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The differences between senior reliability 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 reliability engineer and a production engineer. Additionally, a senior reliability engineer has an average salary of $121,562, which is higher than the $89,727 average annual salary of a production engineer.
The top three skills for a senior reliability engineer include jenkins, azure and ruby. The most important skills for a production engineer are java, continuous improvement, and lean manufacturing.
| Senior Reliability Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $121,562 | $89,727 |
| Hourly rate | $58.44 | $43.14 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 38,101 | 94,789 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Senior reliability engineers are responsible for identifying and managing asset reliability risks that can cause a stoppage and delay of plant or business operations. They are responsible for monitoring production losses and high-maintenance cost assets and finding ways to reduce them. Other duties typically include working closely with project engineers to ensure the reliability of new and existing installations, participating in the final inspection of new installations, and providing input to plans aimed at mitigating and managing risks.
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 reliability engineers and production engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Reliability Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average salary | $121,562 | $89,727 |
| Salary range | Between $90,000 And $163,000 | Between $64,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Cheniere Energy | |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior reliability engineer and a production engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Reliability Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between senior reliability engineers' and production engineers' demographics:
| Senior Reliability Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.7% Female, 12.3% | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% |
| 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, 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% |