Talent Maps / Atlanta / Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers

Atlanta Industrial and Manufacturing Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What industrial and manufacturing engineers earn in metro Atlanta, which plants and headquarters employ them, where they work and the new factories competing for them.

Hiring manufacturing engineers in Atlanta?

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, manufacturing, quality and process improvement engineers in metro Atlanta. Pay figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and the demand picture uses 2026 project and state economic development data. See also our Atlanta controls and mechanical engineer talent maps, or browse all Atlanta talent maps.

$102,300Median industrial engineer pay in metro AtlantaBLS, May 2025

15%Projected growth in Georgia industrial engineering jobs, 2024 to 2034, with about 550 openings a yearProjections Central

425,500Manufacturing jobs in Georgia, August 2026BLS via FRED

$35.2BRecord new investment in Georgia in fiscal 2026; manufacturing was 67% of the new jobsOffice of the Governor

#1Georgia Tech’s industrial engineering graduate program, for the 36th straight yearU.S. News, 2026

1,200New Lockheed Martin jobs announced for Marietta in June 2026Office of the Governor

Industrial and manufacturing engineer salaries in Atlanta

Manufacturing engineers do not have their own federal job category; BLS counts most of them as industrial engineers or in its “engineers, all other” group. The table shows the Atlanta median, what the top 10% earn and the national median for each related occupation. Atlanta pays at or close to national rates across the board.

Occupation (BLS category)	Atlanta median	Atlanta top 10%	US median
Industrial engineers	$102,300	$156,750+	$102,440
Engineers, all other (includes manufacturing engineers)	$122,570	$166,420+	$122,930
Industrial production managers	$127,660	$201,220+	$126,060
Health and safety engineers	$105,960	$163,590+	$115,160
Industrial engineering technicians	$61,140	$99,230+	$66,120

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

Industrial engineers in metro Atlanta range from $76,130 at the 10th percentile to $156,750 at the 90th. Plant and production managers, the role many industrial engineers grow into, have a median of $127,660.

Who employs industrial and manufacturing engineers in Atlanta

Aerospace and vehicles

Lockheed Martin builds the C-130J and F-35 center wing in Marietta. Yamaha Motor Manufacturing runs six plants in Newnan building golf cars, ATVs, WaveRunners and side-by-sides, with about 2,000 employees, and is moving its US headquarters to Kennesaw between 2026 and 2028.

Rivian’s plant east of Atlanta is on track for production in late 2028. Kia’s plant in West Point is outside the metro but draws from the same talent pool.

Packaging, paper and building products

Georgia-Pacific, Graphic Packaging and Pratt Industries are all headquartered in metro Atlanta, and Smurfit Westrock runs a corrugated packaging plant in Atlanta. These companies hire process, reliability and continuous improvement engineers.

Energy and electrical manufacturing

Qcells began making solar cells at its Cartersville plant in June 2026, with 3.3 GW of cell and 3.5 GW of module capacity. Siemens is building a 1,400-job electrical components plant near Pendergrass, and Novelis runs its global research center in Kennesaw.

Food, consumer goods and life sciences

Coca-Cola UNITED runs production plants in College Park and Marietta. Newell Brands is headquartered in Sandy Springs, and UCB is building a $2 billion biologics plant in Gwinnett County.

Logistics employers such as UPS, whose SMART hub in southwest Atlanta sorts about 100,000 parcels an hour, also hire industrial engineers.

Where the talent sits: Atlanta submarkets

Cobb, Cherokee and Bartow

AerospaceSolar

Lockheed Martin in Marietta, Yamaha’s new Kennesaw headquarters, Novelis research in Kennesaw and Qcells in Cartersville.

South and west metro

VehiclesBeverageLogistics

Yamaha in Newnan, Coca-Cola UNITED in College Park, Smurfit Westrock and the UPS SMART hub.

Gwinnett and the I-85 corridor

Life sciencesHVAC

UCB’s Gwinnett plant, Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC in Suwanee, and Siemens’ new plant further northeast in Jackson County.

Corporate headquarters

Corporate engineering

Georgia-Pacific downtown, Pratt Industries, and Graphic Packaging and Newell Brands in Sandy Springs. Corporate roles cover operations excellence, plant support and capital projects.

What’s driving demand in 2026

A record year for new projects. Georgia landed $35.2 billion of investment across 436 projects in fiscal 2026, with 25,300 jobs expected. Manufacturing accounted for 67% of the new jobs, and metro Atlanta drew more than $5.3 billion.
New plants. Qcells’ Cartersville cell plant, Siemens near Pendergrass, UCB in Gwinnett and Rivian east of Atlanta all need engineers to design lines, set up quality systems and run continuous improvement.
Aerospace. Lockheed Martin’s 1,200 new Marietta jobs and Yamaha’s headquarters move add demand in Cobb County.
Counter-signals. SK Battery America cut 958 jobs at its Commerce plant in March 2026, and Smurfit Westrock closed an Atlanta food-service packaging plant in January 2026. Not every project grows on schedule.

Specialties in demand

Manufacturing engineers who design lines, tooling and work instructions. See how to hire a manufacturing engineer.
Process and continuous improvement engineers with lean and Six Sigma experience.
Quality engineers for aerospace, automotive and life sciences, where certifications such as AS9100 and FDA rules apply.
Health and safety engineers for new and expanding plants.
Industrial engineers in logistics for distribution centers and parcel hubs.
Plant and production managers, often promoted from engineering roles.

The talent pipeline

Georgia Tech. The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering has held the No. 1 graduate ranking from U.S. News for 36 straight years.
Kennesaw State University. Offers ABET-accredited degrees in industrial and systems engineering and in industrial engineering technology, which together awarded 98 degrees in fiscal 2025.
Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP). Run by Georgia Tech, it works with more than 1,000 manufacturers a year and opened a Gwinnett office in 2025.
Growth. Georgia is projected to grow from 7,120 industrial engineers in 2024 to 8,220 in 2034.

What this means if you’re hiring

Expect new plants to recruit from existing ones. New plants such as Qcells, Siemens and UCB need experienced engineers quickly, and established Atlanta plants are the obvious place to find them.
Be specific about the industry. Aerospace, automotive, food and life sciences each have their own quality rules, and candidates who already know them ramp up faster.
Recruit near the plant. Plants in Newnan, Cartersville and Gwinnett pull from very different commuting areas.
Grow your own. Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State graduate industrial engineers every year, and many start as process or quality engineers.

Need industrial or manufacturing engineers in Atlanta?

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

Call 404.474.4571 or see our Atlanta engineering recruiters page.

Hire manufacturing engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do industrial engineers make in Atlanta?

The median industrial engineer salary in metro Atlanta is $102,300, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% earn $156,750 or more.

Who hires manufacturing engineers in Atlanta?

Major employers include Lockheed Martin, Yamaha, Qcells, Coca-Cola UNITED, Georgia-Pacific, Graphic Packaging, Pratt Industries, Novelis and new plants from Siemens, UCB and Rivian.

Where can I study industrial engineering in Atlanta?

Georgia Tech has the top-ranked industrial engineering program in the country, and Kennesaw State offers ABET-accredited industrial and systems engineering and industrial engineering technology degrees.

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