Industrial engineers design, develop and test integrated systems for managing industrial production processes. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics lists their duties as evaluating manufacturing, delivery, customer experience and other systems to improve productivity and quality, collecting data through observation, time studies and staff surveys, analyzing it for trends, designing processes and layouts that make better use of time, money and space, working with other departments to put changes in place, and presenting recommendations to management.
The short answer: AI is more likely to add work for industrial engineers than to replace them. The ILO's 2025 index rates industrial and production engineers as minimal exposure, with a score of 0.37. The BLS projects employment to grow 12 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average, with about 23,100 openings a year, and names expertise on automation as one of the reasons. Projections are estimates, not guarantees.
How exposed industrial engineers are
The International Labour Organization scores occupations' tasks from 0 (cannot be automated with generative AI) to 1 (could be done without a human operator), and groups them into gradients from 1 to 4, with 4 the most exposed; below them sit minimal exposure and not exposed (ILO Working Paper 140, 2025).
| Occupation (ISCO-08) | ILO category | Mean task score (0 to 1) |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial and Production Engineers | Minimal exposure | 0.37 |
The data analysis and report writing in this job can be sped up by generative AI, which lifts the score a little. Observing work on the floor, designing systems and getting departments to change how they work keep it out of the exposed gradients.
What the BLS projects
| Occupation | Projected change 2025 to 2035 | Openings a year |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial engineers | Grow 12% | About 23,100 |
The BLS says industrial engineers focus on reducing internal costs, which makes their work valuable in manufacturing and in consulting, engineering services and research and development. As more companies look to lower costs, it expects demand for industrial engineers to increase to optimize production processes, manage supply chains and logistics, and provide expertise on automation.
Where AI is helping
- Analyzing production and time study data, which the BLS says industrial engineers already do with software.
- Running simulations of layouts, schedules and supply chains.
- Drafting reports and presentations of findings for management.
What stays with industrial engineers
- The floor: watching how work is actually done and talking to the people doing it.
- System design: weighing cost, safety, quality and space to choose a process.
- Automation decisions: judging where machines and AI fit in a process, the expertise the BLS expects companies to want.
- Change: getting departments to adopt new ways of working.
- Checking AI help: generated analyses and figures can be wrong, which NIST calls confabulation (NIST AI 600-1). See checking AI output.
How the job is changing
Industrial engineering is one of the jobs that grows with automation: companies that automate need people to decide where and how. AI speeds up the analysis, and the engineer stays responsible for the design and the advice. The BLS lists a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering or a related field as the usual way in. This page is general information, not career advice.
See also will AI replace industrial engineering technicians?, will AI replace industrial production managers?, will AI replace operations research analysts? and will AI replace engineers?
Pay and how to get in
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median annual pay for industrial engineers at $102,440 in May 2025, against $50,980 for all workers. The typical education needed to enter is: bachelor's degree. See how this job compares in AI exposure by pay and AI exposure by education level.
Questions and answers
Will AI replace industrial engineers?
Not on current projections. The BLS projects 12 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, with about 23,100 openings a year, partly because companies want expertise on automation.
How exposed are industrial engineers to AI?
The ILO rates industrial and production engineers as minimal exposure, with a score of 0.37.
Why is demand for industrial engineers growing?
The BLS says companies looking to lower costs need them to optimize production, manage supply chains and logistics, and advise on automation.
What degree do industrial engineers need?
The BLS says they typically need a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering or a related field, such as mechanical or electrical engineering.