Automotive engineer to manufacturing engineer
An automotive engineer already meets 56% of what the manufacturing engineer role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
47/ 100
1 How much of what a manufacturing engineer is expected to do is already part of an automotive engineer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the manufacturing engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A manufacturing engineer role treats 11 of its required skills as things an automotive engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adjust engineering designs
- approve engineering design
- assess financial viability
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- industrial engineering
What stands in the way is 5 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A manufacturing engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an automotive engineer background worth leading with.
- already held reverse engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held apply advanced manufacturing management skills
- already held industrial engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held draft design specifications communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held production processes engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held design principles arts and humanities
All 19 carried skills, including the 11 the manufacturing engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn advise on manufacturing problems required
- optional, not held assess the life cycle of resources optional
- optional, not held advise on efficiency improvements optional
- optional, not held integrate new products in manufacturing optional
- optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
- optional, not held recommend product improvements optional
- still to learn production engineering required
- optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
- optional, not held circular economy optional
- optional, not held industrial research and development optional
- still to learn ensure material compliance required
- optional, not held keep up with digital transformation of industrial processes optional
- optional, not held maintain financial records optional
- optional, not held monitor plant production optional
- still to learn ensure health and safety in manufacturing required
- still to learn consumer protection required
- optional, not held create a work atmosphere of continuous improvement optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment availability optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held provide improvement strategies optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a manufacturing engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 ensure material compliance practise this
- 02 production engineering study this
- 03 advise on manufacturing problems practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 19 skills that carry over
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held approve engineering design skill
- already held assess financial viability skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held industrial engineering knowledge
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held production processes knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held CAE software knowledge
- already held analyse production processes for improvement skill
- already held apply advanced manufacturing skill
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held draft design specifications skill
- already held reverse engineering knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use CAM software skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held continuous improvement philosophies optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assess the life cycle of resources optional
- optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
- optional, not held keep up with digital transformation of industrial processes optional
- optional, not held advise on efficiency improvements optional
- optional, not held circular economy optional
- optional, not held continuous improvement philosophies optional
- optional, not held create a work atmosphere of continuous improvement optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment availability optional
- optional, not held industrial research and development optional
- optional, not held integrate new products in manufacturing optional
- optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
- optional, not held maintain financial records optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held monitor plant production optional
- optional, not held provide improvement strategies optional
- optional, not held recommend product improvements optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
36 held skills the manufacturing engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role European vehicle type-approval legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role advanced driver assistant systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role anticipate change in car technology skill
- not needed by the target role apply reverse engineering skill
- not needed by the target role automotive engineering skill
- not needed by the target role build a product's physical model skill
- not needed by the target role compare alternative vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role conduct performance tests skill
- not needed by the target role control production skill
- not needed by the target role create a product's virtual model skill
- not needed by the target role defense system knowledge
- not needed by the target role design electromechanical systems skill
- not needed by the target role design prototypes skill
- not needed by the target role develop test procedures skill
- not needed by the target role disassemble equipment skill
- not needed by the target role electrical testing methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role electromechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute feasibility study skill
- not needed by the target role green automotive technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role guidance, navigation and control knowledge
- not needed by the target role hybrid vehicle architecture knowledge
- not needed by the target role information structure knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage product testing skill
- not needed by the target role mechanical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanics of motor vehicles knowledge
- not needed by the target role model based system engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform market research skill
- not needed by the target role precision mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare production prototypes skill
- not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role record test data skill
- not needed by the target role synthetic natural environment knowledge
- not needed by the target role use automotive diagnostic equipment skill
- not needed by the target role vehicle type-approval knowledge
- not needed by the target role vehicle-to-everything technologies knowledge
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn production engineering required
- still to learn consumer protection required
- optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
- optional, not held circular economy optional
- optional, not held continuous improvement philosophies optional
- optional, not held industrial research and development optional
Common questions about this move
Can an automotive engineer become a manufacturing engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An automotive engineer already covers 56% of what a manufacturing engineer is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 11 of which the manufacturing engineer role treats as required.
What skills does an automotive engineer need to become a manufacturing engineer?
5 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is ensure material compliance.
How hard is the move from automotive engineer to manufacturing engineer?
Its learning distance is 47 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.