Statewide occupation search

Sort your search results or select and compare details of two occupations. Find out if an occupation is in demand or not in demand in your local area, at Learn about an occupation.

Statewide occupation search

Manufacturing Engineers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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.

Related: Chemical Engineers Industrial Engineers Industrial Production Managers Mechanical Engineers Mechatronics Engineers

Industries: Manufacturing Professional, Science, & Technical

Summary
Details

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.
Design layout of equipment or workspaces to achieve maximum efficiency.
Incorporate new manufacturing methods or processes to improve existing operations.
Investigate or resolve operational problems, such as material use variances or bottlenecks.
Supervise technicians, technologists, analysts, administrative staff, or other engineers.
Train production personnel in new or existing methods.
Redesign packaging for manufactured products to minimize raw material use or waste.
Troubleshoot new or existing product problems involving designs, materials, or processes.
Communicate manufacturing capabilities, production schedules, or other information to facilitate production processes.
Determine root causes of failures or recommend changes in designs, tolerances, or processing methods, using statistical procedures.
Provide technical expertise or support related to manufacturing.
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.
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.
Purchase equipment, materials, or parts.
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.
Estimate costs, production times, or staffing requirements for new designs.
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.
Apply continuous improvement methods, such as lean manufacturing, to enhance manufacturing quality, reliability, or cost-effectiveness.
Design tests of finished products or process capabilities to establish standards or validate process requirements.
Prepare reports summarizing information or trends related to manufacturing performance.
Analyze the financial impacts of sustainable manufacturing processes or sustainable product manufacturing.
Estimate costs, production times, or staffing requirements for new designs.
Determine root causes of failures or recommend changes in designs, tolerances, or processing methods, using statistical procedures.
Review product designs for manufacturability or completeness.
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.
Design, install, or troubleshoot manufacturing equipment.
Design, install, or troubleshoot manufacturing equipment.
Prepare documentation for new manufacturing processes or engineering procedures.

Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

119670/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

57.53/hr

Currently Employed

6,480

Yearly Projected Openings

500

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Integrity
Analytical Thinking
Dependability
Cooperation
Initiative

Binocular light compound microscopes
Calipers
Desktop computers
Micrometers
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
Scientific calculator

Analytical or scientific software
Computer aided design CAD software
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Data base user interface and query software
Desktop communications software
Development environment software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Industrial control software
Internet browser software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Process mapping and design software
Project management software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Find Manufacturing Engineers jobs Education and Training for Manufacturing Engineers

Statewide occupation search

Statewide occupation search

Manufacturing Engineers

Work Activities

Skills

Abilities

Knowledge

Education

Pay

Washington Employment Trends

Personality

Tools

Technology

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES