What kind of testing do you think I mean? There are building codes and inspections, but I couldn't call those "testing".

E: no testing might be an overstatement, but I think it's closer to no tests than an abundance of tests. Engineers tend to not get their hands dirty, which basically leaves computer simulations.

You can tick all the boxes and still do a shit job that either doesn't meet requirements or fails. It happens more often than you might think.

In most engineering domains, testing is a proper specialty. So design engineers don't do the testing themselves and get "their hands dirty", but testing does happen.

I've been working on airliner design and have ordered, specified, and reviewed a fair number of mechanical tests. Yet I've never actually built and ran the test rig myself, it's a full time job for specialists.

You can write unit tests that pass and still do a shit job that doesn't meet requirements or fails (in some subtly different way) too.

Difference is with software engineering, you seldom find yourself in court if you decide to skip the unit tests or code review...

Most engineers never have to sign off on something like that, at least in New Zealand.

Even if you're a chartered/accredited/licensed you personally may not have to. It could be someone else in the company, which shifts the liability.