Manufacturing Engineer Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 10,109 US job postings by 2,610 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for manufacturing engineers: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 10,109 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for manufacturing engineers in US job postings is $110,000 a year (2,893 postings from 779 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $90,000 to $135,000.
- Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $98,000 a year (282 postings).
- The skills that most set manufacturing engineer postings apart are solidworks, six sigma, lean manufacturing.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 3 years of experience.
Manufacturing Engineer job postings in the US, October 2026
- $110,000
- Median advertised pay (2,893 postings)
- $90,000–$135,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- $98,000
- Starting pay (postings asking up to 1 year)
- 10,109
- US job postings from 2,610 employers
How much does a manufacturing engineer make?
The median advertised pay is $110,000 a year, from 2,893 US job postings by 779 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $165,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 2,893 US manufacturing engineer job postings: median $110,000 a year, middle half $90,000 to $135,000.
- Median: $110,000
- 25th percentile: $90,000
- 75th percentile: $135,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $30K–$40K | 0.1% |
| $40K–$50K | 1.9% |
| $50K–$60K | 4.3% |
| $60K–$70K | 2.0% |
| $70K–$80K | 5.5% |
| $80K–$90K | 9.2% |
| $90K–$100K | 12.8% |
| $100K–$110K | 13.9% |
| $110K–$120K | 11.8% |
| $120K–$130K | 8.9% |
| $130K–$140K | 8.4% |
| $140K–$150K | 6.2% |
| $150K–$160K | 3.6% |
| $160K–$170K | 3.2% |
| $170K–$180K | 3.2% |
| $180K–$190K | 1.9% |
| $190K–$200K | 1.2% |
| $200K–$210K | 0.4% |
| $210K–$220K | 0.5% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an annual salary | $113,000 | $95K–$137K | 1,998 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $110,000 | $90K–$135K | 2,893 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Manufacturing Engineers (17-2112) at $102,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a manufacturing engineer?
Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $98,000 a year (282 postings).
| Experience asked | Median advertised pay | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1 years | $98,000 | 282 |
| 2-4 years | $108,000 | 1,216 |
| 5+ years | $132,000 | 894 |
Manufacturing engineer levels and pay
Levels as they appear in job titles, ordered by the median experience asked. Senior manufacturing engineers have a median advertised pay of $129,000 a year.
| Level in title | Share of postings | Median experience asked | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| No level in title | 76.1% | 3 years | $106,000 |
| Level II | 4.6% | 3 years | $100,000 |
| Senior | 11.8% | 5 years | $129,000 |
Highest-paying manufacturing engineer jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process Engineer | $116,000 | 956 | 366 |
| Manufacturing Engineer (general) | $108,000 | 1,196 | 385 |
Manufacturing engineer pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $136,000 | $114,000–$165,000 | 706 | 17.7% |
| Massachusetts | $114,000 | $100,000–$130,000 | 141 | 4.4% |
| Michigan | $112,000 | $92,000–$120,000 | 164 | 4.2% |
| Texas | $108,000 | $93,000–$126,000 | 121 | 10.3% |
| New York | $101,000 | $88,000–$117,000 | 110 | 3.7% |
| Illinois | $100,000 | $85,000–$111,000 | 103 | 3.1% |
Skills employers ask for in manufacturing engineer job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 42% |
| Problem-solving | 29% |
| Analytical skills | 18% |
| Excel | 18% |
| Microsoft Office | 14% |
| Organizational skills | 12% |
| Interpersonal skills | 11% |
| Solidworks | 10% |
| Autocad | 10% |
| Six sigma | 10% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set manufacturing engineers apart
- Solidworks31.8× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Six sigma37× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Lean manufacturing44.7× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Root cause analysis17.3× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Autocad10.3× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Manufacturing processes29.8× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Gd&t23.9× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Cad software32.9× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Spc38.3× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Cad23.3× as often as in all postings · 6%
- Lean24.9× as often as in all postings · 5%
- Project management4.7× as often as in all postings · 7%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a manufacturing engineer job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a manufacturing engineer do?
Employers post these jobs as Process Engineer, Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Senior Process Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer II, Manufacturing Process Engineer and other titles. The largest specializations are Process Engineer (34%), Manufacturing Engineering Intern (4%), Manufacturing Engineering Manager (2%), Equipment Engineer (5%), Tooling Engineer (2%), Industrial Engineer (3%).
The closest official occupation is Manufacturing Engineers (17-2112.03). Its most important 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.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a manufacturing engineer?
Among 4,612 postings that state a minimum, the median is 3 years. 4% say 0 years and 13% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 4,612 US manufacturing engineer job postings: median 3 years, and 13% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 4% |
| 1 yr | 8% |
| 2 yrs | 18% |
| 3-4 yrs | 29% |
| 5-7 yrs | 30% |
| 8-9 yrs | 4% |
| 10+ yrs | 6% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 99% of the 626 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a manufacturing engineer: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing Engineer | 923 (35.4%) |
| Process Engineer | 845 (32.4%) |
| Senior Manufacturing Engineer | 219 (8.4%) |
| Senior Process Engineer | 180 (6.9%) |
| Manufacturing Engineer II | 124 (4.8%) |
| Manufacturing Process Engineer | 118 (4.5%) |
| Equipment Engineer | 101 (3.9%) |
| Process Engineer II | 90 (3.5%) |
| Manufacturing Engineering Manager | 84 (3.2%) |
| Manufacturing Engineering Intern | 71 (2.7%) |
| Manufacturing Engineer I | 68 (2.6%) |
| Process Development Engineer | 67 (2.6%) |
| Sr. Manufacturing Engineer | 63 (2.4%) |
| Sr. Process Engineer | 59 (2.3%) |
| Process Engineer I | 50 (1.9%) |
| Manufacturing Engineer Intern | 49 (1.9%) |
| Manufacturing Engineer III | 48 (1.8%) |
| Advanced Manufacturing Engineer | 43 (1.7%) |
| Tooling Engineer | 40 (1.5%) |
| Process Engineering Manager | 38 (1.5%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Manufacturing engineer job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process Engineer | 2,034 | 845 | $108K | 3 years | communication, problem-solving, analytical skills |
Manufacturing Engineer compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing Engineer | $110K | 3 years | 10,109 | – |
| Quality Engineer | $108K | 3 years | 5,896 | 14 |
| Continuous Improvement Manager | $116K | 4 years | 1,509 | 17 |
| Mechanical Engineer | $122K | 5 years | 11,126 | 17 |
| Chemical Engineer | – | – | 628 | 15 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Quality Engineer | 14 | $108K |
| Continuous Improvement Manager | 17 | $116K |
| Mechanical Engineer | 17 | $122K |
| Chemical Engineer | 15 | – |
| Production Manager | 14 | $86K |
| Quality Assurance Specialist | 14 | $105K |
Applying for manufacturing engineer jobs?
- Manufacturing engineer resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find manufacturing engineer jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a manufacturing engineer make?
How much does a Process Engineer make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 19 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 19 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.