Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians
In short: today's best AI models could do about 18% 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 19% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 81% of the time, stays with people.
Implement production processes and operate commercial-scale production equipment to produce, test, or modify materials, devices, or systems of unique molecular or macromolecular composition. Operate advanced microscopy equipment to manipulate nanoscale objects. Work under the supervision of nanoengineering staff.
$66,120 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 on7 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people33 h
Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 7 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 33 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Collect or compile nanotechnology research or engineering data (about 3 h); Maintain accurate record or batch-record documentation of nanoproduction (under an hour); Prepare capability data, training materials, or other documentation for transfer of processes to production (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.
- 19%
- 0%
- 81%
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: 18%.
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 25 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.034% to 0.043% (released February and March 2025); 0.0071% to 0.011% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.034% | 345 of 708 | 4 of 25 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.043% | 290 of 703 | 6 of 25 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0071% | 498 of 655 | 3 of 25 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0092% | 489 of 672 | 3 of 25 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.011% | 481 of 677 | 4 of 25 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 25 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 25 |
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 80% of this job's working time as physical work. For 76% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 41% in a purpose-built cell, 36% in a structured facility. 1.12 of 3, the 76th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 20%
- No robot shown 4%
- In a purpose-built cell 41%
- In a structured facility 36%
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 . 25 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collaborate with scientists or engineers to design or conduct experiments for the development of nanotechnology materials, components, devices, or systems.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Polybot (Argonne National Laboratory, Center for Nanoscale Materials) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 23% | 5 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Assist nanoscientists or engineers in processing or characterizing materials according to physical or chemical properties.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Mobile robotic chemist (KUKA KMR iiwa based) (University of Liverpool) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Collect or compile nanotechnology research or engineering data.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Automated Particle Workflow (APW) for Talos/Spectra (S)TEM (Thermo Fisher Scientific) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 1.7 h38 min to 4.2 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Operate nanotechnology compounding, testing, processing, or production equipment in accordance with appropriate standard operating procedures, good manufacturing practices, hazardous material restrictions, or health and safety requirements.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Mobile robotic chemist (KUKA mobile manipulator, Cooper group) (University of Liverpool) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Monitor hazardous waste cleanup procedures to ensure proper application of nanocomposites or accomplishment of objectives.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, ANYmal / ANYmal X (ANYbotics) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Monitor equipment during operation to ensure adherence to specifications for characteristics such as pressure, temperature, or flow.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain work area according to cleanroom or other processing standards.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, quattroClean snow-jet cleaning system (acp systems AG) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Produce images or measurements, using tools or techniques such as atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, particle size analysis, or zeta potential analysis.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, TESCAN TIMA-X with AutoLoader (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect or measure thin films of carbon nanotubes, polymers, or inorganic coatings, using a variety of techniques or analytical tools.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Bruker FilmTek 2000M TSV Robotic (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Measure emission of nanodust or nanoparticles during nanocomposite or other nano-scale production processes, using systems such as aerosol detection systems.Done yearly or less by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Nanomaterial release abrasion chamber system (abrasor + inline CPC/OPC + filter sampling ports) (Hanyang University / HCTm) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.7 h38 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Develop or modify wet chemical or industrial laboratory experimental techniques for nanoscale use.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Mobile robotic chemist (KUKA mobile manipulator, Cooper group) (University of Liverpool) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 6.7 h2.5 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Implement new or enhanced methods or processes for the processing, testing, or manufacture of nanotechnology materials or products.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ARES (Autonomous Research System) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1 work day2.5 h to 3.1 work days | 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.
- Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing6,130 people
- Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing5,810 people
- Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing4,320 people
- Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services4,230 people
- Plastics Product Manufacturing4,130 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 Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 18% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 19% 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 Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians 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: Collect or compile nanotechnology research or engineering data (100% of the task's time now); Maintain accurate record or batch-record documentation of nanoproduction (100% of the task's time now); and Prepare capability data, training materials, or other documentation for transfer of processes to production (80% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Collaborate with scientists or engineers to design or conduct experiments for the development of nanotechnology materials, components, devices, or systems; Assist nanoscientists or engineers in processing or characterizing materials according to physical or chemical properties; and Operate nanotechnology compounding, testing, processing, or production equipment in accordance with appropriate standard operating procedures, good manufacturing practices, hazardous material restrictions, or health and safety requirements. Together such tasks are about 81% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians?
- 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 Nanotechnology Engineering Technologists and Technicians?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 80% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 76% of the working time, 36% in a structured facility. Its index is 1.12 of 3. One example: Mobile robotic chemist (KUKA mobile manipulator, Cooper group) for "operate nanotechnology compounding, testing, processing, or production equipment in accordance with appropriate standard operating procedures, good manufacturing practices, hazardous material restrictions, or health and safety requirements". 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 25 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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