So, my question is what the various responsibilities and jobs various crewmembers on a Nostromo type ship would have?
The Captain (Dallas) is the boss of the ship, the one with the contract and clearances and everything. The other guys on the ship basically work for him (right?).
The Executive Officer (Kane) I assume is simply the second-in-command. (Or is the XOs role more involving/specific?).
The Warrant Officer (Ripley) I haven’t a clue what does… I tried to do some research, but “warrant officer” means different things to every nation and every branch of government/military, so I’m lost. Exactly what was Ripley’s job on Nostromo? Is she like HR or something?
The Navigator (Lambert) is pretty straight forward. They’re the ones that point the ship in the right direction (so to speak).
Chief Engineer (Parker) and Engineering Technician (Brett) is self-explanatory. They keep the ship and machinery going.
The Science Officer (Ash) is also simple enough, but exactly why would a commercial hauler have one onboard? (I know that there’s an entire sub-plot in some novel about why Ash was brought onboard without Dallas being told why by the company, but I assume the Science Officer is a pretty standard position aboard a ship?