Process development director vs operations director

The differences between process development directors and operations directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a process development director, becoming an operations director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a process development director has an average salary of $150,883, which is higher than the $104,050 average annual salary of an operations director.

The top three skills for a process development director include project management, lean six sigma and continuous improvement. The most important skills for an operations director are customer service, continuous improvement, and oversight.

Process development director vs operations director overview

	Process Development Director	Operations Director
Yearly salary	$150,883	$104,050
Hourly rate	$72.54	$50.02
Growth rate	7%	6%
Number of jobs	74,230	114,993
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	45	44
Years of experience	4	6

What does a process development director do?

The process development director is someone who creates and develops new manufacturing processes for the workplace. The goal of the process development director is to look into different methods of producing goods and services for the company. The aim is to be as efficient as possible and to avoid excess spending on inefficient practices. The process development director also works with management to assess current manufacturing processes and determine whether upgrades are necessary.

What does an operations director do?

Operations directors oversee all company operations. They have the power to set the direction, change the course of the organization, and reform strategies to ensure efficiency in how the company operates. Operations directors manage business operations effectively by constantly analyzing company data and by anticipating any challenge that may come their way. As such, they make sound business decisions and recommendations that will help strengthen the organization. Operations directors oversee finances, quality control, and even human resources. They ensure that all aspects of the business are considered in making business operations decisions.

Process development director vs operations director salary

Process development directors and operations directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Process Development Director	Operations Director
Average salary	$150,883	$104,050
Salary range	Between $107,000 And $212,000	Between $65,000 And $164,000
Highest paying City	Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Vermont	California
Best paying company	Appalachian Regional Healthcare	Airbnb
Best paying industry	Professional	Finance

Differences between process development director and operations director education

There are a few differences between a process development director and an operations director in terms of educational background:

	Process Development Director	Operations Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	University of Pennsylvania

Process development director vs operations director demographics

Here are the differences between process development directors' and operations directors' demographics:

	Process Development Director	Operations Director
Average age	45	44
Gender ratio	Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9%	Male, 70.6% Female, 29.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 4.7% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	18%	10%

Differences between process development director and operations director duties and responsibilities

Process development director example responsibilities.

Manage electronics, software and mechanical engineers responsible for the development of the electromechanical system and disposable treatment catheters.
Provide regulatory submissions for FDA, CMC section.
Write and maintain unit policies per AORN and AAMI standards.
Set up a new QC lab and library of standard products.
Develop and conduct team building exercises to improve relations between the SPD departments and nursing.
Develop process flow charts and trending database to analyze the efficiency of operations and streamline SPD departmental processes.

Operations director example responsibilities.

Manage KPI reports from all warranty companies to ensure increasing sales and productivity.
Spearhead governance, security and compliance initiatives to achieve SOX and PCI compliance.
Manage a PMO style team to implement any changes across the global contact centers.
Develop all marketing strategies and materials as well as personally managing key OEM and national accounts.
Manage multiple vendor relationships for RFP development and review, contract negotiation, contract terms management, and accounts payable review.
Provide leadership to manufacturing organization by aligning overall KPIs to achieve near term and long term business objectives.

Process development director vs operations director skills

Common process development director skills

Project Management, 9%
Lean Six Sigma, 8%
Continuous Improvement, 7%
Process Improvement, 6%
GMP, 6%
Sigma, 4%

Common operations director skills

Customer Service, 12%
Continuous Improvement, 7%
Oversight, 7%
Patients, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Human Resources, 4%

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Process Development Director
Process Development Director vs Operations Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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