For example, Google defines the second meaning of "engineering" as:
2. the action of working _artfully_ to bring something about. "if not for his shrewd engineering, the election would have been lost"
(https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3AEngineering)
Merriam-Webster has:
3 : calculated manipulation or direction (as of behavior), giving the example of “social engineering”
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/engineering)
Random House has:
3. skillful or artful contrivance; maneuvering
(https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/enginee...)
Webster's has:
The act of maneuvering or managing.
(https://www.yourdictionary.com/engineering)
Look up “engineering” in almost any dictionary, and it will list something along those lines as one of the meanings of the word. It is a well-established, nontechnical meaning of “engineering”.