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The differences between senior manufacturing process engineers and product engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior manufacturing process engineer, becoming a product engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior manufacturing process engineer has an average salary of $94,308, which is higher than the $89,645 average annual salary of a product engineer.
The top three skills for a senior manufacturing process engineer include lean manufacturing, sigma and continuous improvement. The most important skills for a product engineer are CAD, product design, and project management.
| Senior Manufacturing Process Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $94,308 | $89,645 |
| Hourly rate | $45.34 | $43.10 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 75,273 | 157,888 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
As a senior manufacturing process engineer, you must have great experience in the manufacturing process. You need to have excellent problem-solving ability and time management skills. To ensure that the company's manufacturing process is well-run, you have to also look after a team of manufacturing engineers. You also need to have excellent mapping skills to help in the improvement of the organization.
To apply for the post of senior manufacturing process engineer, five years of engineering experience is preferred. A science degree in manufacturing or industrial engineering is required.
A product engineer specializes in designing and developing commercial materials and services. They are primarily responsible for conducting thorough research and analysis of the latest trends and marketing conditions to come up with new ideas and products for the public. Moreover, they are also responsible for producing reports and presentations, coordinating with the development team of their company. Product engineers also reach out to vendors and suppliers for the raw materials, set regulations and standards for the product, and even conduct a rigorous and regular quality check.
Senior manufacturing process engineers and product engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Manufacturing Process Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Average salary | $94,308 | $89,645 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $118,000 | Between $68,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | Redwood City, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | PacBio | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior manufacturing process engineer and a product engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Manufacturing Process Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between senior manufacturing process engineers' and product engineers' demographics:
| Senior Manufacturing Process Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.5% Female, 9.5% | Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.5% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.0% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |