Lean Manufacturing Engineer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Lean Manufacturing Engineer develops LEAN work methodology within a manufacturing environment, optimizes machining processes to reach optimum product quality, efficiency and process repeatability at the lowest cost. Leads and deploys best practices in the manufacturing process by supporting continuous improvement in various manufacturing processes by reducing the tooling costs and improving the flow of material and setting up cycle times.
Job Outlook
There were 16 Lean Manufacturing Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 393 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Manufacturing Engineer industry, which includes the Lean Manufacturing Engineer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Lean 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 $86,390.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $86,390.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Lean Manufacturing Engineer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $79,951.
Education and Experience
Posted Lean 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 | 74.81% |
| Master's Degree | 18.07% |
| Doctoral Degree | 0% |
| Other | 4.07% |
Posted Lean 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 | 27.13% |
| 3 to 5 years | 57.09% |
| 6 to 8 years | 6.48% |
| 9+ years | 9.31% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Lean 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.
- Management (47.84%)
- Problem Solving (47.58%)
- Operations (47.58%)
- Leadership (42.24%)
- Communication (37.4%)
- Planning (19.85%)
- Coaching (18.07%)
- Microsoft Excel (17.3%)
- Microsoft Office (16.79%)
- Customer Service (15.01%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Six Sigma Methodology (36.56%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (70.43%)
- Process Engineering (11.02%)
- Lean Manufacturing (97.31%)
- Project Management (32.26%)
- Manufacturing Processes (19.89%)
- Process Improvement (47.04%)
- Kaizen Methodology (50.27%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Workflow Management (12.37%)
- Lean Methodologies (22.58%)
- Supply Chain (12.1%)
- AutoCAD (6.72%)
- Eight Disciplines Problem Solving (8D) (4.57%)
- Auditing (8.6%)
- Automation (7.53%)
- Change Management (10.75%)
- SolidWorks (CAD) (3.23%)
- Business Systems (7.8%)
- Kanban Principles (16.4%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (10.22%)
- Manufacturing Operations (9.68%)
- Operating Systems (3.49%)
- Process Flow Diagrams (4.57%)
- Cost Reduction (11.56%)
- Mechanical Engineering (8.87%)
- Gemba (11.02%)
- Define Measure Analyze Improve And Control (DMAIC) (9.68%)
- Manufacturing Engineering (15.05%)
- Material Flow Management (8.6%)
- Lean Six Sigma (12.1%)
- Industrial Engineering (17.74%)
- Single-Minute Exchange Of Die (SMED) (9.68%)
- Just In Time Methodology (2.42%)
- Lean Enterprise (9.41%)
- Waste Minimization (11.02%)
- Overall Equipment Effectiveness (5.91%)
- Root Cause Analysis (8.87%)
- Production Process (7.53%)
- Value Stream Mapping (34.68%)
- PDCA Cycle (13.71%)
- Tooling (9.68%)
- Product Quality (QA/QC) (7.53%)
- Environment Health And Safety (3.76%)
- Lean Principles (17.2%)
- Balancing (Ledger/Billing) (10.75%)
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.
- Six Sigma Methodology (44.3%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (85.34%)
- Process Engineering (13.36%)
- Manufacturing Processes (24.1%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Lean Manufacturing Engineer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Lean Engineer
- Continuous Improvement Engineer
- Transformation Lead
- Process Engineer
- Lean Process Engineer
- Virtual Intern
- Lean Manufacturing Intern
- Lean Six Sigma Consultant
- Continuous Improvement Leader
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.
- Process Manager
- Six Sigma Quality Engineer
- Industrial Engineer (General)
- Manufacturing Engineer (General)
- Manufacturing Product Design Engineer
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Lean Manufacturing Engineer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Carpenter Technology (21)
- Pentair (13)
- National Security Agency (11)
- Actalent (10)
- Johnson Controls (9)
- Atkore International (9)
- ASML (8)
- Parker Hannifin (7)
- GPAC (7)
- Segula Technologies (6)
North Carolina
- Johnson Controls (3)
- Pentair (2)
- Actalent (1)
- CAC Staffing (1)
- Stanadyne (1)
- Hti (1)
- Novo Nordisk (1)
- Wolfspeed (1)
- Plastic Ingenuity (1)
- Masonite (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!
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.