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: Facility Engineer · Manufacturing Engineer · Plant Engineer · Process Engineer · Process Improvement Engineer
Median pay (national)
$101,140
$70,000–$157,140 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
350,230
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+11%
~25,200 openings/yr
Typical entry
Bachelor's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for manufacturing engineers shows a broad range: the top 10% earn $157,140 versus $70,000 at the bottom 10% — 2.2x. The median of $101,140 leaves roughly 55% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +11% from 2024 to 2034 — much faster than the 3% average for all occupations. Even so, BLS projects about 25,200 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 52 states with released data, Alaska pays the most for this role (median $142,980, +41% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $80,120 — a 78% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, Active Listening as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Autodesk AutoCAD, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Mathematics
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Troubleshoot new or existing product problems involving designs, materials, or processes.
- 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.
- Review product designs for manufacturability or completeness.
- Determine root causes of failures or recommend changes in designs, tolerances, or processing methods, using statistical procedures.
- Prepare reports summarizing information or trends related to manufacturing performance.
- Communicate manufacturing capabilities, production schedules, or other information to facilitate production processes.
- Supervise technicians, technologists, analysts, administrative staff, or other engineers.
- Design, install, or troubleshoot manufacturing equipment.
Tools & technology
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- SAP software
- C
- Microsoft Visio
- Microsoft Visual Basic
- R
- The MathWorks MATLAB
- CNC Mastercam
- Computer numerical control CNC software
- Dassault Systemes CATIA
- Eko
- FileMaker Pro
Knowledge areas
- Production and Processing
- Engineering and Technology
- Mechanical
- Design
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
- English Language
- Physics