Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between process development engineers and 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 process development engineer, becoming a manufacturing engineer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a process development engineer has an average salary of $89,754, which is higher than the $78,522 average annual salary of a manufacturing engineer.
The top three skills for a process development engineer include data analysis, DOE and R. The most important skills for a manufacturing engineer are lean manufacturing, CAD, and solidworks.
| Process Development Engineer | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $89,754 | $78,522 |
| Hourly rate | $43.15 | $37.75 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 118,616 | 115,384 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
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.
Manufacturing Engineers are responsible for handling and developing an efficient manufacturing system or procedure that will help a company produce up to standard products while in adherence to the policies, regulations, and expected cost and schedule. Furthermore, Manufacturing Engineers must also monitor quality control, identify or detect errors, provide and suggest improvements, oversee the procurement of materials involved in the production, and coordinate with various teams or departments within the company to ensure the effectiveness of innovations or new developments.
Process development engineers and manufacturing engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Process Development Engineer | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average salary | $89,754 | $78,522 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $114,000 | Between $60,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Rosa, CA | Palo Alto, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between a process development engineer and a manufacturing engineer in terms of educational background:
| Process Development Engineer | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Chemical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between process development engineers' and manufacturing engineers' demographics:
| Process Development Engineer | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.2% Female, 18.8% | Male, 88.8% Female, 11.2% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 17.0% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |