Manufacturing Engineer Job Description (2026): Duties, Skills and Salary
A manufacturing engineer designs, sets up and improves the processes that turn raw materials into finished products on the factory floor. They troubleshoot line stoppages, reduce scrap and cycle time, write work instructions, and work with operators and quality staff to keep output on spec and on schedule.
The job sits between design engineering and the plant floor: reading drawings and tolerances on one side, and tooling, fixtures, line layout and operator training on the other. Manufacturing engineers use CAD, statistical tools and sometimes PLC or robotics knowledge, and most of their day is spent walking the floor rather than at a desk.
Manufacturing Engineer job description template
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Manufacturing Engineer
[Company] · [City and office days, or remote with the countries or time zones you hire in] · [Full-time]
About [Company]
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, who it serves and why this team matters now.]
About the role
[Company] is hiring a manufacturing engineer to support production of [product] at our [location] facility. You'll troubleshoot line issues, improve processes, and work closely with operators, quality and maintenance to hit output and cost targets.
What you'll do
- Design and improve manufacturing processes, tooling and fixtures for [product line].
- Troubleshoot line downtime and defects, and lead root cause analysis with operators and maintenance.
- Write and update work instructions, routings and standard operating procedures.
- Run time studies and line balancing to reduce cycle time and improve throughput.
- Support new product introduction, including process validation and first-run builds.
- Analyze scrap, yield and downtime data to find and prioritize improvement projects.
- Coordinate with quality engineering on specs, tolerances and corrective actions.
- Specify and justify capital equipment and tooling purchases.
What you'll bring
- [X]+ years in manufacturing, process or industrial engineering.
- Bachelor's degree in mechanical, industrial or manufacturing engineering, or equivalent experience.
- Comfort reading engineering drawings, GD&T and tolerances.
- Experience with lean manufacturing or continuous improvement methods.
- CAD skills (SolidWorks, AutoCAD or similar) for tooling and fixture design.
- Basic statistics for process capability and SPC.
- Willingness to spend most of the shift on the production floor.
Nice to have
- Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt.
- PLC programming or robotics experience.
- Experience with [industry, e.g. automotive, medical device or electronics] manufacturing.
- ERP/MES systems experience for routings and production data.
- Experience leading new product introduction (NPI) projects.
What we offer
- [Pay range: e.g. $X–$Y base salary, plus bonus or equity if offered]
- [Shift differential, safety shoes and PPE allowance, tuition reimbursement, annual bonus]
- [Health cover, retirement or pension plan, paid time off, parental leave]
- [Work authorization: whether you can sponsor a visa or hire through an employer of record]
[Our process: a recruiter screen, a technical interview covering a process problem from the floor, a facility tour and meeting with the plant team, and a final interview with the engineering manager.]
[Your equal opportunity statement, and how candidates can ask for adjustments during the process]
Put the pay range in the ad. Several US states, including California, Colorado, New York and Washington, require it in job postings, and the EU Pay Transparency Directive gives applicants the right to know the starting pay or its range before the interview.
Manufacturing Engineer duties by seniority
What the job usually looks like at each level. Pitch the ad at one level and say which in the title.
Junior
- Supports existing processes and documents work instructions under guidance.
- Runs basic time studies and helps investigate downtime.
- Learns the product, tooling and the plant's quality system.
Mid-level
- Owns process improvement for a line or product family.
- Leads root cause investigations and implements corrective actions.
- Specifies tooling and fixtures, and supports new product builds.
Senior
- Leads manufacturing engineering for a plant or major product line.
- Sets process standards and capital priorities with plant leadership.
- Mentors engineers and leads cross-functional improvement programs.
Manufacturing Engineer career path
- Manufacturing Engineer I
- Manufacturing Engineer
- Senior Manufacturing Engineer
- Manufacturing Engineering Manager
Manufacturing engineer is usually reached from a mechanical, industrial or manufacturing engineering degree, or from a quality or production role with strong process knowledge. From here, paths lead to industrial engineering, quality engineering, plant management or engineering management.
Similar roles
- Industrial Engineer job description
Focuses more on systems, layout and efficiency across a whole plant.
- Mechanical Engineer job description
Designs the product rather than the process that makes it.
- Quality Engineer job description
Owns inspection, specs and corrective action rather than the process itself.
- Production Supervisor job description
Manages the people and shift schedule on the line day to day.
Manufacturing Engineer job description FAQ
What does a manufacturing engineer do?
Designs and improves the processes, tooling and layout used to make a product, troubleshoots line problems, and works with operators and quality staff to keep output on spec, on time and within cost.
What skills should a manufacturing engineer job description require?
Reading engineering drawings and GD&T, lean or continuous improvement methods, CAD for tooling, and basic statistics for process capability. Six Sigma and PLC experience are useful extras for most plants.
Does a manufacturing engineer work on the shop floor or in an office?
Mostly the floor. Expect time split between walking the line, troubleshooting with operators, and desk work like documentation, CAD and data analysis. State the split in the posting if it's unusual.