Mechatronics Engineers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 19% 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 13% of the time, stays with people.
Research, design, develop, or test automation, intelligent systems, smart devices, or industrial systems control.
$122,930 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 on8 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet27 h
- Stays with people5 h
Mechatronics Engineers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 8 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 27 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 5 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Create mechanical design documents for parts, assemblies, or finished products (about 2 h); Identify materials appropriate for mechatronic system designs (under an hour); Create mechanical models to simulate mechatronic design concepts (under an hour).
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.
- 87%
- 0%
- 13%
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, 2%. Today's estimate: 19%.
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, 0.24% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 90th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 4 of its 23 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.056% to 0.042% (released February and March 2025); 0.019% to 0.016% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.23% to 0.24% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.056% | 257 of 708 | 8 of 23 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.042% | 298 of 703 | 7 of 23 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.019% | 375 of 655 | 6 of 23 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0089% | 496 of 672 | 3 of 23 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.016% | 431 of 677 | 4 of 23 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.23% | 93 of 434 | 3 of 23 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.24% | 90 of 447 | 4 of 23 |
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 17% 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 purpose-built cell. 0.05 of 3, the 581st highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 83%
- No robot shown 12%
- In a purpose-built cell 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 . 23 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create mechanical design documents for parts, assemblies, or finished products.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | 55%Half by now | |
| Create mechanical models to simulate mechatronic design concepts.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 8% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1.3 work weeks | 24%Half by May 2027 | |
| Design advanced precision equipment for accurate or controlled applications.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 3.5 work weeks | 5%Half by Apr 2028 | |
| Design engineering systems for the automation of industrial tasks.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 8% | 4.2 work days1 work day to 4.2 work weeks | 5%Half by Apr 2028 | |
| Apply mechatronic or automated solutions to the transfer of materials, components, or finished goods.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 3.3 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Design self-monitoring mechanical systems, such as gear systems that monitor loading or condition of systems to detect and prevent failures.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 4.2 work weeks | 5%Half by Jun 2028 | |
| Design advanced electronic control systems for mechanical systems.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 7% | 4.2 work days1 work day to 4.2 work weeks | 5%Half by Apr 2028 | |
| Develop electronic, mechanical, or computerized processes to perform tasks in dangerous situations, such as underwater exploration or extraterrestrial mining.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 work weeks2.5 work days to 2.9 work months | 0%Half by Jun 2029 | |
| Design or develop automated control systems for environmental applications, such as waste processing, air quality, or water quality systems.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 4.2 work days1 work day to 4.2 work weeks | 5%Half by Apr 2028 | |
| Implement or test design solutions.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Design, develop, or implement control circuits or algorithms for electromechanical or pneumatic devices or systems.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 work days5 h to 1.7 work weeks | 15%Half by Aug 2027 | |
| Upgrade the design of existing devices by adding mechatronic elements.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 2.5 work days6.7 h to 2.5 work weeks | 14%Half by Sep 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.
- Robotics Technicians22% now, 26% by 2028
- Robotics Engineers14% now, 61% by 2028
- Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians35% now, 53% by 2028
- Electronics Engineers, Except Computer26% now, 73% by 2028
- Mechanical Engineers23% now, 70% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians39% now, 48% 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.
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 Mechatronics Engineers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 19% 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 (49% to 84% 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 Mechatronics Engineers 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: Create mechanical design documents for parts, assemblies, or finished products (55% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Identify materials appropriate for mechatronic system designs (71% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Create mechanical models to simulate mechatronic design concepts (24% of the task's time now, 98% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Mechatronics Engineers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Apply mechatronic or automated solutions to the transfer of materials, components, or finished goods; Implement or test design solutions; and Monitor or calibrate automated systems, industrial control systems, or system components to maximize efficiency of production. Together such tasks are about 13% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Mechatronics Engineers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.24% went to this job's tasks, the 90th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 4 of its 23 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 7%. 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 Mechatronics Engineers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 17% 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. Its index is 0.05 of 3. One example: Spot (with thermal/acoustic payloads, Orbit fleet software) for "monitor or calibrate automated systems, industrial control systems, or system components to maximize efficiency of production". 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 23 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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