Because of the variety of responsibilities of materials engineers, they can be employed in a wide variety of industries: for example:
- companies that develop and sell building materials such as cement companies
- companies that develop and sell large construction materials, such as ready-mix concrete producers, pavement companies, etc.
- city and municipal governments that develop specifications for materials and supervise construction projects
- large consulting-engineering companies that require in-house materials expertise for a wide variety of projects
- international agencies and non-governmental organizations who sponsor various building contracts worldwide
- materials testing consulting agencies
- government and private certified testing agencies
- universities that perform research in materials development