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The differences between production engineers and senior process 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 production engineer and a senior process engineer. Additionally, a senior process engineer has an average salary of $105,378, which is higher than the $89,727 average annual salary of a production engineer.
The top three skills for a production engineer include java, continuous improvement and lean manufacturing. The most important skills for a senior process engineer are continuous improvement, project management, and data analysis.
| Production Engineer | Senior Process Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $89,727 | $105,378 |
| Hourly rate | $43.14 | $50.66 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 94,789 | 56,510 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A production engineer is responsible for monitoring the production operations, ensuring everyone's adherence to safety protocols, and evaluating the staff's performance, strategizing on maximizing productivity to deliver efficient results that would drive revenues and increase profitability. Production engineers inspect the reliability of production equipment and machinery, conducting preventive maintenance, and repair inconsistencies to prevent production delays. They also identify areas of improvement with the manufacturing processes and escalate best practices for improvement. A production engineer must be knowledgeable about technological advancements and incorporate ideas to minimize costs without sacrificing the quality of services.
A Senior Process Engineer assesses a process efficiency, effectiveness, safety, and quality. They also conduct process improvement initiatives and custom product developments.
Production engineers and senior process engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Engineer | Senior Process Engineer | |
| Average salary | $89,727 | $105,378 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $125,000 | Between $82,000 And $134,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Louisiana |
| Best paying company | Cheniere Energy | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Energy |
There are a few differences between a production engineer and a senior process engineer in terms of educational background:
| Production Engineer | Senior Process Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Chemical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between production engineers' and senior process engineers' demographics:
| Production Engineer | Senior Process Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.4% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 15.3% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |