Manufacturing Engineers

• Identify opportunities or implement changes to improve products or reduce costs using knowledge of fabrication processes, tooling and production equipment, assembly methods, quality control standards, or product design, materials and parts.
• Provide technical expertise or support related to manufacturing.
• Determine root causes of failures using statistical methods and recommend changes in designs, tolerances, or processing methods.
• Incorporate new methods and processes to improve existing operations.
• Supervise technicians, technologists, analysts, administrative staff, or other engineers.
• Troubleshoot new or existing product problems involving designs, materials, or processes.
• Review product designs for manufacturability or completeness.
• Communicate manufacturing capabilities, production schedules, or other information to facilitate production processes.
• Train production personnel in new or existing methods.
• Design, install, or troubleshoot manufacturing equipment.
• Prepare documentation for new manufacturing processes or engineering procedures.
• Apply continuous improvement methods such as lean manufacturing to enhance manufacturing quality, reliability, or cost-effectiveness.
• Investigate or resolve operational problems, such as material use variances or bottlenecks.
• Estimate costs, production times, or staffing requirements for new designs.
• Design layout of equipment or workspaces to achieve maximum efficiency.
• Purchase equipment, materials, or parts.
• Evaluate manufactured products according to specifications and quality standards.
• Design testing methods and test finished products or process capabilities to establish standards or validate process requirements.
• Read current literature, talk with colleagues, participate in educational programs, attend meetings, attend workshops, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in the manufacturing field.
• Prepare reports summarizing information or trends related to manufacturing performance.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Manufacturing Engineers.

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
• Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
• Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
• Technology Design - Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Manufacturing Engineers.