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The differences between production engineers and senior product 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 production engineer, becoming a senior product engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior product engineer has an average salary of $101,685, 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 product engineer are java, product engineering, and continuous improvement.
| Production Engineer | Senior Product Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $89,727 | $101,685 |
| Hourly rate | $43.14 | $48.89 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 94,789 | 145,781 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
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 product engineer specializes in optimizing product designs and manufacturing procedures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. They are typically in charge of performing market research and analysis, utilizing the results as a basis in designing new products and upgrading existing designs. Moreover, they coordinate with product development teams to cultivate ideas, develop prototypes and test structures, and oversee the material selection that will make the products possible. As a senior product engineer, it is essential to monitor the entire progress and lead the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Production engineers and senior product engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Engineer | Senior Product Engineer | |
| Average salary | $89,727 | $101,685 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $125,000 | Between $78,000 And $131,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Mountain View, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Cheniere Energy | Cloudflare |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a production engineer and a senior product engineer in terms of educational background:
| Production Engineer | Senior Product Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between production engineers' and senior product engineers' demographics:
| Production Engineer | Senior Product Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% | Male, 89.2% Female, 10.8% |
| 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.2% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |