Process development chemist vs senior chemist

The differences between process development chemists and senior chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior chemist has an average salary of $91,008, which is higher than the $75,273 average annual salary of a process development chemist.

The top three skills for a process development chemist include R, HPLC and analytical techniques. The most important skills for a senior chemist are method development, laboratory equipment, and HPLC.

Process development chemist vs senior chemist overview

	Process Development Chemist	Senior Chemist
Yearly salary	$75,273	$91,008
Hourly rate	$36.19	$43.75
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	70,622	12,823
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Process development chemist vs senior chemist salary

Process development chemists and senior chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Process Development Chemist	Senior Chemist
Average salary	$75,273	$91,008
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $104,000	Between $67,000 And $123,000
Highest paying City	South San Francisco, CA	Fremont, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	Vermont
Best paying company	PerkinElmer	Google
Best paying industry	Health Care	Manufacturing

Differences between process development chemist and senior chemist education

There are a few differences between a process development chemist and a senior chemist in terms of educational background:

	Process Development Chemist	Senior Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Process development chemist vs senior chemist demographics

Here are the differences between process development chemists' and senior chemists' demographics:

	Process Development Chemist	Senior Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 82.4% Female, 17.6%	Male, 67.6% Female, 32.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.2% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 22.3% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between process development chemist and senior chemist duties and responsibilities

Process development chemist example responsibilities.

Manage synthesis and production of specialty chemicals for carpet and textile industry.
Perform lab audits to make sure lab are in compliance with FDA regulations.
Train plant operators to run the new circuit in accordance to company's GMP.
Gain working experience with FDA, EPA, and government safety regulations and requirements.
Work also includes in QC department to analysis raw material, in-process and finish products.
Purify oligos on HPLC units that collect either manually or automatically.

Senior chemist example responsibilities.

Manage an analytical laboratory, which include SEM-EDS, GC-MS, GPC, FT-IR, ICP-MS, TGA and DSC equipment.
Conduct GC-MS, TGA, and FTIR, UV/Vis spectroscopic analysis of extractables and elemental impurities.
Develop Simethicone assay method by FT-IR in liquid dosage.
Used EPA methods for actinide, technetium, strontium, and tritium determination.
Prepare submission documentation, including CMC sections, for IDE and PMA submissions.
Supervise mobile lab team of analysts at various EPA super fund site locations for PCB and halo-hydrocarbons analysis testing.

Process development chemist vs senior chemist skills

Common process development chemist skills

R, 14%
HPLC, 9%
Analytical Techniques, 8%
Process Support, 7%
GMP, 6%
NMR, 5%

Common senior chemist skills

Method Development, 8%
Laboratory Equipment, 6%
HPLC, 5%
Analytical Methods, 5%
R, 4%
GMP, 4%

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Process Development Chemist
Process Development Chemist vs Senior Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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