Engine and Other Machine Assemblers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 9% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 91% of the time, stays with people.
Construct, assemble, or rebuild machines, such as engines, turbines, and similar equipment used in such industries as construction, extraction, textiles, and paper manufacturing.
34,000 people do this job in the US. $53,710 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on3 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people37 h
Engine and Other Machine Assemblers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 3 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 37 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Read and interpret assembly blueprints or specifications manuals, and plan assembly or building operations (about 3 h).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 9%
- 0%
- 91%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 8%. Today's estimate: 9%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 12 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.041% to 0.0077% (released February and March 2025); 0.013% to 0.0029% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.041% | 303 of 708 | 2 of 12 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0077% | 535 of 703 | 2 of 12 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.013% | 426 of 655 | 1 of 12 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0032% | 613 of 672 | 1 of 12 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0029% | 613 of 677 | 1 of 12 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 12 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 12 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 93% of this job's working time as physical work. For 84% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 84% in a purpose-built cell. 0.84 of 3, the 209th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 7%
- No robot shown 9%
- In a purpose-built cell 84%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 12 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fasten or install piping, fixtures, or wiring and electrical components to form assemblies or subassemblies, using hand tools, rivet guns, or welding equipment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, AMD Machines e-axle assembly line (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 20% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Rework, repair, or replace damaged parts or assemblies.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 13% | 1.7 h25 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect, operate, and test completed products to verify functioning, machine capabilities, or conformance to customer specifications.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Robot-mounted vision inspection systems (ABB Robotics Vision Technologies) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Lay out and drill, ream, tap, or cut parts for assembly.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Pioneer Industrial Systems robotic deflash/drill/tap cell (FANUC M-10iA) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 10% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Read and interpret assembly blueprints or specifications manuals, and plan assembly or building operations.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Position or align components for assembly, manually or using hoists.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Comau engine assembly line (Dongfeng Nissan VC-Turbo) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 25 min8 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Set and verify parts clearances.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Marposs customized gauging applications for engine assembly (select-fit gauging stations) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 38 min13 min to 1.4 h | Stays with people | |
| Set up and operate metalworking machines, such as milling or grinding machines, to shape or fabricate parts.Done more than weekly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, HALTER LoadAssistant (Halter CNC Automation) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 1.7 h33 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Assemble systems of gears by aligning and meshing gears in gearboxes.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, PROWIN A+W rear-axle differential assembly line (4 robots + fully automatic transfer system) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Remove rough spots and smooth surfaces to fit, trim, or clean parts, using hand tools or power tools.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ATI Flexdeburr radial-compliance deburring tool on an industrial robot (TPi ARCADE / Harmony Castings) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Verify conformance of parts to stock lists or blueprints, using measuring instruments such as calipers, gauges, or micrometers.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Renishaw Equator gauging system + FANUC robot cell (Conroe Machine) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain and lubricate parts or components.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, DOPAG automated lubricant dispensing system (industrial robot with needle dispensing valves and drum pumps) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers4% now, 4% by 2028
- Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers2% now, 2% by 2028
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers3% now, 3% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers8% now, 8% by 2028
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics13% now, 13% by 2028
- Rail Car Repairers3% now, 3% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing19,090 people
- Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing5,420 people
- Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only)2,920 people
- Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing2,320 people
- Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services580 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Engine and Other Machine Assemblers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 9% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 9% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Engine and Other Machine Assemblers come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Read and interpret assembly blueprints or specifications manuals, and plan assembly or building operations (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Engine and Other Machine Assemblers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Fasten or install piping, fixtures, or wiring and electrical components to form assemblies or subassemblies, using hand tools, rivet guns, or welding equipment; Rework, repair, or replace damaged parts or assemblies; and Inspect, operate, and test completed products to verify functioning, machine capabilities, or conformance to customer specifications. Together such tasks are about 91% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Engine and Other Machine Assemblers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Engine and Other Machine Assemblers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 93% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 84% of the working time. Its index is 0.84 of 3. One example: AMD Machines e-axle assembly line for "fasten or install piping, fixtures, or wiring and electrical components to form assemblies or subassemblies, using hand tools, rivet guns, or welding equipment". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 12 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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