Additive Manufacturing Engineer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
An Additive Manufacturing Engineer develops and executes manufacturing process plans for additive manufacturing, which use a range of laser-based or advanced printing techniques to build up models layer by layer. Improves processes and plans, designs and executes tooling requirements. Develops operator training courses.
Job Outlook
There were 19 Additive Manufacturing Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 482 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Manufacturing Engineer industry, which includes the Additive Manufacturing Engineer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Additive Manufacturing Engineer jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $89,492.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $89,492.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Additive Manufacturing Engineer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $74,353.
Education and Experience
Posted Additive Manufacturing Engineer jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 58.92% |
| Master's Degree | 30.91% |
| Doctoral Degree | 14.73% |
| Other | 13.49% |
Posted Additive Manufacturing Engineer jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 28.37% |
| 3 to 5 years | 48.23% |
| 6 to 8 years | 14.54% |
| 9+ years | 8.87% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Additive Manufacturing Engineer positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Research (32.37%)
- Operations (28.42%)
- Communication (27.59%)
- Writing (24.27%)
- Problem Solving (20.33%)
- Leadership (19.71%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (18.88%)
- Management (16.8%)
- Innovation (16.8%)
- Detail Oriented (16.6%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Materials Science (32.16%)
- Computer-Aided Design (25.1%)
- SolidWorks (CAD) (22.41%)
- Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing) (99.38%)
- Mechanical Engineering (36.1%)
- Manufacturing Processes (22.2%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Continuous Improvement Process (14.11%)
- Quality Management Systems (8.51%)
- Metallurgy (11.62%)
- 3D Modeling (13.49%)
- Composite Materials (7.68%)
- Advanced Manufacturing (12.24%)
- Welding (11.83%)
- Development Environment (7.26%)
- Fabrication (8.3%)
- Engineering Drawings (9.75%)
- Standard Operating Procedure (9.96%)
- Data Analysis (11.83%)
- Test Planning (8.71%)
- Machine Learning (7.26%)
- Chemical Engineering (9.75%)
- Manufacturing Engineering (14.94%)
- Metal Heat Treatments (5.81%)
- Machinery (7.05%)
- Physics (4.98%)
- Marketing (2.28%)
- Lean Manufacturing (9.34%)
- Process Development (12.24%)
- Project Management (13.28%)
- Machining (15.98%)
- New Product Development (13.9%)
- Process Improvement (9.96%)
- Metal Powder (3.53%)
- Post Processing (19.09%)
- Prototyping (7.47%)
- Tooling (8.09%)
- Research And Development (5.81%)
- Export Control (8.09%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Parameter (4.15%)
- Stereolithography (1.45%)
- Selective Laser Sintering (1.04%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Mechanical Engineering (72.5%)
- Manufacturing Processes (44.58%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Additive Manufacturing Engineer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Manufacturing Technologist
- Development Engineer
- Manufacturing Excellence Manager
- Core Engineer
- Manufacturing Scientist
- Machine Technician
- Research Engineer
- Staff Materials Engineer
- Postdoctoral Researcher
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Research & Development Engineer
- Materials Engineer (General)
- Materials Development Engineer
- Product Development Engineer
- Manufacturing Process Engineer
- Mechanical Engineer (General)
- Manufacturing Engineer (General)
- Manufacturing Product Design Engineer
- Materials Research Engineer
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Additive Manufacturing Engineer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Blue Origin (28)
- Northeastern University (12)
- Emerson Electric (9)
- Orchid Orthopedic Solutions (9)
- Lockheed Martin (9)
- Relativity Space (9)
- Carpenter Technology (8)
- Sandia Corporation (8)
- 3D Systems (8)
- Rocket Lab USA (8)
North Carolina
- Honda (7)
- Sandvik (2)
- Ricoh Electronics (2)
- Trw & Associates (1)
- Restor3D (1)
- Lockheed Martin (1)
- Oerlikon (1)
- Trimech (1)
- ABB (1)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering Master's Degrees
- Mechanical Engineering Master's Degrees
- Textiles Master's Degrees
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.