What skills should a Manufacturing Engineer put on a resume?

O*NET rates Complex Problem Solving, Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, and Judgment and Decision Making 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 Manufacturing Engineer list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Autodesk AutoCAD, C, CNC Mastercam, Computer aided manufacturing CAM software, and Computer numerical control CNC software. 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 Manufacturing Engineer work?

O*NET records 18 titles for this occupation, including Plant Engineer, Process Engineer, Process Improvement Engineer, and Facility Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Manufacturing Engineer need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 76% 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 Manufacturing 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.

Manufacturing Engineer resume example

A resume for a Manufacturing Engineer needs to show the work itself: design, integrate, or improve manufacturing systems or related processes. Day to day that means work like this: troubleshoot new or existing product problems involving designs, materials, or processes; investigate or resolve operational problems, such as material use variances or bottlenecks. 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.

Plant Engineer
Process Engineer
Process Improvement Engineer
Facility Engineer
Automation Engineer
Engineer
Foundry Process Engineer
Lean Manufacturing Engineer
Manufacturing Applications Engineer
Manufacturing Controls Engineer
Manufacturing Electrical Engineer
Manufacturing Process Engineer
Manufacturing Project Engineer
Manufacturing Specialist
Manufacturing Systems Engineer
Methods Engineer
Process Manufacturing Engineer
Product Manufacturing Engineer

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.

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.
Incorporate new manufacturing methods or processes to improve existing operations.
Review product designs for manufacturability or completeness.
Determine root causes of failures or recommend changes in designs, tolerances, or processing methods, using statistical procedures.
Prepare reports summarizing information or trends related to manufacturing performance.
Prepare documentation for new manufacturing processes or engineering procedures.
Design layout of equipment or workspaces to achieve maximum efficiency.
Communicate manufacturing capabilities, production schedules, or other information to facilitate production processes.

24 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.

Troubleshoot new or existing product problems involving designs, materials, or processes, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Investigate or resolve operational problems, such as material use variances or bottlenecks, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
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, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Apply continuous improvement methods, such as lean manufacturing, to enhance manufacturing quality, reliability, or cost-effectiveness, 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.

Autodesk AutoCAD
C
CNC Mastercam
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Computer numerical control CNC software
Dassault Systemes CATIA
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
Eko
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
FileMaker Pro
Geometric CAMWorks
IBM Notes
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel

36 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.

Desktop computers
Digital calipers
Digital micrometers
Laptop computers
Optical compound microscopes
Personal computers
Personal digital assistants PDA
Scientific calculators

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
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks

What this job rates as most important

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

01Complex Problem Solving
02Mathematics
03Reading Comprehension
04Active Listening
05Judgment and Decision Making
06Monitoring
07Operations Monitoring
08Speaking
09Critical Thinking
10Systems Analysis

Knowledge areas

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

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

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.

76%Bachelor's Degree
16%Associate's Degree
4%Some College Courses

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 Manufacturing Engineer do?: Design, integrate, or improve manufacturing systems or related processes. Day to day that includes work like troubleshoot new or existing product problems involving designs, materials, or processes and Investigate or resolve operational problems, such as material use variances or bottlenecks.
What skills should a Manufacturing Engineer put on a resume?: O*NET rates Complex Problem Solving, Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, and Judgment and Decision Making 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 Manufacturing Engineer list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Autodesk AutoCAD, C, CNC Mastercam, Computer aided manufacturing CAM software, and Computer numerical control CNC software. 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 Manufacturing Engineer work?: O*NET records 18 titles for this occupation, including Plant Engineer, Process Engineer, Process Improvement Engineer, and Facility Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Manufacturing Engineer need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 76% 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 Manufacturing 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.