Career profile · SOC ESC-7C06EF8A

production supervisor

Production supervisors coordinate, plan and direct manufacturing and production processes. They are responsible for reviewing production schedules or orders as well as dealing with staff in these production areas.

production supervisor production supervisors coordinate, plan and direct manufacturing and production processes. They are responsible for reviewing production schedules or orders as well as dealing with staff in these production areas. 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 engineering principles, manufacturing processes, engineering processes, CAE software, create solutions to problems.

AI exposure
5.0/10
automation risk

Pay in the UK

UK: median £36,102 a year for Science, engineering and production technicians n.e.c. (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)

Middle half of full-time jobs: £29,401 to £46,772 a year

UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 3119). 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 “Technicians and associate professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only production supervisor, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.

Urban India
₹31,909 a month
Rural India
₹18,966 a month
All India
₹26,175 a month

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 3. 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

engineering principles manufacturing processes engineering processes CAE software create solutions to problems resolve equipment malfunctions record test data troubleshoot adjust engineering designs conduct routine machinery checks

Knowledge you'll build

  • Engineering and Technology
  • Production and Processing
  • Mechanical
  • Design
  • Mathematics
  • Computers and Electronics
  • English Language
  • Physics

What you'd actually do

  • Troubleshoot new or existing product problems involving designs, materials, or processes.
  • Investigate or resolve operational problems, such as material use variances or bottlenecks.
  • Identify opportunities or implement changes to improve manufacturing processes or products or to reduce costs, using knowledge of fabrication processes, tooling and production equipment, assembly methods, quality control standards, or product design, materials and parts.
  • Apply continuous improvement methods, such as lean manufacturing, to enhance manufacturing quality, reliability, or cost-effectiveness.
  • Provide technical expertise or support related to manufacturing.
  • Incorporate new manufacturing methods or processes to improve existing operations.

Tools & technology you'd use

Autodesk AutoCAD hot Dassault Systemes SolidWorks hot Microsoft Excel hot Microsoft Office software hot Microsoft PowerPoint hot C hot Microsoft Access hot Microsoft Outlook hot Microsoft Project hot Microsoft SharePoint hot Microsoft Visio hot Microsoft Visual Basic hot

Frequently asked questions

What does production supervisor do?

Production supervisors coordinate, plan and direct manufacturing and production processes. They are responsible for reviewing production schedules or orders as well as dealing with staff in these production areas.

What skills does production supervisor need?

The most in-demand skills for this role include engineering principles, manufacturing processes, engineering processes, CAE software, create solutions to problems, resolve equipment malfunctions. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.

Will AI replace production supervisor?

Our AI-durability model gives production supervisor 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.

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