What does a Industrial Engineer do?

Design, develop, test, and evaluate integrated systems for managing industrial production processes, including human work factors, quality control, inventory control, logistics and material flow, cost analysis, and production coordination. Day to day that includes work like estimate production costs, cost saving methods, and the effects of product design changes on expenditures for management review, action, and control and Plan and establish sequence of operations to fabricate and assemble parts or products and to promote efficient utilization.

What skills should a Industrial Engineer put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Complex Problem Solving, and Speaking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Industrial Engineer list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes 3D Static Strength Prediction Program 3DSSPP, A mathematical programming language AMPL, Allen Bradley PanelView, Assembly line balancing software, and Autodesk AutoCAD. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Industrial Engineer work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Engineer, Process Engineer, Project Engineer, and Continuous Improvement Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Industrial Engineer need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 59% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Industrial Engineer role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Industrial Engineer resume example

A resume for a Industrial Engineer needs to show the work itself: design, develop, test, and evaluate integrated systems for managing industrial production processes, including human work factors, quality control, inventory control, logistics and material flow, cost analysis, and production coordination. Day to day that means work like this: estimate production costs, cost saving methods, and the effects of product design changes on expenditures for management review, action, and control; plan and establish sequence of operations to fabricate and assemble parts or products and to promote efficient utilization. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Engineer
Process Engineer
Project Engineer
Continuous Improvement Engineer
Facilities Engineer
Operations Engineer
Plant Engineer
Quality Engineer
Research and Development Engineer
R and D Engineer
QA Engineer
QC Engineer
QC Expert
QC Industrial Engineer
SQE
District Plant Engineer
Documentation Engineer
Efficiency Analyst

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Estimate production costs, cost saving methods, and the effects of product design changes on expenditures for management review, action, and control.
Plan and establish sequence of operations to fabricate and assemble parts or products and to promote efficient utilization.
Analyze statistical data and product specifications to determine standards and establish quality and reliability objectives of finished product.
Confer with clients, vendors, staff, and management personnel regarding purchases, product and production specifications, manufacturing capabilities, or project status.
Communicate with management and user personnel to develop production and design standards.
Evaluate precision and accuracy of production and testing equipment and engineering drawings to formulate corrective action plan.
Recommend methods for improving utilization of personnel, material, and utilities.
Record or oversee recording of information to ensure currency of engineering drawings and documentation of production problems.
Draft and design layout of equipment, materials, and workspace to illustrate maximum efficiency using drafting tools and computer.
Direct workers engaged in product measurement, inspection, and testing activities to ensure quality control and reliability.
Develop manufacturing methods, labor utilization standards, and cost analysis systems to promote efficient staff and facility utilization.
Review production schedules, engineering specifications, orders, and related information to obtain knowledge of manufacturing methods, procedures, and activities.

20 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Estimate production costs, cost saving methods, and the effects of product design changes on expenditures for management review, action, and control, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Plan and establish sequence of operations to fabricate and assemble parts or products and to promote efficient utilization, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Analyze statistical data and product specifications to determine standards and establish quality and reliability objectives of finished product, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Confer with clients, vendors, staff, and management personnel regarding purchases, product and production specifications, manufacturing capabilities, or project status, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

3D Static Strength Prediction Program 3DSSPP
A mathematical programming language AMPL
Allen Bradley PanelView
Assembly line balancing software
Autodesk AutoCAD
Automatic dynamic incremental nonlinear analysis ADINA
Bentley MicroStation
C++
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Computer numerical control CNC software
Dassault Systemes Abaqus
Dassault Systemes CATIA
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
Data acquisition software

104 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Anechoic auditory test chambers
Anthropometers
Audio amplifiers
Audio equalizers
Audio tape recorders
Audiometers
Camera controllers
Computer servers
Coordinate measuring machines CMM
Digital cameras
Electrogoniometers
Electrophysics infrared cameras

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

AutoCAD
SAP
SQL

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Critical Thinking
03Reading Comprehension
04Complex Problem Solving
05Speaking
06Writing
07Monitoring
08Active Learning
09Mathematics
10Systems Analysis

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Engineering and Technology
Production and Processing
Mechanical
Design
English Language
Mathematics
Computers and Electronics
Administration and Management

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

59%Bachelor's Degree
16%Some College Courses
11%Master's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

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.

Common questions

What does a Industrial Engineer do?: Design, develop, test, and evaluate integrated systems for managing industrial production processes, including human work factors, quality control, inventory control, logistics and material flow, cost analysis, and production coordination. Day to day that includes work like estimate production costs, cost saving methods, and the effects of product design changes on expenditures for management review, action, and control and Plan and establish sequence of operations to fabricate and assemble parts or products and to promote efficient utilization.
What skills should a Industrial Engineer put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Complex Problem Solving, and Speaking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Industrial Engineer list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes 3D Static Strength Prediction Program 3DSSPP, A mathematical programming language AMPL, Allen Bradley PanelView, Assembly line balancing software, and Autodesk AutoCAD. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Industrial Engineer work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Engineer, Process Engineer, Project Engineer, and Continuous Improvement Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Industrial Engineer need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 59% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Industrial Engineer role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.