embroidery machine operator
Embroidery machine operators decorate wearing apparel by tending embroidery machines varying in their technology in order to embroider and ornamental wearing apparel.
embroidery machine operator embroidery machine operators decorate wearing apparel by tending embroidery machines varying in their technology in order to embroider and ornamental wearing apparel. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include manufacturing of wearing apparel, properties of textile materials, manufacturing of made-up textile articles, apparel manufacturing technology, manufacture wearing apparel products.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £24,813 a year for Sewing machinists (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 8146). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Plant and machine operators and assemblers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only embroidery machine operator, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 8. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- English Language
- Production and Processing
- Mathematics
- Education and Training
- Customer and Personal Service
- Public Safety and Security
- Mechanical
- Administration and Management
What you'd actually do
- Monitor machine operation to detect problems such as defective stitching, breaks in thread, or machine malfunctions.
- Place spools of thread, cord, or other materials on spindles, insert bobbins, and thread ends through machine guides and components.
- Position items under needles, using marks on machines, clamps, templates, or cloth as guides.
- Guide garments or garment parts under machine needles and presser feet to sew parts together.
- Remove holding devices and finished items from machines.
- Match cloth pieces in correct sequences prior to sewing them, and verify that dye lots and patterns match.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does embroidery machine operator do?
Embroidery machine operators decorate wearing apparel by tending embroidery machines varying in their technology in order to embroider and ornamental wearing apparel.
What skills does embroidery machine operator need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include manufacturing of wearing apparel, properties of textile materials, manufacturing of made-up textile articles, apparel manufacturing technology, manufacture wearing apparel products, sew textile-based articles. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace embroidery machine operator?
Our AI-durability model gives embroidery machine operator a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.