Advanced manufacturing is changing how the world’s most complex products get made. Robotics, machine learning, industrial 3D printing and digital twins are giving factories never-before-seen levels of speed and precision while shrinking the time it takes to move designs into production from months to days. These technologies assist in the production of everything from hypersonic engine components to next-generation microchips.
Below are some of the top names creating a new era of automation by pushing what’s possible on the factory floor.
Top Advanced Manufacturing Companies
Siemens
ABB
Rockwell Automation
FANUC
Honeywell
Top Advanced Manufacturing Companies
Lockheed Martin manufactures some of the world’s most advanced military aircraft and defense systems, including the F-35 fighter jet. Its production facilities integrate full-lifecycle digital threads to connect design, tooling and final assembly. By deploying its StarDrive digital framework, the company replaces legacy hard tooling with model-based additive manufacturing and automated composite placement, cutting production lead times in half and setting a new benchmark for military-grade smart factories.
What makes it a good place to work: Lockheed Martin offers manufacturing careers in aircraft assembly, machining, engineering, quality assurance and production operations. Employees in eligible positions receive tuition assistance, paid parental leave, 401(k) matching and flexible scheduling options.
FANUC has installed more than 40 million of its CNC systems, industrial robotics and servomotors worldwide. Its signature yellow robotic arms are a familiar sight on automotive and electronics assembly lines, while its ROBODRILL machining centers and ROBOSHOT injection molding machines mill aerospace alloys and mass-produce medical plastics with micron-level precision.
What makes it a good place to work: FANUC hires robotics engineers, CNC specialists, application engineers and technical support professionals, offering medical, dental and vision coverage, 401(k) savings, paid vacation and tuition reimbursement. It earned USA Today’s Top Workplaces USA recognition for the sixth consecutive year in 2026.
Siemens ranks No. 1 in industrial software and automation, and its controllers power an estimated 33 percent of machines worldwide. Its flagship Xcelerator platform and digital twin technology connect factory equipment with engineering software and industrial AI, allowing manufacturers to simulate full production cycles and debug machinery in software before even touching the shop floor.
What makes it a good place to work: Siemens offers careers in industrial engineering, automation, manufacturing technology and production, offering benefits that include education assistance, mentorship and internal career mobility. The company was named one of Forbes’ World’s Best Employers for 2026 and Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work for 2026.
Honeywell Forge, the company’s AI-driven industrial IoT platform, connects upwards of 300,000 sites and approximately 6.4 million industrial assets. Its Experion control systems and UniSim process simulation software helps manufacturers stay on top of complex industrial processes, from refining crude oil to formulating pharmaceuticals and other sensitive materials. As product moves through interconnected units, the software’s plant-wide scope is able to adjust operating targets as needed.
What makes it a good place to work: Honeywell offers manufacturing careers in production, engineering, quality control and industrial automation, with benefits that include healthcare, 401(k) matching, educational assistance and paid parental leave.
Applied Materials makes the foundational fabrication systems behind nearly every advanced microchip on Earth. Through extreme-precision atomic layer deposition and selective chemical etching, the company's machine toolsets sculpt nanoscale architectures — notably its Gate-All-Around nanosheet transistors, dense 3D NAND and high bandwidth memory stacks — that are able to overcome the physical limits of basic silicon and better drive the high-performance compute required by AI.
What makes it a good place to work: Applied Materials hires manufacturing engineers, equipment technicians, process engineers and semiconductor specialists. Its benefits include technical training and career-development resources. Applied Materials has also been recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of its Best Companies for the Future.
GE Aerospace pioneered the use of metal 3D printing for flight-critical jet engine components. When it introduced its LEAP engine fuel nozzle, the company replaced roughly 20 separately manufactured and welded parts with a single printed component, making production simpler while reducing weight by 25 percent. GE has since replicated that method to produce lighter turbine blades, heat exchangers, sensors and other engine components, including parts for its massive GE9X jet engine.
What makes it a good place to work: GE Aerospace actively recruits CNC machinists, assemblers, welders, production technicians and quality inspectors, offering competitive pay, healthcare, 401(k) matching, paid technical training and tuition assistance.
3D Systems commercialized the world’s first 3D printer in 1987, bringing its co-founder’s stereolithography technology from the laboratory into real-world production. Today, its direct metal printing and biocompatible photopolymer platforms produce everything from FDA-cleared titanium cranial implants and certified rocket engine manifolds to millions of customized dental aligners every day — all directly from digital scan files without the need for hard tooling.
What makes it a good place to work: 3D Systems offers opportunities in additive manufacturing, engineering, production and technical services, with benefits including health coverage, flexible time off, paid parental leave, employer-matched retirement savings and stock awards.
Rangeview is developing a software-defined foundry model that uses digital tooling, additive manufacturing and robotic automation to modernize investment casting. The El Segundo-based company was selected by Kratos to develop flight-quality superalloy components for advanced turbine engines, while a separate U.S. Navy contract targets replacement parts for maintenance and repair programs.
What makes it a good place to work: Rangeview offers opportunities in advanced manufacturing engineering, quality control, mechanical automation and research and development. Benefits include health, dental and vision insurance, unlimited paid time off and equity compensation.
Rockwell Automation traces its roots to 1903, when the Allen-Bradley Company patented compression rheostats that safely controlled the speed of electric motors built within factory machinery. Today, the company has continued that work through its FactoryTalk software and automation hardware, linking shop-floor PLCs directly to enterprise clouds in order to catch mechanical failures and maintain part tolerances in real time.
What makes it a good place to work: Rockwell Automation offers opportunities in manufacturing engineering, supply chain, industrial automation and technical support, with flexible work arrangements, expanded parental leave and mentorship programs. It was named one of Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies for 2026.
ABB introduced the world’s first commercially available, microprocessor-controlled electric industrial robot in 1974. Since then, ABB has shipped more than 500,000 robots worldwide spanning collaborative robots, automated production systems and precision motion controls used in everything from automotive spot welding to factory floor electronics assembly.
What makes it a good place to work: ABB hires manufacturing engineers, robotics specialists, production technicians and automation professionals. Employee benefits include career-development resources, competitive compensation, insurance and retirement benefits, with opportunities to work on industrial automation projects worldwide.
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