Microsystems Engineers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 10% 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 63% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 19% of the time, stays with people.
Research, design, develop, or test microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices.
$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 on4 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet29 h
- Stays with people7 h
Microsystems Engineers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 4 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 29 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 7 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Plan or schedule engineering research or development projects involving microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology (under an hour); Investigate characteristics such as cost, performance, or process capability of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device designs, using simulation or modeling software (under an hour); Refine final microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) design to optimize design for target dimensions, physical tolerances, or processing constraints (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.
- 81%
- 0%
- 19%
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, 1%. Today's estimate: 10%.
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, 0.032% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 274th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 2 of its 31 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.12% to 0.11% (released February and March 2025); 0.088% to 0.041% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.045% to 0.032% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.12% | 145 of 708 | 11 of 31 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.11% | 153 of 703 | 10 of 31 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.088% | 169 of 655 | 10 of 31 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.04% | 273 of 672 | 8 of 31 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.041% | 276 of 677 | 8 of 31 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.045% | 235 of 434 | 2 of 31 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.032% | 274 of 447 | 2 of 31 |
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 15% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 15% in a purpose-built cell. 0.15 of 3, the 480th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 83%
- No robot shown 2%
- In a purpose-built cell 15%
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 . 31 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design or develop energy products using nanomaterials or nanoprocesses, such as micro-nano machining.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 3.3 work weeks4.2 work days to 2.3 work months | 0%Half by Dec 2028 | |
| Design or develop industrial air quality microsystems, such as carbon dioxide fixing devices. | 9% | 3.3 work weeks4.2 work days to 1.9 work months | 0%Half by Nov 2028 | |
| Research or develop emerging microelectromechanical (MEMS) systems to convert nontraditional energy sources into power, such as ambient energy harvesters that convert environmental vibrations into usable energy.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Polytec MSA-600 / MSA-650 IRIS Micro System Analyzer with automated wafer probe station (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 1.2 work months1.7 work weeks to 3.1 work months | 0%Half by Jan 2029 | |
| Refine final microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) design to optimize design for target dimensions, physical tolerances, or processing constraints.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.3 work weeks | 18%Half by Jul 2027 | |
| Design or develop sensors to reduce the energy or resource requirements to operate appliances, such as washing machines or dishwashing machines. | 6% | 1.7 work weeks2.5 work days to 1.5 work months | 1%Half by Jul 2028 | |
| Design sensors or switches that require little or no power to operate for environmental monitoring or industrial metering applications. | 6% | 1.7 work weeks2.5 work days to 1.5 work months | 1%Half by Jul 2028 | |
| Plan or schedule engineering research or development projects involving microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 31%Half by Mar 2027 | |
| Devise microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) production methods, such as integrated circuit fabrication, lithographic electroform modeling, or micromachining.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 work weeks1.7 work days to 3.3 work weeks | 3%Half by Feb 2028 | |
| Conduct harsh environmental testing, accelerated aging, device characterization, or field trials to validate devices, using inspection tools, testing protocols, peripheral instrumentation, or modeling and simulation software.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Polytec MSA-600 / MSA-650 IRIS Micro System Analyzer on automated wafer probe station (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 2.5 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Investigate characteristics such as cost, performance, or process capability of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device designs, using simulation or modeling software.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 4% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 31%Half by Mar 2027 | |
| Manage new product introduction projects to ensure effective deployment of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices or applications.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 work weeks1.7 work days to 4.2 work weeks | 1%Half by Jun 2028 | |
| Conduct experimental or virtual studies to investigate characteristics and processing principles of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ARES (Autonomous Research System) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 3.5 work weeks | 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.
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 Microsystems Engineers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 10% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 63% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (34% to 79% 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 Microsystems 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: Plan or schedule engineering research or development projects involving microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology (31% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Investigate characteristics such as cost, performance, or process capability of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device designs, using simulation or modeling software (31% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Refine final microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) design to optimize design for target dimensions, physical tolerances, or processing constraints (18% of the task's time now, 97% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Microsystems Engineers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Conduct harsh environmental testing, accelerated aging, device characterization, or field trials to validate devices, using inspection tools, testing protocols, peripheral instrumentation, or modeling and simulation software; Conduct experimental or virtual studies to investigate characteristics and processing principles of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology; and Develop or validate specialized materials characterization procedures, such as thermal withstand, fatigue, notch sensitivity, abrasion, or hardness tests. Together such tasks are about 19% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Microsystems Engineers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.032% went to this job's tasks, the 274th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 2 of its 31 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 Microsystems 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 15% of the working time. Its index is 0.15 of 3. One example: Polytec MSA-600 / MSA-650 IRIS Micro System Analyzer with automated wafer probe station for "research or develop emerging microelectromechanical (mems) systems to convert nontraditional energy sources into power, such as ambient energy harvesters that convert environmental vibrations into usable energy". 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 31 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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