Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between senior industrial engineers and production 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 production engineer. Additionally, a production engineer has an average salary of $89,727, which is higher than the $87,816 average annual salary of a senior industrial 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 production engineer are java, continuous improvement, and lean manufacturing.
| Senior Industrial Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $87,816 | $89,727 |
| Hourly rate | $42.22 | $43.14 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 49,895 | 94,789 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| 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 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.
Senior industrial engineers and production engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Industrial Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average salary | $87,816 | $89,727 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $113,000 | Between $64,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Cheniere Energy |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior industrial engineer and a production engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Industrial Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Industrial Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | New York University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between senior industrial engineers' and production engineers' demographics:
| Senior Industrial Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.2% Female, 14.8% | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% |
| 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, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.4% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |