---
title: "Will AI Replace Industrial Engineers? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates industrial engineers' exposure to AI as very high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+12.4%…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-industrial-engineers"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Industrial Engineers? (2026)

**Short answer:** AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow faster than average.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places industrial engineers in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +12.4% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 23,100 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Very high | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 32/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +12.4% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 23,100 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $102,440 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high (this job) | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Face-to-face discussions: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Making decisions and solving problems: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Thinking creatively: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Dealing with the public: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Processing information: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Working with computers: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Email: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Getting information: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Confer with clients, vendors, staff, and management personnel regarding purchases, product and production specifications, manufacturing capabilities, or project status.
- Communicate with management and user personnel to develop production and design standards.
- Plan and establish sequence of operations to fabricate and assemble parts or products and to promote efficient utilization.
- Recommend methods for improving utilization of personnel, material, and utilities.
- Review production schedules, engineering specifications, orders, and related information to obtain knowledge of manufacturing methods, procedures, and activities.
- Record or oversee recording of information to ensure currency of engineering drawings and documentation of production problems.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than industrial engineers

- [Industrial Production Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-production-manager): BLS exposure High, median $126,060; [Will AI replace industrial production managers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-industrial-production-managers)
- [Health and Safety Engineer, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors](https://nuecareer.com/careers/health-and-safety-engineer): BLS exposure High, median $115,160
- [Marine Engineer and Naval Architect](https://nuecareer.com/careers/marine-engineer-and-naval-architect): BLS exposure High, median $112,230
- [Transportation Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/transportation-engineer): BLS exposure High, median $100,840
- [Industrial Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-engineering-technologist-and-technician): BLS exposure High, median $66,120
- [Architect](https://nuecareer.com/careers/architect): BLS exposure High, median $99,280; [Will AI replace architects?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-architects)

## FAQ

**Will AI replace industrial engineers?**

AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow faster than average. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +12.4% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 23,100 openings a year.

**How exposed are industrial engineers to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Industrial Engineers are in the very high category, alongside 198 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of an industrial engineer's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are processing information, working with computers and email. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, making decisions and solving problems and thinking creatively. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being an industrial engineer a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, industrial engineers score 32 out of 100, higher than 26% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $102,440 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to industrial engineers are less exposed to AI?**

Industrial Production Manager (high exposure, $126,060 median), Health and Safety Engineer, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors (high exposure, $115,160 median), Marine Engineer and Naval Architect (high exposure, $112,230 median), Transportation Engineer (high exposure, $100,840 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than industrial engineers, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-engineer.

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This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology