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The differences between principal quality engineers and senior manufacturing engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a principal quality engineer, becoming a senior manufacturing engineer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a principal quality engineer has an average salary of $103,677, which is higher than the $93,853 average annual salary of a senior manufacturing engineer.
The top three skills for a principal quality engineer include sigma, corrective action and ISO. The most important skills for a senior manufacturing engineer are lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and sigma.
| Principal Quality Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $103,677 | $93,853 |
| Hourly rate | $49.84 | $45.12 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 120,965 | 97,154 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
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 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 quality engineers and senior manufacturing engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Quality Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average salary | $103,677 | $93,853 |
| Salary range | Between $80,000 And $133,000 | Between $71,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | Redwood City, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Palo Alto Networks | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a principal quality engineer and a senior manufacturing engineer in terms of educational background:
| Principal Quality Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | New York University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between principal quality engineers' and senior manufacturing engineers' demographics:
| Principal Quality Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.0% Female, 19.0% | Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4% |
| 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, 4.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 17.1% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |