Thargoid materials)