I moved from software development (focusing on data binding through specification interpretation and code generation) to systems engineering for an industrial p

I moved from software development (focusing on data binding through specification interpretation and code generation) to systems engineering for an industrial precision equipment manufacturer and then back into programming and project management. I knew nothing about hardware engineering at all when I started: I was hired for my programming skills as, essentially, an SDET who was expected to pick up the hardware stuff on the job. It was a rough transition at times, but it was extremely worthwhile. It made me a far more critical thinker and exposed me to a world far beyond what a typical programmer would have had: I tinkered with robots, learned a little about experimental design, relearned some statistics I had forgotten, spent time in data wrangling and visualization, and worked with some incredibly brilliant people in the process. If you are any good at architecting software systems (I am not), a baptism-by-fire is probably sufficient to acquaint you with systems engineering—although nothing will replace experience. I don't know that you'd need to go to school for it as long as you're prepared to ask stupid questions. My step-up manager told me that systems engineers are generally made rather than educated, and there's probably a bit of truth to that.