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Manufacturing Engineers

$99,380 Median Wage (2023)

25,200 Projected job openings (2023-2033)

12.20% Projected growth (2023-2033)

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.

Experience Requirements Overview

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Education, Training and Experience

Required Level of Education: Bachelor's Degree

Related Work Experience: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years

On-Site or In-Plant Training: Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months

On-the-Job Training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month

Detailed Work Activities

Determine operational methods.
Create graphical representations of industrial production systems.
Confer with technical personnel to prepare designs or operational plans.
Determine causes of operational problems or failures.
Design industrial equipment.
Install production equipment or systems.
Estimate operational costs.
Estimate technical or resource requirements for development or production projects.
Estimate time requirements for development or production projects.
Assess product or process usefulness.
Analyze operational data to evaluate operations, processes or products.
Resolve operational performance problems.
Prepare procedural documents.
Purchase materials, equipment, or other resources.
Evaluate designs or specifications to ensure quality.
Prepare operational reports.
Provide technical guidance to other personnel.
Update technical knowledge.
Supervise production or support personnel.
Train personnel on proper operational procedures.
Analyze costs and benefits of proposed designs or projects.
Design industrial processing systems.
Investigate the environmental impact of projects.
Develop operational methods or processes that use green materials or emphasize sustainability.
Implement design or process improvements.
Develop technical methods or processes.
Recommend technical design or process changes to improve efficiency, quality, or performance.
Devise research or testing protocols.

Work Values

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Working Conditions

Recognition

Relationships

Support

Independence

Tasks

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.
Prepare reports summarizing information or trends related to manufacturing performance.
Prepare documentation for new manufacturing processes or engineering procedures.
Design layout of equipment or workspaces to achieve maximum efficiency.
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.
Evaluate manufactured products according to specifications and quality standards.
Estimate costs, production times, or staffing requirements for new designs.
Train production personnel in new or existing methods.
Design tests of finished products or process capabilities to establish standards or validate process requirements.
Analyze the financial impacts of sustainable manufacturing processes or sustainable product manufacturing.
Develop sustainable manufacturing technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimize raw material use, replace toxic materials with non-toxic materials, replace non-renewable materials with renewable materials, or reduce waste.
Purchase equipment, materials, or parts.
Evaluate current or proposed manufacturing processes or practices for environmental sustainability, considering factors such as greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, water pollution, energy use, or waste creation.
Read current literature, talk with colleagues, participate in educational programs, attend meetings or workshops, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in the manufacturing field.
Redesign packaging for manufactured products to minimize raw material use or waste.

Work Styles

Achievement/Effort

Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

Persistence

Initiative

Leadership

Cooperation

Concern for Others

Social Orientation

Self-Control

Stress Tolerance

Adaptability/Flexibility

Dependability

Attention to Detail

Integrity

Independence

Innovation

Analytical Thinking

Data Source: This page includes information from the O*NET 28.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This page includes Employment Projections program, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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