Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 32% 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 74% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 25% of the time, stays with people.
Design objects, facilities, and environments to optimize human well-being and overall system performance, applying theory, principles, and data regarding the relationship between humans and respective technology. Investigate and analyze characteristics of human behavior and performance as it relates to the use of technology.
$102,440 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on13 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet17 h
- Stays with people10 h
Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 13 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 17 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 10 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Conduct interviews or surveys of users or customers to collect information on topics, such as requirements, needs, fatigue, ergonomics, or interfaces (about 2 h); Recommend workplace changes to improve health and safety, using knowledge of potentially harmful factors, such as heavy loads or repetitive motions (about 2 h); Design or evaluate human work systems, using human factors engineering and ergonomic principles to optimize usability, cost, quality, safety, or performance (about 1 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.
- 75%
- 3%
- 22%
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, 4%. Today's estimate: 32%.
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, 0.064% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 212th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 3 of its 26 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.21% to 0.083% (released February and March 2025); 0.068% to 0.037% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.079% to 0.064% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.21% | 90 of 708 | 8 of 26 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.083% | 186 of 703 | 7 of 26 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.068% | 198 of 655 | 6 of 26 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.031% | 316 of 672 | 5 of 26 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.037% | 296 of 677 | 6 of 26 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.079% | 185 of 434 | 3 of 26 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.064% | 212 of 447 | 3 of 26 |
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 10% of this job's working time as physical work. For 5% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 5% in a structured facility. 0.10 of 3, the 517th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 90%
- No robot shown 5%
- In a structured facility 5%
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 . 26 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design or evaluate human work systems, using human factors engineering and ergonomic principles to optimize usability, cost, quality, safety, or performance.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 10% | 2.1 work days6.7 h to 1 work week | 31%Half by Feb 2027 | |
| Conduct research to evaluate potential solutions related to changes in equipment design, procedures, manpower, personnel, or training.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 10% | 3.3 work days6.7 h to 1.7 work weeks | 10%Half by Sep 2027 | |
| Perform functional, task, or anthropometric analysis, using tools, such as checklists, surveys, videotaping, or force measurement.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Develop or implement human performance research, investigation, or analysis protocols.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 6% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1.3 work weeks | 24%Half by May 2027 | |
| Collect data through direct observation of work activities or witnessing the conduct of tests.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Recommend workplace changes to improve health and safety, using knowledge of potentially harmful factors, such as heavy loads or repetitive motions.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | 80%Half by now | |
| Conduct interviews or surveys of users or customers to collect information on topics, such as requirements, needs, fatigue, ergonomics, or interfaces.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 5 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | 89%Half by now | |
| Prepare reports or presentations summarizing results or conclusions of human factors engineering or ergonomics activities, such as testing, investigation, or validation.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | 55%Half by now | |
| Inspect work sites to identify physical hazards.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Boston Dynamics Spot + Orbit (Cargill Amsterdam Multiseed) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Provide human factors technical expertise on topics, such as advanced user-interface technology development or the role of human users in automated or autonomous sub-systems in advanced vehicle systems.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.3 work days | 46%Half by Dec 2026 | |
| Provide technical support to clients through activities, such as rearranging workplace fixtures to reduce physical hazards or discomfort or modifying task sequences to reduce cycle time.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Develop or implement research methodologies or statistical analysis plans to test and evaluate developmental prototypes used in new products or processes, such as cockpit designs, user workstations, or computerized human models.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 work days6.7 h to 1.7 work weeks | 18%Half by Jun 2027 |
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.
- Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors35% now, 73% by 2028
- Industrial Engineers60% now, 86% by 2028
- Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers15% now, 55% by 2028
- Validation Engineers49% now, 63% by 2028
- Data Scientists71% now, 95% by 2028
- Computer and Information Research Scientists38% now, 91% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
- Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing25,680 people
- Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services25,420 people
- Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing20,060 people
- Machinery Manufacturing (3331, 3332, 3334, and 3339 only)18,200 people
- Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing17,250 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 32% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 74% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (64% to 75% across the three paces the site shows). 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 Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists 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: Conduct interviews or surveys of users or customers to collect information on topics, such as requirements, needs, fatigue, ergonomics, or interfaces (89% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Recommend workplace changes to improve health and safety, using knowledge of potentially harmful factors, such as heavy loads or repetitive motions (80% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Design or evaluate human work systems, using human factors engineering and ergonomic principles to optimize usability, cost, quality, safety, or performance (31% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Perform functional, task, or anthropometric analysis, using tools, such as checklists, surveys, videotaping, or force measurement; Collect data through direct observation of work activities or witnessing the conduct of tests; and Inspect work sites to identify physical hazards. Together such tasks are about 25% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.064% went to this job's tasks, the 212th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 3 of its 26 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 4%. 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 Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 10% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 5% of the working time, 5% in a structured facility. Its index is 0.10 of 3. One example: Boston Dynamics Spot + Orbit (Cargill Amsterdam Multiseed) for "inspect work sites to identify physical hazards". 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 26 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.
This job in your state or metro area
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.
Your own version of this job
The page above is the occupation. Your job is your title and what you actually do: give both, and they are read against these tasks in your browser, nothing sent anywhere. The headline is free: how much of your working time is within reach now and by the end of 2028, and how many of the tasks your description names.
This occupation has not been reviewed task by task yet, so the full personal report is not offered for it; 402 of 923 occupations are reviewed so far, largest first.