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The differences between senior design engineers and senior manufacturing engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a senior design engineer, becoming a senior manufacturing engineer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a senior design engineer has an average salary of $104,698, which is higher than the $93,853 average annual salary of a senior manufacturing engineer.
The top three skills for a senior design engineer include CAD, project management and RF. The most important skills for a senior manufacturing engineer are lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and sigma.
| Senior Design Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $104,698 | $93,853 |
| Hourly rate | $50.34 | $45.12 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 127,035 | 97,154 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 41 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A senior design engineer is responsible for creating mechanical and electrical designs for machines and systems, following clients' specifications and business guidelines. Senior design engineers also assist junior design engineers with their tasks, sharing best practices and techniques, and suggesting adjustments as needed. They also oversee the manufacturing process, inspect possible inconsistencies, and revise plans without exceeding the agreed budget or compromising the quality. A senior design engineer must be keen with details and highly organizational, especially on meeting deadlines with the highest client satisfaction.
A Senior Manufacturing Engineer works in a company's production operations and is responsible for developing and improving manufacturing processes. They analyze and propose solutions to engineering problems.
Senior design engineers and senior manufacturing engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Design Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average salary | $104,698 | $93,853 |
| Salary range | Between $80,000 And $136,000 | Between $71,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | ||
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a senior design engineer and a senior manufacturing engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Design Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between senior design engineers' and senior manufacturing engineers' demographics:
| Senior Design Engineer | Senior Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.8% Female, 8.2% | Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.1% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 17.1% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |