As of June 2026, Manufacturing Engineers has an AI-exposure score of 63/100 (High exposure) on the AI-Safe Careers index, blending O*NET tasks, the Anthropic Economic Index, the Penn/OpenAI study, and BLS data. This is an estimate of task exposure, not a prediction of job loss.
Manufacturing Engineers
More exposed than 76% of the roles we track. Median pay ~US$102,440. About 25,200 projected openings a year (BLS 2024–34 — growth plus replacement).
Pay & demand figures are US medians (BLS, in USD) — your local figures will differ. Your exposure score applies broadly.
How you compare to similar Architecture & Engineering roles
Your tasks, by AI exposure
- Communicate manufacturing capabilities, production schedules, or other information to facilitate production processes.
- Prepare reports summarizing information or trends related to manufacturing performance.
- Apply continuous improvement methods, such as lean manufacturing, to enhance manufacturing quality, reliability, or cost-effectiveness.
- Train production personnel in new or existing methods.
- Prepare documentation for new manufacturing processes or engineering procedures.
- Analyze the financial impacts of sustainable manufacturing processes or sustainable product manufacturing.
- Evaluate manufactured products according to specifications and quality standards.
- 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.
- Incorporate new manufacturing methods or processes to improve existing operations.
- Provide technical expertise or support related to manufacturing.
- Design layout of equipment or workspaces to achieve maximum efficiency.
- Review product designs for manufacturability or completeness.
- Investigate or resolve operational problems, such as material use variances or bottlenecks.
- Estimate costs, production times, or staffing requirements for new designs.
- 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.
- Supervise technicians, technologists, analysts, administrative staff, or other engineers.
- Troubleshoot new or existing product problems involving designs, materials, or processes.
- Design, install, or troubleshoot manufacturing equipment.
- Determine root causes of failures or recommend changes in designs, tolerances, or processing methods, using statistical procedures.
- Design tests of finished products or process capabilities to establish standards or validate process requirements.
No durable tasks identified for this role — its real, individually-assessed tasks consistently read as augmentable (90%).
Safer adjacent roles
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AI was the most-cited reason for U.S. layoffs through mid-2026 — the workers who adapt earliest fare best. — Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 2026The upside: Workers with AI skills earn a roughly 62% wage premium — adapting pays. — PwC Global AI Jobs Barometer, 2026
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Manufacturing Engineers — median pay by US state (BLS OEWS, USD)
Median annual wage, in USD. US national: US$102,440. More states are being added.