2026 Manufacturing Entry-level Jobs in Iowa
People often express an interest in entry-level jobs in manufacturing without fully realizing the many fields and industries which these jobs encompass. Just to give you an understanding of how vast the manufacturing field is, you should know that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently more than 11,988 individuals working within the industry and there are twenty-one recognized subsectors of the manufacturing industry as a whole. It is vital that you have a fairly good idea of what jobs in manufacturing you are interested in before you start the job search. One manufacturing entry-level job that may interest you is food manufacturer. These professionals are responsible for working directly with agricultural suppliers and for turning animal products and vegetable products into the food we eat every day. This subsector includes bakers, production line supervisors and managers, batchmakers, packing operators, filling machine operators, slaughterers, and meatpackers. As you might expect, average salaries cover a wide range within the food manufacturing industry, but most professionals earn somewhere between $25,010 per year and $51,510 per year. If you’re not interested in working with food specifically, there are also manufacturing jobs in the beverage and tobacco industries. Positions available include drivers, sales personnel, industrial production managers, laborers, sales representatives, machine setters, and many more. Again, salary ranges are widely varied, with most employees earning between $28,650 per year and $100,690 per year. And, of course, there are many other subsectors of the industry to consider, including textile mills and apparel manufacturing, paper manufacturing, chemical manufacturing, and so many more.
Secondary Manufacturing Forklift Driver
Painter
Welder / Fabricator
Weld Engineering Development Program 2026a
CNC Laser Cutter Setup / Operator
Plant Manager
$136,678-$136,678 per year
PLC Automation Programmer
PLC Automation Programmer
EHS Specialist
Forklift Driver - 2nd Shift
Quality and Continuous Improvement Manager
Pallet Repair - 1st Shift
Pallet Repair - 2nd Shift
Process and Product Engineer
Industrial Maintenance Technician - Electrician
Production Technician
$20-$20
Metallurgical Engineer
Scheduler - FT Rotating
Hose Installation Technician
Metal Fabricator (2nd Shift) - Safco Products
Metal Fabricator (2nd Shift) - Safco Products
Industrial Electrician
Industrial Electrician
CNC Table Operator
Production Worker
Painter 2nd Shift
Overhead Crane/ Maintenance Mechanic
Controls/Automation Engineer
Facility Administrative Assistant
Production Worker
Automation Tech / PLC Tech
CAD-CAM Field Engineer
Machine Operator
Machine Operator
Machine Operator
I&E Electrician
I&E Electrician
IT Infrastructure Systems Administrator IPI ITS4
Commercial Power Washer
Process Control Engineer
2027 Electrical & Automation (E&A) Engineer Development Program
Process Control Engineer
Industrial Engineer I (Onsite)
Production Supervisor - Second Shift
Project Sales Representative
Strategic Outside Sales Representative
Electrical Engineer 1 - (RCP Hardware) (Onsite)
Truck Driver
Cybersecurity Engineer, Product Cybersecurity
Over the Road Truck Driver
Accounting Specialist
Press Operator 2 - 2nd Shift
$22-$22












