The distinguishing characteristic of an ESEP is that he or she is a leader in systems engineering, having contributed to the field through a combination of graduate academics, product development, and technical society involvement. It is not expected that all CSEPs will move up to become ESEPs simply through the passage of time. Nor can someone earn the title of ESEP purely through higher education. 

An ESEP is given credit for completed degree programs, with a maximum of 1 year for a Master’s degree and 2 years for a PhD. With a minimum of 5 years of leadership required, even a PhD must also be working as a systems engineer in a leadership role on a project or through significant leadership in a technical society (not necessarily INCOSE). 

The ideal ESEP candidate has leadership experience from a mix of all categories and is recognized beyond his or her own organization for contributing to the field. 

(1) Chief Engineer vs ESEP - YouTube