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What is a process engineer lead and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Sanchari Chowdhury Ph.D.

A process engineer lead supervises a team of process engineers in designing, implementing, controlling, and optimizing industrial processes. They are responsible for all the methods, equipment, and systems used to transform raw materials into final products. The role involves conducting regular analysis of systems and processes to ensure safety standards and efficiency.

Process engineer leads usually work in an array of industries, including manufacturing, pharmaceutical, agriculture, mining, automotive, biotechnical, and software development. A successful process engineer lead should have both scientific and administrative skills. They should also have the relevant technical skills, project management skills, process design skills, leadership skills, communication skills, and analytical skills.

Process engineer leads usually work either in an office setting or at a laboratory. They work full time. The job also involves some travel to sites and other locations.

What general advice would you give to a process engineer lead?

Dr. Sanchari Chowdhury Ph.D.Dr. Sanchari Chowdhury Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Chemical engineers are sought after by a wide range of companies, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, biomedical, food, nuclear and other power generation industries, delicate and heavy chemicals, and environmental protection, to name a few. It will help if you are looking to work for a company that allows them to narrow your focus on the area of chemical engineering that interests you the most. During this uncertain time of the pandemic, we may not be seeing as many as job opportunities as we would like to see. However, it is also true that local recruiters are looking to hire people from within the state to avoid any complications due to travel. So, looking for opportunities within the country is a good option. When it comes to job applications, persistence is the key. Don't get discouraged if you don't hear back after five applications; sometimes, it takes more than fifty applications before you land a job. If your plan includes graduate studies, this may also be a good time to do that.
ScoreProcess Engineer LeadUS Average
Salary
7.9

Avg. Salary $110,175

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.5

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 14.70%

Black or African American 4.30%

Hispanic or Latino 10.55%

Unknown 3.89%

White 66.40%

Gender

female 14.48%

male 85.52%

Age - 41
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41
Stress level
7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Process engineer lead career paths

Key steps to become a process engineer lead

  1. Explore process engineer lead education requirements

    Most common process engineer lead degrees

    Bachelor's

    74.3 %

    Master's

    16.9 %

    Associate

    3.7 %
  2. Start to develop specific process engineer lead skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Lean Six Sigma7.81%
    Continuous Improvement6.75%
    Sigma5.66%
    Process Improvement5.64%
    Process Design4.75%
  3. Complete relevant process engineer lead training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New process engineers lead learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a process engineer lead based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real process engineer lead resumes.
  4. Research process engineer lead duties and responsibilities

    • Define, manage, and maintain processes to improve KPI's: AHT, MTTR, NPS and FCR.
    • Assure all project manage implementations meet standards for PMI, ISO and CMM.
    • Implement DVFS technique on MIPS processor to achieve system level power optimization in Verilog.
    • Manage implementation of improve paste compounding (including extrusion) process.
  5. Get process engineer lead experience

    Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a process engineer lead. The most common roles before becoming a process engineer lead include process engineer, senior process engineer team lead and project engineer.
  6. Prepare your process engineer lead resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your process engineer lead resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a process engineer lead resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable process engineer lead resume templates

    Build a professional process engineer lead resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your process engineer lead resume.
    Process Engineer Lead Resume
    Process Engineer Lead Resume
    Process Engineer Lead Resume
    Process Engineer Lead Resume
    Process Engineer Lead Resume
    Process Engineer Lead Resume
    Process Engineer Lead Resume
    Process Engineer Lead Resume
    Process Engineer Lead Resume
  7. Apply for process engineer lead jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a process engineer lead job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first process engineer lead job

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Average process engineer lead salary

The average process engineer lead salary in the United States is $110,175 per year or $53 per hour. Process engineer lead salaries range between $84,000 and $143,000 per year.

Average process engineer lead salary
$110,175 Yearly
$52.97 hourly

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Process engineer lead reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020
Pros

The diversity of tasks, interaction with all stakeholders, continuous learning process, communication. Allows great progression in many technical skills


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A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019
Pros

Being on the field doing running inspections and learning from the technicians

Cons

Being expose to bad weather that compromise the safety of operations.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019
Pros

Schedules my co worker where to work each day and making sure the process is flowing with the machines, materials and the needed information to make the products and service come out right.

Cons

The pay grade is low keyed for the type of production we produce. Average salary is $78,540 dollars...


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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