Robotics adoption in food manufacturing is accelerating quickly. 

The International Federation of Robotics reported that U.S. food-industry robot installations increased 30% in 2025, reaching approximately 3,000 units. A year earlier, food and beverage installations had already increased 21%. 

That growth changes more than equipment. 

It changes who food manufacturers need on their teams. 

As plants add robotics to processing, packaging, palletizing, material handling, inspection, and other production functions, demand shifts toward people who can implement, maintain, troubleshoot, and improve increasingly sophisticated systems. 

Finding robotics talent in the food industry therefore requires companies to think beyond a single robotics engineer and understand the different people needed throughout the automation lifecycle. 

Controls and automation engineers 

Controls engineers, automation engineers, PLC programmers, and robotics specialists are becoming more important inside food plants. 

These professionals help design automated systems, program equipment, integrate controls, troubleshoot production problems, and improve performance after installation. 

The challenge is the combination of skills employers now want. 

Companies may need experience with PLCs, robotics, electrical systems, machine vision, motion control, networking, and production equipment. Food manufacturing adds another layer because the engineer also needs to understand sanitation, washdown environments, food safety, uptime requirements, and highly controlled processes. 

That makes exact-match candidates difficult to find. 

Food manufacturers should focus on the technical opportunity when recruiting these engineers. Describe the systems they will improve, the automation projects being funded, the equipment they will work with, and how much technical ownership they will have. 

Development also matters. Deloitte’s smart manufacturing research found that manufacturers continue to face workforce gaps as advanced technologies spread through production environments. 

Engineers need to see how joining the company will expand their capabilities along with the plant’s. 

Maintenance and automation technicians 

Growing robot adoption increases the amount of equipment maintenance teams must keep running. 

That increases demand for maintenance technicians who understand mechanical systems alongside electrical troubleshooting, controls, sensors, PLCs, and robotics. 

The skills required for these jobs are becoming broader. 

2026 research from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute describes multiskilled technicians with mechanical, electrical, and controls knowledge as important to advanced manufacturing operations. The research also notes that demand for technicians has been growing faster than demand for traditional production occupations. 

For food manufacturers, that competition extends well beyond food. 

A technician with strong controls or robotics skills can potentially work in automotive, packaging, industrial equipment, logistics, or advanced manufacturing. 

Companies need to make the technical career visible. 

Explain training opportunities, certification support, exposure to robotics, troubleshooting responsibility, and opportunities to develop broader technical skills. 

Show candidates where the technology can take their career, including paths into controls, reliability, engineering, or maintenance leadership. 

Integration and project leadership 

Installing robots successfully requires coordination between engineering, maintenance, operations, vendors, quality, and production teams. 

Food manufacturers need project engineers, automation managers, systems integrators, and technical project leaders who can connect those groups and keep complex installations moving. 

These positions present a different hiring challenge. 

The candidate needs technical credibility but also needs to manage timelines, budgets, vendors, internal stakeholders, and operational disruptions. 

That combination creates a much narrower candidate pool. 

When recruiting for these positions, companies should clearly define the scope of responsibility. 

Spell out whether the person will select technology, manage integrators, own capital projects, lead commissioning, coordinate installations, or help set the company’s automation strategy. 

Experienced candidates want to understand how much authority comes with the position and whether they will actually shape robotics decisions. 

If the role carries major responsibility, the job description and recruiting process should make that clear. 

Operations leaders need more technical fluency 

Robotics growth is also changing what food companies need from plant managers, operations leaders, and production leadership. 

These professionals do not need to program robots. 

But they do need to understand what robotics means for throughput, staffing, maintenance, training, capital investment, and workforce planning. 

Technology and operations cannot operate independently. 

Deloitte’s 2025 Smart Manufacturing Survey found that 35% of surveyed manufacturing executives cited preparing workers for the “Factory of the Future” as a top human-capital concern. 

That puts additional responsibility on leadership. 

Food manufacturers should look for leaders who have successfully introduced technology while maintaining employee support and operational stability. 

Ask candidates how they handled robotics projects, trained employees, coordinated across functions, and measured whether the investment actually improved the operation. 

Technical fluency is becoming part of operational leadership. 

Building the workforce around robotics 

Robotics will continue to expand across food manufacturing. 

The broader market is moving in the same direction. The International Federation of Robotics reported in September 2026 that factories worldwide installed more than 600,000 industrial robots in 2025, pushing the global operating stock to a record 5 million units. 

Food companies investing in robotics need workforce planning to move alongside capital planning. 

That means identifying which capabilities should exist internally, which can come from integrators or vendors, which employees can be developed, and which positions require external recruiting. 

Building robotics talent in the food industry is ultimately about creating a workforce capable of supporting the technology long after installation. 

At Miller Resource Group, our team recruits across food and beverage manufacturing as well as robotics, engineering, operations, maintenance, and technical leadership. If robotics investments are creating new talent needs inside your organization, contact Miller Resource Group to start the conversation.