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The differences between principal 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 principal manufacturing engineer and a senior manufacturing engineer. Additionally, a principal manufacturing engineer has an average salary of $94,463, which is higher than the $93,853 average annual salary of a senior manufacturing engineer.
The top three skills for a principal manufacturing engineer include CAD, continuous improvement and process control. The most important skills for a senior manufacturing engineer are lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and sigma.
| Principal Manufacturing Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $94,463 | $93,853 |
| Hourly rate | $45.41 | $45.12 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 91,957 | 97,154 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Principle Manufacturing Engineers are responsible for leading an organization's operations involved in reducing cost, increasing production capacity, and implementing new efficient processes. Their duties include developing production capacity cost and quality targets and implementing workforce utilization, workspace efficiency, workflow, and equipment layout. They also manage project milestones by working closely with internal groups and suppliers. Principle Manufacturing Engineers review production data gathered, supervise production process improvements, and assist in the accurate manufacturing documentation.
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.
Principal manufacturing engineers and senior manufacturing engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Manufacturing Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average salary | $94,463 | $93,853 |
| Salary range | Between $72,000 And $122,000 | Between $71,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Rosa, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | ZS | |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a principal manufacturing engineer and a senior manufacturing engineer in terms of educational background:
| Principal Manufacturing Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between principal manufacturing engineers' and senior manufacturing engineers' demographics:
| Principal Manufacturing Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8% | Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 17.2% White, 63.3% 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% |