Industrial Engineer Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Are you searching for an industrial engineer job description? Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of an industrial engineer. Feel free to use our industrial engineer job description template to produce your own industrial engineer job description. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as an industrial engineer.
Who is an Industrial Engineer?
An Industrial Engineer is responsible for designing production layouts and procedures with the sole purpose of enhancing productivity, decreasing costs, eliminating wastefulness, and ensuring that quality standard is maintained at all times. They make research to discover diverse ways to utilize other workers, machines, materials, information, and also energy to make a product or provide one of the best services effectively.
Industrial engineers do not work in isolation; they often work with a team of professionals such as industrial engineer technicians and production staff. Industrial engineers utilize designs to accomplish diverse tasks such as manufacturing and healthcare provision. Industrial engineers work with other experts in the company; they need to have outstanding communication skills to accomplish their responsibility. Skills and experience in engineering are very paramount; they need to possess the following skills: planning, analytical skills, supply chain management, and quality assurance for them to carry out their responsibility effectively.
Industrial engineers also carefully assess the company’s procedure and production schedule and design accurately new production processes. The employees will also design various control systems to help reduce costs and enhance production quality. They usually draft a list of equipment and materials and cost analysis. Purchase orders before implementing new projects and production cost estimations.
Industrial engineers’ work environment can be accomplished in diverse settings. Many of them usually work in an environment that they can design or improve. They start by analyzing and scanning the environment closely and then they proceed to the office to brainstorm new design plans and ideas that will enhance the area.
Most of the design production processes and control systems for factories and warehouses. They usually observe workers closely while completing their tasks and also determine where enhancements can be made to improve their efficiencies and build their workload. They may also spend a bulk of time in warehouses and factories meetings with employees to identify problems they face and to offer solutions to them. They usually have a plan to improve these circumstances.
A successful industrial engineer should be highly creative and innovative to develop new production procedures and enhance the efficiency levels of employees. Strong industrial engineers must possess problem-solving skills and critical thinking abilities to identify impending problems workers are facing and apply the best solutions to them. Interpersonal and communication skills are also important to comprehend prevalent issues affecting employee productivity. They should also utilize the skills they possess to groom employees and how to be updated about new processes.
Industrial Engineers versus Mechanical Engineers
Some people interchange the responsibilities of an industrial engineer and mechanical engineer because they cannot comprehend the differences between both. Although both industrial engineers and mechanical engineers have similarities which is that they design products that enhance the lives of consumers or employees. There are some key differences between an industrial engineer and a mechanical engineer. Mechanical engineers utilize and also employ a strong knowledge of mathematics and physics to build engines, machinery, and electrical units.
Industrial engineers often work directly with factory employees to determine new systems and new updates to boost productivity. Once they design these systems for employees; they observe employees as they utilize them to determine if more improvement needs to be added. Mechanical engineers typically work on machinery and they have very little interpersonal bond with the individuals who eventually utilize their designs.
Industrial Engineer Job Description
What is an industrial engineer job description? An industrial engineer job description is simply a list of duties and responsibilities of an industrial engineer in an organization. Below are the industrial engineer job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write an industrial engineer job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The following are the duties and responsibilities of an industrial engineer:
- Examining production schedules, processes, specifications, and related information
- Designing production processes that maximize efficiency and reduce waste
- Formulating control systems to minimize costs and production issues
- Developing and implementing process improvement and technological upgrades
- Preparing material and equipment lists, purchase orders, estimated production costs, and cost analyses
- Developing design and production standards in cooperation with management and user personnel
- Training staff for new processes and also giving them manuals and instruction
- Designing the layout of facilities and determining personnel requirements
- Managing process documentation and preparing production reports
- Continuously optimizes direct and indirect manufacturing labor and in-plant material flow through the utilization of industrial training methods which are: line balancing, time studies, in-plant and external material flow
- Designing and executing optimal station layouts that support the operator
- Driving towards sustainable solutions by developing a standard workflow for new existing products while considering safety and efficiency
- Supporting safety performance of the manufacturing area through the design of ergonomic solutions for different operations as well as material handling
- Leading the plan for every part approach to a new product that is launched
- Proposing improvements or modifications sequence of operations, equipment utilization, and related matters
- Authorizing strategy deployment by completing Bottleneck Analysis and Value Stream Mapping
- Collaborating with cross-functional teams to gain insight and direction
Qualifications
- A bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, technical engineering,or a related field.
- Past proven relevant working experience usually a minimum of 2-5 years of Industrial Engineering and a strong educational background is required
- Progressive knowledge of production machinery, processes, and standards
- Critical-thinking and problem-solving skills
- Strong communication and presentation skills
- Troubleshooting skills and paying attention to detail
- Documentation and organizational Skills
- Proficiency in MS Office and AutoCAD
- Knowledge of product launch management systems
- Ability to act with a sense of urgency as the need demands
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills
- Understanding of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) guidelines
- Possession of leadership and interpersonal skills to interact and motivate employees
Essential Skills
An industrial engineer must possess the following skills and competencies to accomplish his duties and responsibilities and they are:
- Analytical Skills: this is a core skill an industrial engineer needs to have to analyze and interpret data. They also need this skill to determine the product concept that will work for a company and the one that will fail. This skill is very paramount because industrial engineers are responsible for increasing productivity in an organization; they need to analyze the best way possible to get the best results.
In addition, they also need this skill to draft a report and describe the results to company decision-makers. At the end of the day, they need to draft a report of every cost of production and the projects they executed in the company. This report is usually presented to the management of the company and is documented for future reference.
- Strong Communication Skills: An industrial engineer must have both verbal and written communication skills to pass a message to employees and other professionals. Communication skill is very essential to help the industrial engineer communicate a new product concept or idea to various employees. This concept or idea will also be brainstormed by other employees before it will be executed. An industrial engineer also makes technical recommendations understandable. In addition, they also draft a report after they have executed a project; this report is written communication.
- Quality Assurance: an industrial engineer performs the responsibility of a compliance officer in an organization. He or she must ensure that the new product that is launched meets the required or acceptable standard. An industrial engineer must be highly analytical and know the governmental policies of a product. An industrial engineer is also responsible for improving the quality of a product by employing his or her quality assurance skills.
- Problem-Solving Skills: industrial engineers are responsible for providing viable solutions for a variety of challenges. For instance, if the equipment is faulty or not working as expected, it is the responsibility of an industrial engineer to provide a solution to that challenge. They are also responsible for improving production if customers are not satisfied with the product.
- Project Management: an Industrial engineer usually oversees the launching of a new product and the plan involved in the launching. It is the responsibility of an industrial engineer to draft a plan that will lead to the successful launching of the product. To accomplish this, an industrial engineer must have strong project management skills to accomplish this task.
- Logistics or supply chain management: an industrial engineer must have logistics skills. Logistics refers to the process of planning, executing, and controlling the efficient flow of goods and services to the point of consumption and related information from the point of consumption for satisfying custom demands logistics is very crucial in production and an industrial engineer must ensure that the product reaches the final consumer.
- Mathematical Skills: an industrial engineer must possess this skill to utilize basic and advanced calculations to ascertain the current and the potential productivity of a process. The ability to use mathematical skills will help you to build a successful career as an industrial engineer. In the course of discharging your duties, you will encounter mathematics like trigonometry, algebra, and another type of math that is relevant to this position.
- Leadership and Teamwork Skills: industrial engineers must possess leadership skills to motivate other employees to carry out their responsibilities as expected. They should be able to also assign duties to employees and train them as the need demands.
In addition, an industrial engineer does not work in isolation, he or she usually works with a team of employees and other professionals to accomplish a task. He or she must adapt to working with a team.
How to Become an Industrial Engineer
- Acquire a Bachelor’s Degree
The minimum qualification to become an industrial engineer is to acquire a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Civil Engineering, Technical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering or a related field. This degree usually takes four to five years to complete. During the degree, you will get to learn production and operation planning, international production and operation management, logistics operation, and scheduling. This will broaden your knowledge about how to become a competent industrial engineer after graduation.
- Enroll for a Master’s Degree
Although this is not mandatory you can enroll for a master’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering or Industrial Engineering to make you acquire more skills and knowledge. A master’s degree usually takes 18 months to complete and it will put you in the good books of your potential employers.
- Get a License to Practice
To become a legal industrial engineer, you need to acquire your state licensure to practice. You should inquire to know your state license and then pursue it; license varies from one country to another. To obtain a professional license, industrial engineers are mandated to work under the supervision of a licensed professional for at least four years.
- Get Relevant Working Experience
Most job employers prefer a candidate with a previous experience as an industrial engineer. This experience can be acquired by the engineer through an internship or entry-level job position. Some job recruiters may prefer a candidate with little experience and then train him or her on the job scene as a graduate assistant while others prefer a candidate with a high degree of experience that is a licensed professional that has been practicing for several years. This decision solely depends on the necessity of the company at that particular moment. After you have acquired work experience; draft your resume and apply for open positions in your locality. You can also use social media to look for open job positions for industrial engineers.
Where to Work as an Industrial Engineer
There are different kinds of industries that which industrial engineers can work. They can work in manufacturing industries, supply chain management industries, healthcare, and other building industries. They are mostly found in factories and warehouses and they perform the responsibility of designing production processes and control systems. They can also work in the following places:
- Service Industries
- Logistics providers
- Consulting and engineering services
- Research and Development firms
- Wholesale Trade
Industrial Engineer Salary
- In the United States, the average salary of an entry-level industrial engineer is $59,468 per year while an experienced industrial engineer earns about $86,809 per annum. The salary may vary based on the location of the industrial engineer.
- In Nigeria, an industrial engineer earns a monthly salary of about 288,000 NGN per month. The salary may vary based on the geographical location and the experience of the industrial engineer. The salary includes other benefits such as housing, medical, and transportation