Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between principal quality engineers and principal project 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 quality engineer and a principal project engineer. Additionally, a principal project engineer has an average salary of $122,090, which is higher than the $103,677 average annual salary of a principal quality engineer.
The top three skills for a principal quality engineer include sigma, corrective action and ISO. The most important skills for a principal project engineer are project management, program management, and DOD.
| Principal Quality Engineer | Principal Project Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $103,677 | $122,090 |
| Hourly rate | $49.84 | $58.70 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 120,965 | 95,718 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Principal quality engineers are engineering professionals who are responsible for providing quality engineering support and technical guidance to help the quality activities of a project. They are required to supervise the quality management system to monitor the progress of projects and ensure their timely deliveries. They must provide quality assurance (QA) solutions while evaluating the efficiency of their existing QA processes. Principal quality engineers must also identify technical risks and challenges by suggesting corrective actions and QA process improvements.
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.
Principal quality engineers and principal project engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Quality Engineer | Principal Project Engineer | |
| Average salary | $103,677 | $122,090 |
| Salary range | Between $80,000 And $133,000 | Between $74,000 And $200,000 |
| Highest paying City | Redwood City, CA | Houston, TX |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Texas |
| Best paying company | Palo Alto Networks | Alphanumeric |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a principal quality engineer and a principal project engineer in terms of educational background:
| Principal Quality Engineer | Principal Project Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | New York University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between principal quality engineers' and principal project engineers' demographics:
| Principal Quality Engineer | Principal Project Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.0% Female, 19.0% | Male, 88.7% Female, 11.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.4% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |