manufacturing manager
Manufacturing managers plan, oversee and direct the manufacturing process in an organisation. They ensure products and services are efficiently produced within the timeframe and budget given.
manufacturing manager manufacturing managers plan, oversee and direct the manufacturing process in an organisation. They ensure products and services are efficiently produced within the timeframe and budget given. 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 production processes, sustainable manufacturing, manufacturing processes, lean manufacturing, manage supplies.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £58,640 a year for Production managers and directors in manufacturing (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £42,885 to £85,000 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 1121). 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)
No official India pay figure is available for this career.
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Production and Processing
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- Mathematics
- Personnel and Human Resources
- English Language
- Mechanical
What you'd actually do
- Set and monitor product standards, examining samples of raw products or directing testing during processing, to ensure finished products are of prescribed quality.
- Direct or coordinate production, processing, distribution, or marketing activities of industrial organizations.
- Review processing schedules or production orders to make decisions concerning inventory requirements, staffing requirements, work procedures, or duty assignments, considering budgetary limitations and time constraints.
- Review operations and confer with technical or administrative staff to resolve production or processing problems.
- Hire, train, evaluate, or discharge staff or resolve personnel grievances.
- Develop or implement production tracking or quality control systems, analyzing production, quality control, maintenance, or other operational reports to detect production problems.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does manufacturing manager do?
Manufacturing managers plan, oversee and direct the manufacturing process in an organisation. They ensure products and services are efficiently produced within the timeframe and budget given.
What skills does manufacturing manager need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include production processes, sustainable manufacturing, manufacturing processes, lean manufacturing, manage supplies, coordinate manufacturing production activities. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace manufacturing manager?
Our AI-durability model gives manufacturing manager 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.