5 Manufacturing Tech Jobs that May Await You

The IOT Analytics.com article, “The top 5 new jobs created by the Industrial IoT,” pointed out that our current industrial revolution is reminiscent of the way the steam engine changed the workforce over 200 years ago. Although people at the time thought manual labor would be eliminated, the actual result was an increase in new career pathways and roles that previously didn’t even exist.

As the role of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in manufacturing may lead to machines replacing humans for repetitive, heavy and dangerous jobs, researchers are forecasting an increase in more meaningful work, including research and development and IT positions.

New Skills

In the past 18 months, manufacturers have had to fast-track their implementation of technology to remain in business, just like other industries. The workforce has had to rise to fill the resulting skills gap by rapidly developing new skillsets.

As technology evolves, it is inevitable that workers will need to work with new equipment and computer-aided machinery and analyze data, while using the uniquely human talent (soft skill) of creative problem solving, in order to participate in the fast-moving factory environment of tomorrow.

For that, they will need to develop new skills for working together with advanced robotic equipment to produce more efficient manufacturing workflows.

New Jobs

In addition to the change in existing jobs, the IoT Analytics article and Deloitte Insights propose a number of new manufacturing job opportunities, including:

1. Data Scientist

IT-savvy industrial data scientists with an understanding of manufacturing processes pore through data gathered during manufacturing, analyze it to find correlations, and apply the findings to suggest product and production improvements.

2. Smart Factory Manager

The manager of a smart factory oversees production operations, including build schedules and inventory levels; quality control; product design and engineering; IT and cybersecurity. They would evaluate and enact suggestions from the data scientist about production improvements and also be responsible for equipment installation, operation and data-driven predictive maintenance.

3. Computer Engineer

The industrial computer engineer uses programming expertise to develop the software solutions needed by the factory. They also run simulations and develop programs for data analytics. General purpose programming languages include Python, C++, Visual Basic, C#, and Java.

4. Robot Teaming Coordinator

As machine operators are tapped for the job of robot coordinator – handling function, maintenance, repairs, and replacements – someone needs to coordinate these robotic teams. The robot teaming coordinator trains human-robot teams, gives feedback to programmers and makes sure human-machine collaboration and robotically-augmented processes are functioning at their most productive level.

5. UI/UX Designer

The user interface (UI)/user experience (UX) designer makes user interfaces practical for manufacturing. Those might include dashboards on phones and other mobile devices, machine interfaces, robot interaction, AR applications for operations and maintenance, and product architecture.

If you are a member of the workforce that needs to develop skills for your current job, or if you are looking to branch out in the direction of collaborating with robots to produce a more efficient manufacturing workflow, the time is now to plan your transition.

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