Talent Maps / Orlando / Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers

Orlando Industrial and Manufacturing Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What industrial and manufacturing engineers earn in metro Orlando, which manufacturers and logistics operators employ them, where in the metro they work, and the plant projects competing for them.

Hiring manufacturing engineers in Orlando?

A talent map shows where a group of professionals works, what they are paid and who else is trying to hire them. This one covers industrial and manufacturing engineers in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and the demand picture uses project and employer data published from 2022 to 2026. Our manufacturing engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Orlando mechanical, aerospace and electrical engineer talent maps.

$104,920Median industrial engineer pay in metro OrlandoBLS, May 2025

$160,650+What the top 10% of Orlando industrial engineers earnBLS, May 2025

$75M+Novartis radioligand plant in Winter Park, due online by 2029Orlando Economic Partnership

$30MSonoco’s Orlando plant expansion, announced July 2025Orlando Economic Partnership

850,000Square feet at Amazon’s Lake Nona fulfillment center, expandable to 2.4 millionTavistock Development

7.8%Orlando industrial vacancy in the third quarter of 2025, the lowest in a yearOrlando Economic Partnership

Industrial engineer salaries in Orlando

The median industrial engineer in metro Orlando earns $104,920 a year, $3,310 above the Florida median of $101,610 and $2,480 above the national median of $102,440. The hourly median is $50.44. Orlando is level with the state in the upper middle, with a 75th percentile of $127,450 against $127,650 statewide. At the top, its 90th percentile of $160,650 is $4,090 above the state and $790 above the nation.

Annual pay percentile	Orlando metro	Florida	United States
10th percentile	$73,130	$68,850	$74,370
25th percentile	$85,800	$81,480	$83,600
Median	$104,920	$101,610	$102,440
75th percentile	$127,450	$127,650	$129,250
90th percentile	$160,650	$156,560	$159,860

Industrial Engineers (SOC 17-2112). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

Industrial engineering technologists and technicians earn a median of $47,220 in Orlando, well below the Florida median of $61,350 and the national median of $66,120. BLS shows the same $38,440 at the 10th and 25th percentiles for Orlando, which suggests a thin sample, so check local offers before you set a range. The 90th percentile is $81,630.

What the spread means in practice: Orlando pays more than Tampa, where the median is $100,670, a gap of $4,250. The gap is larger at the top. Tampa’s 90th percentile is $144,030, which is $16,620 below Orlando’s.

Where Orlando’s industrial and manufacturing work is

Defense, energy and electronics makers

Lockheed Martin has 14,000 employees in the Orlando area and Siemens Energy has 3,141, according to the Orlando Economic Partnership’s top employers list. The Partnership also names Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas among the region’s large advanced manufacturers.

AMD opened a GPU research and design center in Central Florida Research Park in July 2025.

Pharmaceutical and packaging plants

Novartis plans a 35,000-square-foot radioligand therapy plant in Winter Park with more than $75 million of investment and 50 jobs averaging $90,000. Sonoco is adding 100 million units of annual capacity at its Orlando plant, with 26 jobs.

SunDance, a printing and packaging maker on Delegates Drive in Orange County, announced a new 15,000-square-foot building in April 2026 and said it had added 31 positions in the prior 12 months.

Logistics and distribution

Amazon’s Lake Nona fulfillment center is 850,000 square feet and can grow to 2.4 million. McKesson invested $102 million in a 475,000-square-foot distribution center near the airport, announced in January 2022.

The Economic Partnership also lists Publix, Walgreens, CVS Caremark and Lowe’s among Orlando logistics operators.

Tourism and healthcare operations

Walt Disney World has 80,000 employees, Universal Orlando 32,084, AdventHealth 40,000 and Orlando Health 28,806. UCF lists Lockheed Martin, L3Harris, NASA, Walt Disney World and Universal Studios among the places its industrial engineering graduates work.

Where the talent sits: Orlando submarkets

Orlando International Airport and Lake Nona

LogisticsDistribution

McKesson’s Tradeport Drive center and Amazon’s Boggy Creek Road center are both near the airport.

Sanford and Seminole County

ManufacturingLogistics

The 116,000-square-foot Sanford Advanced Manufacturing Logistics Center opened on May 6, 2026, fully leased.

Central Florida Research Park

DefenseElectronics

The park south of UCF has 126 partners and 10,000 employees.

Winter Park and Maitland

Pharma

Novartis chose Winter Park for its fourth U.S. radioligand therapy plant.

Osceola County and NeoCity

Semiconductors

Osceola County’s 2021 agreement with SkyWater Technology to run the Center of NeoVation allowed up to 220 jobs within five years.

What’s driving demand for industrial and manufacturing engineers in Orlando

Pharmaceutical manufacturing. Novartis’s Winter Park plant is part of a $23 billion U.S. investment plan announced in April 2025. It is due online by 2029.
Plant expansions. Sonoco announced a $30 million expansion on July 15, 2025, and SunDance announced new equipment and a third building on April 16, 2026.
Industrial space. Orlando industrial vacancy fell to 7.8% in the third quarter of 2025, the lowest in a year, and the Sanford logistics center was fully leased on opening day in May 2026.
Semiconductor packaging. The Economic Partnership says the region has a niche in advanced packaging, and a Lockheed Martin representative said semiconductors are critical to its Orlando sensor and missile work.
Fulfillment and distribution. Amazon’s site can grow from 850,000 to 2.4 million square feet.
Employment growth. The Economic Partnership reported 18,000 new jobs in the year to August 2025.

Industrial and manufacturing specialties tied to these projects

Process and quality engineers for pharmaceutical and packaging plants.
Lean and continuous improvement engineers for expanding plants such as Sonoco and SunDance.
Warehouse and distribution engineers for fulfillment and medical supply centers.
Semiconductor packaging process engineers for the advanced packaging niche around Research Park and NeoCity.
Operations and simulation analysts for theme park, hospital and airport operations.

The talent pipeline

University of Central Florida. UCF’s BS in industrial engineering is ABET-accredited. It had 229 students and awarded 76 degrees in 2024 to 2025, and offers a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification. UCF also graduated 47 master’s students in engineering management that year.
Hiring guidance. Our guide to hiring a manufacturing engineer covers screening and offers.
Licensing. A Florida PE license is issued by the Florida Board of Professional Engineers after an ABET-accredited degree, the FE exam, four years of experience and the PE exam.

What this means if you’re hiring

Orlando outbids Tampa. Orlando’s median is $4,250 above Tampa’s and its 90th percentile is $16,620 higher, so Tampa engineers have a pay reason to look at Orlando.
Price senior roles at the 75th percentile. For experienced engineers, plan on $127,450 or higher.
Treat technician data with care. Orlando’s median of $47,220 is $14,130 below Florida’s, but the thin BLS sample means local offers may differ.
Compete with large employers for the same graduates. UCF produced 76 industrial engineering bachelor’s degrees in 2024 to 2025, and UCF lists Lockheed Martin, Disney and Universal among the places those graduates work.

Need manufacturing engineers in Orlando?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place industrial, manufacturing, process, quality and supply chain engineers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 813.701.2797 or see our Orlando engineering recruiters page.

Hire manufacturing engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do industrial engineers make in Orlando?

The median industrial engineer salary in metro Orlando is $104,920 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $85,800 and $127,450, and the top 10% earn $160,650 or more.

Do industrial engineers earn more in Orlando or Tampa?

Orlando. Its median is $104,920, against $100,670 in Tampa, and its 90th percentile is $160,650, against $144,030. See our Tampa industrial engineer talent map.

Who hires industrial engineers in Orlando?

Manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin, Siemens Energy, Sonoco, SunDance and Novartis, logistics operators such as Amazon and McKesson, and large service employers such as Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, AdventHealth and Orlando Health.

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