Will “Materials Engineers” be Replaced By Robots? 🤔
2.1% Chance of Automation
“Materials Engineers” will not be replaced by robots.
This job is ranked #88 out of #702. A higher ranking (i.e., a lower number) means the job is less likely to be replaced.
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Job Description
Evaluate materials and develop machinery and processes to manufacture materials for use in products that must meet specialized design and performance specifications. Develop new uses for known materials. Includes those engineers working with composite materials or specializing in one type of material, such as graphite, metal and metal alloys, ceramics and glass, plastics and polymers, and naturally occurring materials. Includes metallurgists and metallurgical engineers, ceramic engineers, and welding engineers.
Job Details
- The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 17-2131.00
- The Mean Annual Wage in the U.S. is $ 97,050.00
- The Mean Hourly Wage is $ 46.00
- Currently, there are 26,800 people on this job
Also Known As…
- Test Engineer
- Research Engineer
- Process Engineer
- Metallurgist
- Metallurgical Engineer
- Materials Research Engineer
- Materials Engineer
- Materials Development Engineer
- Materials Branch Chief
- Materials and Processes Manager
- Welding Engineer
- Testing Engineer
- Supplier Quality Engineer (SQE)
- Stress Engineer
- Smelting Engineer
- Refining Engineer
- Project Engineer
- Plating Engineer
- Plastics Engineer
- Physical Metallurgist
- Nanotechnologist
- Metallurgical Specialist
- Metallographer
- Material Analyst
- Green Building Materials Designer
- Glass Science Engineer
- Foundry Process Engineer
- Foundry Metallurgist
- Forensic Materials Engineer
- Failure Analysis Technician
- Extractive Metallurgist
- Design Engineer
- Corrosion Engineer
- Ceramics Test Engineer
- Ceramic Research Engineer
- Ceramic Design Engineer
- Automation Engineer
Tasks for “Materials Engineers”
- Plan and evaluate new projects, consulting with other engineers and corporate executives as necessary.
- Modify properties of metal alloys, using thermal and mechanical treatments.
- Determine appropriate methods for fabricating and joining materials.
- Review new product plans and make recommendations for material selection based on design objectives, such as strength, weight, heat resistance, electrical conductivity, and cost.
- Replicate the characteristics of materials and their components with computers.
- Guide technical staff engaged in developing materials for specific uses in projected products or devices.
- Design processing plants and equipment.
- Teach in colleges and universities.
- Conduct training sessions on new material products, applications, or manufacturing methods for customers and their employees.
- Supervise the work of technologists, technicians, and other engineers and scientists.
- Write for technical magazines, journals, and trade association publications.
- Plan and implement laboratory operations for the purpose of developing material and fabrication procedures that meet cost, product specification, and performance standards.
- Evaluate technical specifications and economic factors relating to process or product design objectives.
- Solve problems in a number of engineering fields, such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, civil, nuclear, and aerospace.
- Perform managerial functions, such as preparing proposals and budgets, analyzing labor costs, and writing reports.
- Monitor material performance and evaluate material deterioration.
- Analyze product failure data and laboratory test results to determine causes of problems and develop solutions.
- Supervise production and testing processes in industrial settings, such as metal refining facilities, smelting or foundry operations, or nonmetallic materials production operations.
- Design and direct the testing or control of processing procedures.
- Conduct or supervise tests on raw materials or finished products to ensure their quality.
Related Technology & Tools
- Concrete test hammers
- Laboratory microwave ovens
- Jaw crushers
- Lathes
- Filter presses
- Magnetic separators
- Gas chromatographs GC
- Hardness testers
- Digitizing oscilloscopes
- Temperature regulated shaking water baths
- Specific gravity balances
- Stabilometers
- Cement mixers
- Laboratory test sieves
- Isodynamic separators
- Mass spectrometers
- Vacuum evaporators
- Microscope photo attachments
- Flame photometers
- Dataloggers
- Polishing machines
- Strain gauges
- Energy dispersive x-ray spectrometers EDS
- Adhesion testers
- Etching equipment
- Liquid conditioners
- Twin screw extruders
- Laminators
- Spectrophotometers
- Atomic force microscopes
- Benchtop centrifuges
- Slurry blenders
- Drop weight impact towers
- Infrared cameras
- Adiabatic bomb calorimeters
- Accelerated weathering machines
- Screw-driven test machines
- X ray fluorescence XRF analyzers
- Servohydraulic test machines
- Vibration analysis equipment
- Current versus voltage IV curve tracers
- Tube furnaces
- Microwave autoclaves
- Water burets
- pH testers
- Permeability measuring devices
- Optical emission spectrometers
- Injection molding machines
- Molecular pumps
- High tension separators
- Micromanipulators
- Rod mills
- Water-cooled saws
- Sample presses
- Spectrocolorimeters
- Differential thermal analyzers
- Muffle furnaces
- Drying ovens
- Ultrasonic baths
- Safety glasses
- Gas detectors
- Plasma-arc furnaces
- Gyratory crushers
- Magnetic susceptibility balances
- Compression testing machines
- Ball mills
- Charpy impact testers
- Analytical balances
- Balling drums
- Electron microprobe analyzers EMPA
- Coordinate measuring machines CMM
- Impact testers
- Fiberscopes
- Counter-current mixers
- Particle size analyzers
- Gel permeation chromatographs GPC
- Sanding machines
- Oscillating water tunnels
- Reflectometers
- Load frames
- Safety gloves
- Laboratory pulverizers
- Twin-screw extruders
- Polarizing microscopes
- Roll crushers
- Sonometers
- Steam autoclaves
- Thermal analysis systems
- Laboratory sample splitters
- Attritors
- Inert atmosphere box furnaces
- Ultraviolet UV exposure units
- Gauss meters
- Vacuum furnaces
- Thermogravimetric analyzers
- Tensile testers
- Computer numerical controlled CNC milling machines
- Diffractometers
- Electronic toploading balances
- Ultrasonicators
- Atomic absorption AA spectrophotometers
- Tension gauges
- Viscosity meters
- Pit depth gauges
- Film thickness measurement systems
- Binocular compound microscopes
- Solid state laser systems
- Colorimeters
- Heated walk-in environmental chambers
- Fourier transform infrared FTIR spectroscopes
- Vacuum coating systems
- Personal computers
- Solvent dryers
- Laser Doppler velocimeters LDV
- Laboratory vacuum pumps
- Wind tunnels
- Jar mills
- Friction and wear testers
- Optical compound microscopes
- Porosity indicators
- X ray fluorescence XRF spectrometers
- Masonry cutters
- Band saws
- Scanning electron microscopes SEM
- Hot blenders
- Stereo microscopes
- Durometers
- High pressure liquid chromatograph HPLC equipment
- Spectrometers
- Ultrasound inspection equipment
- Digital cameras
- Ammeters
- Hydraulic presses
- Turbidimeters
- Holding jigs
- Accelerometers
- Deionizers
- Microwave sintering furnaces
- Lapping wheels
- Abrasion testers
- High temperature material testing systems
- Mechanical sieve shakers
- Fume hoods
- Laboratory glove boxes
- Laboratory blenders
- Pycnometers
- Acoustic impediography equipment
- High-vacuum tensile testing chambers
- Calorimeters
- Electrostatic separators
- Microwave tube furnaces
- Ultrasonic dismembrators
- Kneading compactors
- Freeze-thaw test units
- Graphite element furnaces
- Computerized numerical control CNC lathes
- Solar simulators
- Infrared monitors
- Rotating furnaces
- Melt spinners
- Electrometers
- Linear variable differential transformers LVDT
- Flotation columns
- Extensometers
- Differential scanning calorimeters
- Data entry software
- Stereolithography SLA rapid prototyping systems
- SAP
- Microsoft SharePoint
- Computer aided design CAD software
- MTS Testworks
- Digital image correlation DIC software
- Web browser software
- Image analysis systems
- Microsoft Visual Basic.NET
- National Instruments LabVIEW
- Microsoft Visio
- QMC CM4D
- Presentation software
- C++
- ANSYS Multiphysics
- Fused deposition modeling FDM rapid prototyping systems
- Microsoft Excel
- Word processing software
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- IBM Notes
- Microsoft Visual Basic
- Formula translation/translator FORTRAN
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Graphics software
- PTC Creo Parametric
- Dassault Systemes CATIA
- Fault detection isolation and recovery FDIR software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Minitab
- Autodesk AutoCAD