Process development director vs process development engineer

The differences between process development directors and process development 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 process development director and a process development engineer. Additionally, a process development director has an average salary of $150,883, which is higher than the $89,754 average annual salary of a process development engineer.

The top three skills for a process development director include project management, lean six sigma and continuous improvement. The most important skills for a process development engineer are data analysis, DOE, and R.

Process development director vs process development engineer overview

	Process Development Director	Process Development Engineer
Yearly salary	$150,883	$89,754
Hourly rate	$72.54	$43.15
Growth rate	7%	10%
Number of jobs	74,230	118,616
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	45	42
Years of experience	4	4

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 a process development engineer do?

A Process Development Engineer creates and implements process technology for product manufacturing to optimize workflow, improve operating capabilities, and help ensure workers' safety. They help enhance the speed and quality of processing from a variety of industries, such as mining or manufacturing.

Process development director vs process development engineer salary

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

	Process Development Director	Process Development Engineer
Average salary	$150,883	$89,754
Salary range	Between $107,000 And $212,000	Between $70,000 And $114,000
Highest paying City	Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	Vermont	Washington
Best paying company	Appalachian Regional Healthcare	Apple
Best paying industry	Professional	Manufacturing

Differences between process development director and process development engineer education

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

	Process Development Director	Process Development Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Business	Chemical Engineering
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Process development director vs process development engineer demographics

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

	Process Development Director	Process Development Engineer
Average age	45	42
Gender ratio	Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9%	Male, 81.2% Female, 18.8%
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, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.3% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	18%	4%

Differences between process development director and process development engineer 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.

Process development engineer example responsibilities.

Manage implementation of improve paste compounding (including extrusion) process.
Perform process validation and product qualification per FDA standards for medical device submissions.
Perform IQ, OQ and PQ on the fixtures and equipment used.
Own and maintain product BOM, and operator instruction through prototype and pilot runs.
Draft and design layouts of materials and products using SOLIDWORKS 3D and AUTOCAD to company standards.
Participate in design reviews, product and process FMEA's and relate drug development management processes.

Process development director vs process development engineer skills

Common process development director skills

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

Common process development engineer skills

Data Analysis, 6%
DOE, 5%
R, 4%
Process Engineering, 4%
Statistical Analysis, 4%
FDA, 4%

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Process Development Director
Process Development Director vs Process Development Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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