sam11owen -

Thanks so much for your question.

I feel like a background in manufacturing will be to your benefit - even though you are a male Indian engineer!

Your challenge and primary task is to SHOW the Admissions Committees how you will have unique contributions and insights to share in the classroom. Be sure to give concrete examples that give them a sense of what you have been exposed to and how you look at leadership and management given your time in manufacturing.

You do not exactly say what kind of manufacturing you do, but the closer you are to the front line and the workers, the more this will probably stand out. How have you optimized a factory/shift/production line? Were you ever a management representative in a labor dispute? Etc. These can all make for interesting essays.

Good luck to you.
Jennifer