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The differences between senior manufacturing managers and manufacturing engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a senior manufacturing manager and a manufacturing engineer. Additionally, a senior manufacturing manager has an average salary of $146,889, which is higher than the $78,522 average annual salary of a manufacturing engineer.
The top three skills for a senior manufacturing manager include continuous improvement, lean manufacturing and sigma. The most important skills for a manufacturing engineer are lean manufacturing, CAD, and solidworks.
| Senior Manufacturing Manager | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $146,889 | $78,522 |
| Hourly rate | $70.62 | $37.75 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 39,741 | 115,384 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 48 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A senior manufacturing engineer specializes in designing and developing tools and machinery to optimize manufacturing procedures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities include understanding and identifying the company's needs, producing prototypes and test structures, studying feedback from internal and external parties, creating progress reports, and analyzing existing systems and machinery, implementing solutions against vulnerable areas. Furthermore, as a senior manufacturing engineer, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with staff while enforcing the company's safety policies and regulations.
Manufacturing Engineers are responsible for handling and developing an efficient manufacturing system or procedure that will help a company produce up to standard products while in adherence to the policies, regulations, and expected cost and schedule. Furthermore, Manufacturing Engineers must also monitor quality control, identify or detect errors, provide and suggest improvements, oversee the procurement of materials involved in the production, and coordinate with various teams or departments within the company to ensure the effectiveness of innovations or new developments.
Senior manufacturing managers and manufacturing engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Manufacturing Manager | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average salary | $146,889 | $78,522 |
| Salary range | Between $100,000 And $215,000 | Between $60,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Palo Alto, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | California |
| Best paying company | The Walt Disney Company | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior manufacturing manager and a manufacturing engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Manufacturing Manager | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Business | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior manufacturing managers' and manufacturing engineers' demographics:
| Senior Manufacturing Manager | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average age | 48 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% | Male, 88.8% Female, 11.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.4% Asian, 9.3% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 17.0% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 5% |