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Principal process engineer vs reliability engineer

The differences between principal process engineers and reliability engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a principal process engineer and a reliability engineer. Additionally, a principal process engineer has an average salary of $126,348, which is higher than the $105,551 average annual salary of a reliability engineer.

The top three skills for a principal process engineer include process engineering, continuous improvement and engineering design. The most important skills for a reliability engineer are java, troubleshoot, and ruby.

Principal process engineer vs reliability engineer overview

Principal Process EngineerReliability Engineer
Yearly salary$126,348$105,551
Hourly rate$60.74$50.75
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs82,35844,471
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

What does a principal process engineer do?

A Principal Process Engineer is responsible for analyzing process technologies and proposal support for the engineering activities of the organization. They may work in various industries, such as chemical, petrochemical, agriculture, software development, and biotechnological.

What does a reliability engineer do?

A reliability engineer is in charge of determining and managing the asset reliability risks of businesses. Reliability engineers are professionals who solve problems related to engineering. They are equipped with a better understanding of the principles of performance evaluation and prediction for product safety. The job requires knowledge of the field of engineering, strong communication, interpersonal skills, management skills, attention to detail, and reliability. They are also expected to become experts in engineering systems.

Principal process engineer vs reliability engineer salary

Principal process engineers and reliability engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Principal Process EngineerReliability Engineer
Average salary$126,348$105,551
Salary rangeBetween $93,000 And $171,000Between $76,000 And $144,000
Highest paying CityTucson, AZRichmond, CA
Highest paying stateArizonaWashington
Best paying companyGoogleThe Citadel
Best paying industryFinanceStart-up

Differences between principal process engineer and reliability engineer education

There are a few differences between a principal process engineer and a reliability engineer in terms of educational background:

Principal Process EngineerReliability Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common majorChemical EngineeringMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeUniversity of Michigan - Ann ArborNorthwestern University

Principal process engineer vs reliability engineer demographics

Here are the differences between principal process engineers' and reliability engineers' demographics:

Principal Process EngineerReliability Engineer
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 84.4% Female, 15.6%Male, 87.5% Female, 12.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 15.7% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.3% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage4%4%

Differences between principal process engineer and reliability engineer duties and responsibilities

Principal process engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage customer complaint resolution, root cause analysis, maintaining conformance for ISO certification.
  • Utilize SolidWorks 3D modeling in the development of new designs and components.
  • Generate detailed manufacturing process descriptions to meet FDA and global documentation requirements for medical device manufacturing.
  • Develop a method to get AutoCad isometric drawings relevant to relief valve transferred electronically to the relief valve sizing package.
  • Develop and refine device life models base on first-principles material degradation effects within ring laser gyro electronics.

Reliability engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead a team of over 20 engineers responsible for implementing NASA human-rating requirements to achieve human-rating safety certification.
  • Manage GMP compliance, FDA audits, and the writing of [] procedures.
  • Achieve completion of the resistors and capacitor sections of the AVL.
  • Lead the implementation of utilizing SPC data for software and test set improvement initiatives.
  • Delegate tasks to appropriate CE specialist and manage``burn rate"to prevent cost overrun.
  • Design, build, and manage the entire QMS system from the ground up including re-writing all existing technical documentation.
  • Show more

Principal process engineer vs reliability engineer skills

Common principal process engineer skills
  • Process Engineering, 9%
  • Continuous Improvement, 7%
  • Engineering Design, 6%
  • RF, 5%
  • Process Control, 5%
  • Process Improvement, 5%
Common reliability engineer skills
  • Java, 22%
  • Troubleshoot, 10%
  • Ruby, 7%
  • Jenkins, 5%
  • Azure, 4%
  • Debugging, 4%

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