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Principal project engineer vs packaging engineer

The differences between principal project engineers and packaging 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 project engineer and a packaging engineer. Additionally, a principal project engineer has an average salary of $122,090, which is higher than the $88,452 average annual salary of a packaging engineer.

The top three skills for a principal project engineer include project management, program management and DOD. The most important skills for a packaging engineer are CAD, project management, and solidworks.

Principal project engineer vs packaging engineer overview

Principal Project EngineerPackaging Engineer
Yearly salary$122,090$88,452
Hourly rate$58.70$42.52
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs95,71854,028
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

What does a principal project engineer do?

A principal project engineer spearheads and oversees engineering projects, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. It is their duty to set guidelines and objectives, provide technical and engineering support to various teams, gather and analyze data, identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing procedures, implement solutions against problem areas, and conducting inspections to ensure that all processes adhere to the company's quality standards and safety regulations, including the state and industry laws. Moreover, as a principal project engineer, it is essential to monitor the progress of all operations, training junior engineers when necessary.

What does a packaging engineer do?

A Packaging Engineer plans and implements packaging designs to ensure product integrity and appeal. Their primary duties include supervising and managing the complete packaging development process, analyzing engineering drawings, and conducting periodic vendor reviews.

Principal project engineer vs packaging engineer salary

Principal project engineers and packaging engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Principal Project EngineerPackaging Engineer
Average salary$122,090$88,452
Salary rangeBetween $74,000 And $200,000Between $65,000 And $118,000
Highest paying CityHouston, TXSanta Rosa, CA
Highest paying stateTexasCalifornia
Best paying companyAlphanumericApple
Best paying industryFinanceTechnology

Differences between principal project engineer and packaging engineer education

There are a few differences between a principal project engineer and a packaging engineer in terms of educational background:

Principal Project EngineerPackaging Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common majorMechanical EngineeringEngineering And Industrial Management
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Principal project engineer vs packaging engineer demographics

Here are the differences between principal project engineers' and packaging engineers' demographics:

Principal Project EngineerPackaging Engineer
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 88.7% Female, 11.3%Male, 77.1% Female, 22.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.5% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 13.1% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage4%4%

Differences between principal project engineer and packaging engineer duties and responsibilities

Principal project engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead a team of contracts management, engineering and marketing to secure multi-million dollar contracts from DoD and commercial customers.
  • Manage multiple crews for installation, implementation and service of RF and telecommunications systems throughout Florida.
  • Construct thread-safe, share memory libraries for concurrent data capture in Java and C++.
  • Used a variety of debugging tools to trace and debug multithreading applications on both development and production stage.
  • Design $2.5 million dollar class 8 clean room including 3 clean room manufacturing areas, gown room and QA office.
  • Integrate PCoIP infrastructure in DC and deploy thin clients in office as a security and cost saving replacement for Linux workstations.
  • Show more

Packaging engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage UAT testing of App-V/Thin-App applications.
  • Manage implementation and changes using FDA compliant documentation and change management processes.
  • Manage Linux staging and testing environments and also automate application packaging and deployments.
  • Manage packaging redesign project to maintain compliance with current FDA regulations for medical device packaging.
  • Manage in-house process, which include art direction, copy/editorial development, photography, and print production management for domestic/international market.
  • Develop windows application in c #to process customer and policy information.
  • Show more

Principal project engineer vs packaging engineer skills

Common principal project engineer skills
  • Project Management, 24%
  • Program Management, 13%
  • DOD, 7%
  • Risk Management, 6%
  • Project Scope, 3%
  • Earned Value Management, 3%
Common packaging engineer skills
  • CAD, 9%
  • Project Management, 8%
  • Solidworks, 7%
  • ASTM, 5%
  • Package Design, 5%
  • ISTA, 4%

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