I’m oon the same boat…
I also have more affinity with the more technical areas of design (mechanics, production, detailing)… In my University in Germany I did almost all my projects in the discipline of “Technical Products and system of products”.
And looking for a job now, I’m also having a tough time to position myself. I also have 9 months of experience in China, working directly with engineers.
I get the different points of views exposed here. But I would go further and ask: What an employer would like to have proved to contract someone for an “design engineer” or “Manufacturer Design” or “however you wanna call it”?
One more info: in Chinai met many designers who call themselves “Design Engineers” who in fact don’t do nothing really different from someone with an “Industrial Designer” Title.