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Principal manufacturing engineer salary

Average principal manufacturing engineer salary

$94,463

$45.41 hourly rate

Entry-level principal manufacturing engineer salary
$72,000 yearly salary
Updated December 15, 2025

Understanding Principal Manufacturing Engineer Salaries

The average salary for a Principal Manufacturing Engineer in the United States stands at $94,463 per year. This figure can vary significantly based on experience, location, and the specific industry. Engineers in this role typically oversee manufacturing processes, ensuring efficiency and quality in production.

Those just starting in manufacturing engineering may earn lower salaries, while seasoned professionals can command significantly higher wages. For instance, engineers with over ten years of experience can see salaries exceeding $120,000 annually.

State-by-State Salary Breakdown

The highest paying states for Principal Manufacturing Engineers include California, Texas, and New York, where salaries often exceed the national average. In California, for example, salaries can reach upwards of $110,000 due to the high demand for engineering talent in tech and manufacturing hubs.

Opportunities and Job Market

As industries continue to evolve, the demand for skilled Principal Manufacturing Engineers remains strong. Companies value expertise in lean manufacturing and process optimization, making this a promising career path. By leveraging job boards like Zippia, candidates can explore various openings tailored to their skills and salary expectations.

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Where can a Principal Manufacturing Engineer earn more?

Compare salary by location
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Columbus, OH$122,003
Columbia, SC$81,365
Compare salary by company
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ZS$119,335
Rocket Lab$89,941

Principal manufacturing engineer salaries by experience level

Experience levelAvg. salaryHourly rate
Entry-level principal manufacturing engineer$68,900$33.15
Mid-level principal manufacturing engineer$97,400$46.84
Senior-level principal manufacturing engineer$119,000$57.19

Principal manufacturing engineer salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter and Comparably, the average salary for a principal manufacturing engineer typically falls between $94,463 and $163,513.
zippia
$94,463yearly
glassdoor[1]
$163,513yearly
comparably[2]
$103,272yearly
ZipRecruiter[3]
$143,250yearly

Average principal manufacturing engineer salary by state

The highest-paying states for principal manufacturing engineers are California, New Mexico, and Arizona. The lowest average principal manufacturing engineer salary states are Oklahoma, Iowa, and Indiana.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for principal manufacturing engineers

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Arizona$106,163$51.04
2California$111,436$53.58
3Texas$100,997$48.56
4Idaho$105,616$50.78
5New Mexico$108,190$52.01
6Virginia$100,329$48.24
7Colorado$100,309$48.23
8Delaware$101,000$48.56
9Washington$103,119$49.58
10Massachusetts$96,398$46.35
11Alabama$93,418$44.91
12Illinois$94,082$45.23
13Pennsylvania$88,770$42.68
14Rhode Island$95,229$45.78
15Maryland$97,299$46.78
16Oregon$90,052$43.29
17Connecticut$92,582$44.51
18Minnesota$88,181$42.39
19North Carolina$87,729$42.18
20Wyoming$87,600$42.12
21Montana$87,019$41.84
22Nevada$85,268$40.99
23New York$89,463$43.01
24Maine$90,214$43.37
25West Virginia$84,687$40.71
26Mississippi$88,503$42.55
27New Jersey$94,801$45.58
28Michigan$81,292$39.08
29District of Columbia$92,963$44.69
30Utah$82,829$39.82
31Wisconsin$82,279$39.56
32New Hampshire$80,505$38.70
33Florida$85,314$41.02
34Louisiana$85,313$41.02
35Ohio$78,874$37.92
36Georgia$83,643$40.21
37Alaska$88,232$42.42
38South Carolina$81,305$39.09
39Nebraska$79,851$38.39
40Vermont$84,166$40.46
41Kentucky$77,245$37.14
42South Dakota$77,431$37.23
43Tennessee$75,550$36.32
44Hawaii$79,345$38.15
45Indiana$71,782$34.51
46Missouri$76,352$36.71
47Arkansas$71,769$34.50
48Iowa$74,073$35.61
49Oklahoma$74,224$35.68
50Kansas$67,643$32.52
51North Dakota$67,407$32.41
Top principal manufacturing engineer jobs near you

Highest paying cities for principal manufacturing engineers

The highest-paying cities for principal manufacturing engineers are Santa Rosa, CA, Mesa, AZ, and El Paso, TX.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Santa Rosa, CA$122,003$58.66
2Mesa, AZ$105,929$50.93
3El Paso, TX$103,008$49.52
4Loveland, CO$100,115$48.13
5Petersburg, VA$100,032$48.09
6Baltimore, MD$97,549$46.90
7Cambridge, MA$96,405$46.35
8Madison, AL$92,277$44.36
9Beaverton, OR$89,645$43.10
10New York, NY$89,589$43.07
11Philadelphia, PA$89,213$42.89
12Burnsville, MN$88,066$42.34
13Melbourne, FL$85,709$41.21
14Asheville, NC$85,299$41.01
15Brookfield, WI$82,258$39.55
16Salt Lake City, UT$82,192$39.52
17Columbia, SC$81,365$39.12

Principal manufacturing engineer salary details

A principal manufacturing engineer's salary ranges from $72,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $122,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average principal manufacturing engineer salary graph
Average principal manufacturing engineer salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a principal manufacturing engineer's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$122,000$10,167$59
75th Percentile$108,000$9,000$52
Average$94,463$7,872$45
25th Percentile$82,000$6,833$39
10th Percentile$72,000$6,000$35

Highest paying principal manufacturing engineer jobs

The highest paying types of principal manufacturing engineers are senior staff engineer, manufacturing engineering manager, and lead design engineer.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Engineer$92,076$7,673$44.27618,207
Lead Design Engineer$108,490$9,041$52.16118,073
Project Lead Engineer$106,946$8,912$51.4298,018
Process Engineer$82,443$6,870$39.6466,937
Quality Engineer$79,672$6,639$38.3096,838
Industrial Engineer$76,501$6,375$36.7846,756

Top companies hiring principal manufacturing engineers now:

  1. Bayer jobs (3)
  2. Halliburton jobs (3)
  3. Harley-Davidson jobs (2)
  4. Unisys jobs (4)
  5. BD jobs (4)

Which companies pay principal manufacturing engineers the most?

Principal manufacturing engineer salaries at ZS and Boehringer Ingelheim are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average principal manufacturing engineer salary at companies like Snowflake Computing and Infineon Technologies are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1ZS$119,335$57.37
2Boehringer Ingelheim$118,152$56.80
3Snowflake Computing$116,637$56.08
4Infineon Technologies$108,905$52.36
5Sarepta Therapeutics$107,225$51.55
6Nike$107,098$51.49
7Palo Alto Networks$106,792$51.34
8Western Digital$103,401$49.71
9The Chemours Company$97,702$46.97
10TRW Automotive Holdings$97,424$46.84
11Amgen$95,952$46.13
12BD$95,062$45.70
13DXC Technology$94,833$45.59
14Westinghouse Appliances Australia$93,623$45.01
15Elbit Systems of America$92,587$44.51
16First Solar$92,010$44.24
17Medtronic$91,630$44.05
18AtriCure$91,257$43.87
19Endologix$90,151$43.34
20Rocket Lab$89,941$43.24

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$92,000$91,400$90,800$90,200$89,600$89,000
MaleFemale

Principal Manufacturing Engineer salary by industry

The average principal manufacturing engineer salary varies across industries:

  • The average principal manufacturing engineer salary in the automotive industry is $91,297, the highest of any industry.
  • The average principal manufacturing engineer salary in the finance industry is $90,071.
  • Principal manufacturing engineers in the telecommunication industry earn an average salary of $67,553, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for principal manufacturing engineers

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Automotive$91,297$43.89
2Health Care$90,071$43.30
3Manufacturing$89,341$42.95
4Technology$82,373$39.60
5Telecommunication$67,553$32.48

High paying principal manufacturing engineer jobs

Principal manufacturing engineer salary trends

The average principal manufacturing engineer salary has risen by $11,696 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average principal manufacturing engineer earned $82,767 annually, but today, they earn $94,463 a year. That works out to a 6% change in pay for principal manufacturing engineers over the last decade.

Compare principal manufacturing engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average principal manufacturing engineer salary over time

Compare principal manufacturing engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Principal manufacturing engineer salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2026$94,500$45.41+4.2%
2025$90,500$43.51+2.1%
2024$88,600$42.60-0.3%
2023$88,900$42.72-0.1%
2022$88,900$42.74+1.4%

Recently added principal manufacturing engineer salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
Linvatec CorporationPrincipal Manufacturing RecruiterLargo, FL06/29/2025$75,000
Pierce ManufacturingSR. Principal Manufacturing EngineerMcConnellsburg, PA06/28/2025$102,800
Pierce ManufacturingPrincipal Manufacturing EngineerHagerstown, MD06/28/2025$91,800
MedtronicPrincipal Manufacturing EngineerLafayette, CO06/27/2025$120,800
Northrop GrummanSentinel Manufacturing/Principal Manufacturing Engineer)Huntsville, AL06/26/2025$95,800
Oshkosh CorpSR Principal Manufacturing Engineer-Technology & InnovationOshkosh, WI06/26/2025$102,800
Solar Turbines IncorporatedPrincipal Manufacturing EngineerGardena, CA06/26/2025$120,299
Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.Principal Engineer 1, Manufacturing Sciences & TechnologySan Diego, CA06/25/2025$143,000
Medtronic Inc.Principal Manufacturing Engineer-HybridCarlsbad, CA06/25/2025$120,800
Conmed CorporationPrincipal Manufacturing RecruiterLargo, FL06/24/2025$75,000

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