What does a senior industrial engineer do?
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.
Senior industrial engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior industrial engineer resumes:
- Used SMED methodology to achieve quick changeovers of tooling.
- Implement a highly automate distribution network in food logistics.
- Project manager for Gerber cad application to improve materials utilization.
- Premier global security company providing systems, products, logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers.
- Develop financial evaluations of potential major capital investment projects and provide documentation of investment vs payback to companies Sr.
- Perform SPC analysis and TQM for developing improvement initiatives.
- Encore ERP implementation planning and control material from customer order requirements.
- Check imported materials and maintain their circulation in manufacturing by ERP system.
- Monitor SPC data to ensure that processes are operating at optimal conditions and capability.
- Develop estimates/justification of capital for equipment and tooling for internal SMT manufacturing.
Senior industrial engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Senior Industrial Engineers are proficient in Project Management, Lean Manufacturing, and Lean Six Sigma. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Listening skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Industrial Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 10%
Provided engineering support and project management for six residential construction manufacturing facilities located on the East coast.
- Lean Manufacturing, 9%
Facilitated the implementation of the 5S System of workplace organization and standardization, leading to Lean Manufacturing.
- Lean Six Sigma, 8%
Work closely with management, staff, and customers in the development of strategic lean six sigma center plans.
- Sigma, 8%
Project manager for continuous improvement team using the Six Sigma DMAIC improvement methodology for eliminating defects in the inventory control process.
- Facility Layout, 4%
Designed facility layout in conjunction with Test Engineering and Facilities to efficiently produce products.
- Logistics, 4%
Designed and implemented warehouse stocking strategy for Forward Logistics portion.
Common skills that a senior industrial engineer uses to do their job include "project management," "lean manufacturing," and "lean six sigma." You can find details on the most important senior industrial engineer responsibilities below.
Creativity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a senior industrial engineer to have is creativity. Their role and responsibilities require that "industrial engineers use creativity and ingenuity to design new production processes in many kinds of settings in order to reduce the use of material resources, time, or labor while accomplishing the same goal." Senior industrial engineers often use creativity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "develop creative and innovative solutions to a variety of manufacturing problems resulting in 20k to 30k per product line cost saving. "
Listening skills. Another essential skill to perform senior industrial engineer duties is listening skills. Senior industrial engineers responsibilities require that "these engineers often operate in teams, but they also must solicit feedback from customers, vendors, and production staff." Senior industrial engineers also use listening skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "develop business and tech requirements, process flows, and also develop communications/execute communicated plans. "
Math skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of senior industrial engineers is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday senior industrial engineer duties, as "industrial engineers use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "apply statistical methods and perform mathematical calculations to determine best practices for logistics processes, staff requirements, and production standards. "
Problem-solving skills. A big part of what senior industrial engineers do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to senior industrial engineer responsibilities because "in designing facilities for manufacturing and processes for providing services, these engineers deal with several issues at once, from workers’ safety to quality assurance." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical senior industrial engineer tasks: "implemented lean initiatives on corporate jet product lines and solved engineering and manufacturing problems. "
Speaking skills. Another common skill required for senior industrial engineer responsibilities is "speaking skills." This skill comes up in the duties of senior industrial engineers all the time, as "industrial engineers sometimes have to explain their instructions to production staff or technicians before they can make written instructions available." An excerpt from a real senior industrial engineer resume shows how this skill is central to what a senior industrial engineer does: "presented process improvement in pet care delivering $4.3 million in labor savings. "
Writing skills. Lastly, "writing skills" is an important element of what a senior industrial engineer does. Senior industrial engineer responsibilities require this skill because "industrial engineers must prepare documentation for other engineers or scientists, or for future reference." This resume example highlights how senior industrial engineer duties rely on this skill: "worked on writing standard process and shop floor control documents. "
The three companies that hire the most senior industrial engineers are:
- Motion Recruitment27 senior industrial engineers jobs
- Ryder System25 senior industrial engineers jobs
- Tesla11 senior industrial engineers jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable senior industrial engineer resume templates
Build a professional senior industrial engineer resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior industrial engineer resume.
Compare different senior industrial engineers
Senior industrial engineer vs. Process improvement engineer
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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a senior industrial engineer are more likely to require skills like "facility layout," "logistics," "ie," and "sr management." On the other hand, a job as a process improvement engineer requires skills like "healthcare," "performance improvement," "patients," and "business process." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Process improvement engineers earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $89,829. On the other hand, senior industrial engineers are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $90,529.process improvement engineers tend to reach similar levels of education than senior industrial engineers. In fact, process improvement engineers are 2.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior industrial engineer vs. Manufacturing engineering internship
A manufacturing engineering intern is responsible for assisting the manufacturing engineers on the plant's daily operations, analyzing the manufacturing process and procedures, and recommending strategic solutions to maximize productivity and minimize costs. Manufacturing engineering interns shadow the production staff, inspect the tools and equipment of the manufacturing, analyze the quality control documentation, and perform related administrative tasks to familiarize themselves with the plant structure. A manufacturing engineering intern must have excellent communication and organization skills, as well as the ability to adapt quickly to a fast-paced environment.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that senior industrial engineer responsibilities requires skills like "project management," "lean six sigma," "facility layout," and "logistics." But a manufacturing engineering internship might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "solidworks," "pallets," "production floor," and "kaizen."
On average, manufacturing engineering interns earn a lower salary than senior industrial engineers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, manufacturing engineering interns earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $49,245. Whereas senior industrial engineers have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $90,529.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Manufacturing engineering interns tend to reach similar levels of education than senior industrial engineers. In fact, they're 3.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior industrial engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Jerry Leth
VP/General Manager, MANA
Senior industrial engineer vs. Packaging engineer
A Packaging Engineer plans and implements packaging designs to ensure product integrity and appeal. Their primary duties include supervising and managing the complete packaging development process, analyzing engineering drawings, and conducting periodic vendor reviews.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior industrial engineers are more likely to have skills like "facility layout," "ie," "sr management," and "capacity analysis." But a packaging engineer is more likely to have skills like "solidworks," "astm," "package design," and "ista."
Packaging engineers earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $100,934. Comparatively, senior industrial engineers have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $90,529.Most packaging engineers achieve a similar degree level compared to senior industrial engineers. For example, they're 5.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior industrial engineer vs. Engineer
Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.
Types of senior industrial engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
