Manufacturing engineering, also known as production engineering, is a branch of professional engineering that shares many common concepts and ideas with other fields of engineering such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, and industrial engineering. It is based on core industrial engineering and mechanical engineering skills, adding important elements from mechatronics, commerce, economics, and business management. The goal of manufacturing engineering is to design and manage manufacturing systems, particularly machining and assembly processes, to produce distinct products in a discrete manufacturing environment.

Manufacturing engineers develop and create physical artifacts, production processes, and technology. They work on every step of the manufacturing process, from design to production, and identify possible improvements in product design and assembly line processes. They also advise on the best technologies and identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing manufacturing processes. Manufacturing engineers focus on the design and operation of integrated systems for the production of high-quality, economically competitive products. These systems may include computer networks, robots, machine tools, and materials-handling equipment.

Manufacturing engineering is considered to be a subdiscipline of industrial engineering/systems engineering and has very strong overlaps with mechanical engineering. Manufacturing engineers success or failure directly impacts the advancement of technology and the spread of innovation. They must remain up-to-date on new manufacturing processes to make decisions when it comes to improving optimizations across product lines.

Some examples of tasks that a manufacturing engineer might be hired to do include automating a chemical manufacturing facility through computer-integrated technology, designing circuit board manufacturing processes to reduce costs and improve product quality, developing the best assignment of machines and equipment to various manufacturing cells in discrete parts manufacturing, and developing and implementing fabrication processes for nano-/micro-devices.

In summary, manufacturing engineering is a field of engineering that focuses on designing and managing manufacturing systems to produce high-quality, economically competitive products. Manufacturing engineers work on every step of the manufacturing process, from design to production, and identify possible improvements in product design and assembly line processes. They must remain up-to-date on new manufacturing processes to make decisions when it comes to improving optimizations across product lines.