How can I tell whether an engineering company gives young employees meaningful technical work?

Do not rely only on phrases such as “young employees take an active role” in a job posting. Ask for concrete examples of projects handled by employees in their first one to three years: which stages they worked on—such as design, experiments, manufacturing, or quality evaluation—what deliverables and decisions they owned, how reviews and mentoring worked, and whether they interacted with customers or other departments. Speak with several employees at visits or information sessions, and check how much the experience differs by team or project.