How To Become A Plant Engineering Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a plant engineering manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Philipp Zerbe

A plant engineering manager oversees all technical and engineering activities on a plant. Some of your core duties include overseeing engineering project development, improving plant energy efficiency by optimizing HVAC, electric, steam, water, hydraulic, and compression air systems.

You will also be required to meet with contractors and other key service providers and draw up agreements with them. Your other duties include assisting in capital budgeting and conducting internal, technical, and cross-site root cause analysis to understand plant incidents. You will also be required to be involved in employee training and recruitment as well as setting up key performance targets.

An average plant engineering manager earns $46.59 an hour and $96,000 annually. It is essential that you have top skills like continuous improvement, capital projects, plant equipment, plant safety, and project management on your resume. Excellent communication skills are important for any team leader. A bachelor's degree in engineering fields like mechanical engineering or electrical engineering is most commonly required for this role.

What general advice would you give to a plant engineering manager?

Philipp Zerbe

Associate Professor, University of California - Davis

While most career sectors have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, job opportunities in botany, plant biology and biology in general have been affected comparatively less. Therefore, do not be discouraged; explore the many career possibilities in plant biology and find something that truly speaks to your personality and your career dreams and pursue opportunities in this direction. At the same time be flexible and open-minded toward new opportunities. Botany/Plant Biology is a diverse and international field with many different career possibilities. Be open to exploring different fields and to relocate nationally or internationally for internships or job opportunities.

ScorePlant Engineering ManagerUS Average

Salary

7.2

Avg. Salary $92,265

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.16%

Asian 11.88%

Black or African American 3.01%

Hispanic or Latino 8.52%

Unknown 4.62%

White 71.81%

Gender

female 4.08%

male 95.92%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a plant engineering manager

Explore plant engineering manager education requirements

Most common plant engineering manager degrees

Bachelor's

70.3 %

Associate

13.2 %

Master's

11.7 %

Start to develop specific plant engineering manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Continuous Improvement	10.33%
Capital Projects	7.00%
Project Management	6.61%
Lean Manufacturing	5.04%
Plant Operations	4.15%

Complete relevant plant engineering manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New plant engineering managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a plant engineering manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real plant engineering manager resumes.

Research plant engineering manager duties and responsibilities

Manage QA for research orient development efforts and for high visibility, production focuse development efforts tie to revenue generation.
Maintain all records for SQF and to make sure the plant meet all OSHA and USDA requirements.
Supervise aerial, land, and underground installations, ensure appropriate management of resources and compliance with OSHA.
Correct environmental issues throughout plants including flooring issues, compress air, water supply systems and HVAC systems.

Prepare your plant engineering manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your plant engineering manager resume.

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