What Texas plant jobs ask for, and what moves pay
Findings from 970 live postings on manufacturers' own careers sites in Texas, week of October 19, 2026. Each one shows how many postings it rests on; anything with too few is left out.
What most plant jobs ask for
The typical plant posting in Texas asks for 4+ years, and 46% require a degree outright. The skills named most are Root cause, Team leadership, Lean.
- Root causenamed in 36% of postingsTop
- Team leadershipnamed in 31% of postings
- Leannamed in 25% of postings
- Automationnamed in 23% of postings
- Toolingnamed in 22% of postings
- New product launchnamed in 19% of postings
- Six Sigma / belt16% of postings
- Travel stated17% of postings
Based on 970 postings. Link to this finding
Unusual opportunities worth a look
Perks and openings most plant postings don't offer, and how many in Texas do right now.
- Paid relocation28 postings (3%)
- Formal training program33 postings (3%)
- Stated promotion path141 postings (15%)Top
- Tuition help111 postings (11%)
- New plant or launch20 postings (2%)
- Hybrid or remote days48 postings (5%)
- Sign-on bonus3 postings (0%)
- 4×10 or compressed week12 postings (1%)
🔒 7 more example roles behind this finding. See them with a free account →
- Engineer II - Production Engineering (Stamping) · Toyota North America · San Antonio, TX
Based on 970 postings. Link to this finding
The best-paying open roles right now
The highest posted ranges for engineering-level plant roles in Texas.
🔒 5 more example roles behind this finding. See them with a free account →
- Lean 6 Sigma Black Belt · Caterpillar · Irving, TX · $71k–$252k
Based on 87 postings. Link to this finding
What experience is worth
Postings asking 5–7 years list a typical base -8% above those asking 0–2 years.
- 0–2 years$125k typical base (17 postings)Top
- 3–4 years$106k typical base (22 postings)
- 5–7 years$115k typical base (15 postings)
Based on 58 postings. Link to this finding
Skills that come as a package
When a posting names Value stream mapping, 90% of the time it also names Lean. Put pairs like these side by side on your résumé.
- Value stream mapping → Lean90% (36 postings)Top
- Kaizen → Lean88% (53 postings)
- Six Sigma → Lean86% (138 postings)
- DOE → Root cause77% (40 postings)
- FMEA → Root cause73% (62 postings)
- Value stream mapping → Six Sigma70% (28 postings)
- Value stream mapping → Kaizen70% (28 postings)
- Kaizen → Six Sigma70% (42 postings)
Based on 970 postings. Link to this finding
How often a degree is required
46% of plant postings in Texas require a degree outright. Highest in aerospace & defense (70%), lowest in food & beverage (14%).
- Aerospace & defense70% of 300 postingsTop
- Chemicals56% of 63 postings
- Automotive54% of 37 postings
- Industrial34% of 469 postings
- Food & beverage14% of 44 postings
Based on 970 postings. Link to this finding
4 more findings for Texas
- Off-shift and weekend coverage
- Physical demands
- Clearance and export-control roles
- How much travel
See all 10 findings, with the numbers behind them
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Source and method
- Source
- ShopFloorJobs analysis of 970 live plant job postings from 242 manufacturers' own careers sites (Workday, SuccessFactors, Oracle, iCIMS, Greenhouse and others), not job boards.
- Collected
- Week of October 19, 2026. Postings are re-checked daily; closed roles drop out.
- Method
- Pay is the middle of each posting's listed range for engineer and senior engineer levels, compared within the same team so a different mix of teams can't create a gap. Rates count postings that state the item. Correlation, not cause; findings with too few postings are left out.
Cite this report
ShopFloorJobs, "What Texas plant jobs ask for, and what moves pay," Week of October 19, 2026. https://shopfloorjobs.com/reports/insights?state=texas
Free to quote and share with a link to this page.