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The differences between senior industrial engineers and process improvement 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 senior industrial engineer and a process improvement engineer. Additionally, a senior industrial engineer has an average salary of $87,816, which is higher than the $82,473 average annual salary of a process improvement engineer.
The top three skills for a senior industrial engineer include project management, lean manufacturing and lean six sigma. The most important skills for a process improvement engineer are lean six sigma, sigma, and project management.
| Senior Industrial Engineer | Process Improvement Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $87,816 | $82,473 |
| Hourly rate | $42.22 | $39.65 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 49,895 | 55,438 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A senior industrial engineer is a manufacturing professional who develops improvements and maintains the efficiency of a company's manufacturing processes. Senior industrial engineers are required to carry out feasibility analyses while developing new product designs and make modifications to the current designs. They collect data to identify opportunities to streamline, improve, and increase standardization as well as evaluate workflow to improve safety and efficiency. They must also facilitate cross-team interactions and train teams in quality assurance and other tasks.
A process improvement engineer specializes in conducting research and analysis to develop new strategies and ideas to improve the processes in a manufacturing plant or a similar setting. They prioritize efficiency and profitability. Most of the time, engineers participate in a series of meetings where they coordinate with fellow engineers to determine opportunities for product growth and development. Moreover, a process improvement engineer is also responsible for crafting new policies and regulations, upgrading systems, and developing new practices to ensure product quality and customer satisfaction.
Senior industrial engineers and process improvement engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Industrial Engineer | Process Improvement Engineer | |
| Average salary | $87,816 | $82,473 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $113,000 | Between $62,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior industrial engineer and a process improvement engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Industrial Engineer | Process Improvement Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Industrial Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | New York University | New York University |
Here are the differences between senior industrial engineers' and process improvement engineers' demographics:
| Senior Industrial Engineer | Process Improvement Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.2% Female, 14.8% | Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 11.2% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 10.5% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |