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The differences between senior production engineers and process 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 production engineer and a process engineer. Additionally, a senior production engineer has an average salary of $115,075, which is higher than the $82,443 average annual salary of a process engineer.
The top three skills for a senior production engineer include continuous improvement, technical support and SR. The most important skills for a process engineer are continuous improvement, sigma, and lean manufacturing.
| Senior Production Engineer | Process Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $115,075 | $82,443 |
| Hourly rate | $55.32 | $39.64 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 94,542 | 66,937 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A senior production engineer supervises and improves plant and factory production. They manage engineering teams, update the manager about various issues, create safety protocols, and draw up strategies to enhance profit and production efficiency. Besides overseeing the production processes and ensuring the engineering teams perform quality work, senior production engineers also work hand-in-hand with other engineers to draw up programs that enhance the required labor, costs, and production. Moreover, these professionals identify, document, and report unsafe practices.
A Process Engineer is responsible for coming up with innovative ways to process particular raw materials into different kinds of products. They can also modify various existing machines or maintain their quality by monitoring its functions and conducting tests and examinations. A Process Engineer must do numerous analyses and research to gather data that would help determine possible improvements or decisions to uphold. Furthermore, A Process Engineer also has the task of procuring and installing new equipment, collecting and interpreting data, assessing risks, and ensuring that tasks are done safely.
Senior production engineers and process engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Production Engineer | Process Engineer | |
| Average salary | $115,075 | $82,443 |
| Salary range | Between $85,000 And $154,000 | Between $62,000 And $108,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Rio Rancho, NM |
| Highest paying state | California | New Mexico |
| Best paying company | Ep Energy | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior production engineer and a process engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Production Engineer | Process Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Chemical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between senior production engineers' and process engineers' demographics:
| Senior Production Engineer | Process Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2% | Male, 82.9% Female, 17.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 14.9% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 15.6% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |