Career Explorer Production
Human edge, steady
Tire builders
Operate machines to build tires.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 75% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +0.8% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $57,390
- Job growth to 2035
- +0.8%
- Openings a year
- 1,900
- People doing it (2025)
- 20,300
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Assemble products or work aids
- Cut materials
- Apply protective solutions or coatings
What the work looks like
- Place tires into molds for new tread.
- Fit inner tubes and final layers of rubber onto tires.
- Buff tires according to specifications for width and undertread depth.
- Build semi-raw rubber treads onto buffed tire casings to prepare tires for vulcanization in recapping or retreading processes.
- Brush or spray solvents onto plies to ensure adhesion, and repeat process as specified, alternating direction of each ply to strengthen tires.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tendersHuman edge, steady, Index 78, +2.5%
- Food processing workers, all otherHuman edge, growing, Index 86, +5.5%
- Production workers, all otherHuman edge, steady, Index 79, +0.8%
- Fiberglass laminators and fabricatorsHuman edge, growing, Index 86, +4.6%
Also known as: Retread Technician, Tire Builder, Tire Retreader, Tire Technician, Buffer, Recapper, Retread Associate, Retreader.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.