Architecture and Engineering · Holland code RIC
Manufacturing Engineers
Design, integrate, or improve manufacturing systems or related processes. May work with commercial or industrial designers to refine product designs to increase producibility and decrease costs.
Also called: Manufacturing Engineer, Plant Engineer, Process Engineer, Process Improvement Engineer, Facility Engineer.
O*NET 17-2112.03
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $102,440
- Middle half earn $83,600 to $129,250. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree
- 76% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- +11% · Much faster than average
- 351,100 jobs in 2024, projected 389,600. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Industrial engineers".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Troubleshoot new or existing product problems involving designs, materials, or processes.
- Investigate or resolve operational problems, such as material use variances or bottlenecks.
- Identify opportunities or implement changes to improve manufacturing processes or products or to reduce costs, using knowledge of fabrication processes, tooling and production equipment, assembly methods, quality control standards, or product design, materials and parts.
- Apply continuous improvement methods, such as lean manufacturing, to enhance manufacturing quality, reliability, or cost-effectiveness.
- Provide technical expertise or support related to manufacturing.
- Incorporate new manufacturing methods or processes to improve existing operations.
- Review product designs for manufacturability or completeness.
- Determine root causes of failures or recommend changes in designs, tolerances, or processing methods, using statistical procedures.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
- Mathematics4.0 / 5
- Active Listening3.9 / 5
- Speaking3.9 / 5
- Monitoring3.9 / 5
- Writing3.8 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Production and Processing4.4 / 5
- Engineering and Technology4.4 / 5
- Mechanical4.1 / 5
- Design4.0 / 5
- Mathematics4.0 / 5
- Computers and Electronics3.8 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic71
- Investigative59
- Artistic20
- Social10
- Enterprising35
- Conventional57
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- process engineer · DE Ingenieur Verfahrenstechnik/Ingenieurin Verfahrenstechnik · FR ingénieur process/ingénieure process
- industrial engineer · DE Wirtschaftsingenieur/Wirtschaftsingenieurin · FR ingénieur industriel/ingénieure industrielle
- manufacturing engineer · DE Fertigungsingenieur/Fertigungsingenieurin · FR ingénieur de fabrication/ingénieure de fabrication
- production engineer · DE Produktionsingenieur/Produktionsingenieurin · FR ingénieur de production/ingénieure de production
- rolling stock engineer · DE Ingenieur Rollendes Material/Ingenieurin Rollendes Material · FR ingénieur matériel roulant/ingénieure matériel roulant
- leather goods product developer · DE Lederwarenentwickler/Lederwarenentwicklerin · FR concepteur de produits en maroquinerie/conceptrice de produits en maroquinerie
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Quantity surveyors (2453)45,300 employed
- Clothing, fashion and accessories designers (3422)18,300 employed
- Quality assurance technicians (3115)36,100 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €61,714 |
| Germany | €59,529 |
| Ireland | €56,877 |
| Austria | €55,374 |
| Netherlands | €53,595 |
| Sweden | €43,567 |
| France | €41,515 |
| Spain | €35,735 |
| Italy | €33,649 |
| Portugal | €26,072 |
| Poland | €14,380 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.14. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (17-2112).
Related careers
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