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The differences between lean manufacturing engineers and senior manufacturing engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a lean manufacturing engineer and a senior manufacturing engineer. Additionally, a senior manufacturing engineer has an average salary of $93,853, which is higher than the $75,994 average annual salary of a lean manufacturing engineer.
The top three skills for a lean manufacturing engineer include lean manufacturing, kaizen events and process improvement. The most important skills for a senior manufacturing engineer are lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and sigma.
| Lean Manufacturing Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $75,994 | $93,853 |
| Hourly rate | $36.54 | $45.12 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 59,193 | 97,154 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Lean manufacturing engineers are engineering professionals who are responsible for executing the lean manufacturing method, a process that reduces waste in a manufacturing system without sacrificing productivity. These engineers must utilize lean tools and train all plant personnel about using these tools to identify wastes and reduce costs. They must lead the process improvement teams to initiate activities that eliminate waste in all aspects of the operation. Lean manufacturing engineers must also perform cost or benefit analysts to determine the return of investment (ROI) of capital expenditures and project initiatives.
A Senior Manufacturing Engineer works in a company's production operations and is responsible for developing and improving manufacturing processes. They analyze and propose solutions to engineering problems.
Lean manufacturing engineers and senior manufacturing engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lean Manufacturing Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average salary | $75,994 | $93,853 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $97,000 | Between $71,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | Milpitas, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Stryker | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a lean manufacturing engineer and a senior manufacturing engineer in terms of educational background:
| Lean Manufacturing Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Industrial Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between lean manufacturing engineers' and senior manufacturing engineers' demographics:
| Lean Manufacturing Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.4% Female, 15.6% | Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 17.1% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 17.1% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |