Become A Staff Engineer
Where do you want to work?
Working As A Staff Engineer
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems
- Getting Information
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
- Interacting With Computers
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
Deal with People
$64,593
Average Salary
What Does A Staff Engineer Do
How To Become A Staff Engineer
Industrial engineers must have a bachelor’s degree. Employers also value experience, so cooperative education engineering programs at universities are also valuable.
EducationIndustrial engineers need a bachelor’s degree, typically in industrial engineering. However, many industrial engineers have degrees in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering technology, or general engineering. Students interested in studying industrial engineering should take high school courses in mathematics, such as algebra, trigonometry, and calculus; computer science; and sciences such as chemistry and physics.
Bachelor’s degree programs include lectures in classrooms and practice in laboratories. Courses include statistics, production systems planning, and manufacturing systems design, among others. Many colleges and universities offer cooperative education programs in which students gain practical experience while completing their education.
A few colleges and universities offer 5-year degree programs in industrial engineering that lead to a bachelor’s and master’s degree upon completion, and several more offer similar programs in mechanical engineering. A graduate degree allows an engineer to work as a professor at a college or university or to engage in research and development. Some 5-year or even 6-year cooperative education plans combine classroom study with practical work, permitting students to gain experience and to finance part of their education.
Programs in industrial engineering are accredited by ABET.
Important QualitiesCreativity. 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.
Critical-thinking skills. Industrial engineers create new systems to solve problems related to waste and inefficiency. Solving these problems requires logic and reasoning to identify strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to the problems.
Listening skills. These engineers often operate in teams, but they also must solicit feedback from customers, vendors, and production staff. They must listen to customers and clients in order to fully grasp ideas and problems the first time.
Math skills. Industrial engineers use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work.
Problem-solving skills. In designing facilities for manufacturing and processes for providing services, these engineers deal with several issues at once, from workers’ safety to quality assurance.
Speaking skills. Industrial engineers sometimes have to explain their instructions to production staff or technicians before they can make written instructions available. Being able to explain concepts clearly and quickly is crucial to preventing costly mistakes and loss of time.
Writing skills. Industrial engineers must prepare documentation for other engineers or scientists, or for future reference. The documentation must be coherent and explain their thinking clearly so that the others can understand the information.
Licenses, Certifications, and RegistrationsLicensure is not required for entry-level positions as an industrial engineer. A Professional Engineering (PE) license, which allows for higher levels of leadership and independence, can be acquired later in one’s career. Licensed engineers are called professional engineers (PEs). A PE can oversee the work of other engineers, sign off on projects, and provide services directly to the public. State licensure generally requires
- A degree from an ABET-accredited engineering program
- A passing score on the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam
- Relevant work experience, typically at least 4 years
- A passing score on the Professional Engineering (PE) exam
The initial FE exam can be taken after one earns a bachelor’s degree. Engineers who pass this exam are commonly called engineers in training (EITs) or engineer interns (EIs). After meeting work experience requirements, EITs and EIs can take the second exam, called the Principles and Practice of Engineering.
Several states require engineers to take continuing education in order to keep their licenses. Most states recognize licenses from other states, as long as the other state’s licensing requirements meet or exceed their own licensing requirements.
AdvancementBeginning industrial engineers usually work under the supervision of experienced engineers. In large companies, new engineers also may receive formal training in classes or seminars. As beginning engineers gain knowledge and experience, they move on to more difficult projects with greater independence to develop designs, solve problems, and make decisions.
Eventually, industrial engineers may advance to become technical specialists, such as quality engineers or facility planners. In that role, they supervise a team of engineers and technicians. Obtaining a master’s degree facilitates such specialization and thus advancement.
Many industrial engineers move into management positions because the work they do is closely related to the work of managers. For more information, see the profile on architectural and engineering managers.
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Staff Engineer jobs
Staff Engineer Career Paths
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Advisory Engineer 6.5 years
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Senior Engineering Technician 5.6 years
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Senior Electrical Engineer 5.1 years
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Staff Mechanical Engineer 5.1 years
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Principal Electrical Engineer 5.0 years
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Engineering Scientist 4.9 years
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Senior Principal Engineer 4.9 years
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Senior Staff Engineer 4.7 years
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Principal Engineer 4.7 years
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Engineering Specialist 4.5 years
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Principle Engineer 4.5 years
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Senior Engineer 4.3 years
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Staff Design Engineer 4.1 years
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Senior Development Engineer 4.1 years
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Staff Engineer 4.0 years
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Lead Engineer And Project Manager 3.9 years
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System Design Engineer 3.6 years
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Project Lead Engineer 3.6 years
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Technical Services Engineer 3.4 years
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Lead Engineer 3.4 years
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Development Engineer 3.3 years
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Member, Technical Staff 3.2 years
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Sustaining Engineer 3.1 years
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Engineering Associate 3.1 years
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Programming Engineer 2.9 years
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Research Engineer 2.9 years
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Contracting Engineer 2.5 years
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Senior Engineer 11.2%
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Engineer 10.0%
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Project Engineer 8.3%
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Software Engineer 7.3%
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Design Engineer 7.2%
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Research Assistant 6.3%
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Internship 5.3%
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Systems Engineer 3.5%
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Project Manager 3.4%
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Process Engineer 3.1%
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Electrical Engineer 2.8%
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Principal Engineer 2.7%
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Mechanical Engineer 2.7%
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Lead Engineer 2.6%
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Consultant 2.6%
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Project Engineer 10.3%
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Project Manager 9.5%
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Senior Engineer 9.4%
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Engineer 6.7%
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Consultant 6.0%
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Principal Engineer 6.0%
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Engineering Manager 5.1%
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Design Engineer 4.6%
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Software Engineer 4.1%
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Systems Engineer 3.5%
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Consulting Engineer 3.0%
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Program Manager 3.0%
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Manager 2.8%
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Lead Engineer 2.6%
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Process Engineer 2.6%
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Engineering Director 2.3%
Average Length of Employment
Top Careers Before Staff Engineer
Top Careers After Staff Engineer
Staff Engineer Demographics
Gender
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Male
82.1% -
Female
12.5% -
Unknown
5.4%
Ethnicity
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White
68.6% -
Asian
18.9% -
Hispanic or Latino
8.2% -
Unknown
3.4% -
Black or African American
0.9%
Languages Spoken
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Spanish
31.3% -
French
10.4% -
German
10.0% -
Chinese
8.8% -
Japanese
6.7% -
Mandarin
6.3% -
Carrier
5.4% -
Cantonese
2.9% -
Italian
2.5% -
Portuguese
2.5% -
Russian
2.1% -
Arabic
2.1% -
Hindi
1.7% -
Korean
1.7% -
Urdu
1.3% -
Tagalog
1.3% -
Turkish
0.8% -
Hungarian
0.8% -
Vietnamese
0.8% -
Malay
0.8%
Staff Engineer
Unfortunately we don’t have enough data for this section.
Staff Engineer Education
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Purdue University
9.1% -
Pennsylvania State University
6.8% -
University of Southern California
6.0% -
University of Florida
5.7% -
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
5.5% -
Arizona State University
5.3% -
Texas A&M University
5.3% -
University of Texas at Austin
5.0% -
San Jose State University
4.9% -
North Carolina State University
4.6% -
Rochester Institute of Technology
4.6% -
Iowa State University
4.5% -
Stanford University
4.2% -
University of Phoenix
4.2% -
Georgia Institute of Technology -
4.2% -
Illinois Institute of Technology
4.0% -
University of California - Los Angeles
4.0% -
New Jersey Institute of Technology
4.0% -
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
4.0% -
Drexel University
4.0% -
Electrical Engineering 23.5%
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Civil Engineering 16.7%
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Mechanical Engineering 13.1%
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Business 8.5%
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Computer Science 8.4%
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Computer Engineering 4.6%
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Chemical Engineering 4.0%
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Engineering 3.3%
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Physics 2.3%
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Management 1.6%
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Project Management 1.4%
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Finance 1.4%
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Communication 1.1%
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Chemistry 1.1%
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Mathematics 1.1%
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Bachelors
43.0% -
Masters
34.7% -
Other
9.2% -
Doctorate
7.8% -
Associate
2.7% -
Certificate
2.1% -
Diploma
0.3% -
License
0.1%
Schools
Majors
Degrees
Staff Engineer
Unfortunately we don’t have enough data for this section.
Real Staff Engineer Salaries
Job Title
|
Company
|
Location
|
Start Date
|
Salary
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff Engineer | Nicira, Inc. | Palo Alto, CA | Aug 29, 2016 | $220,000 |
| Staff Algorithm Engineer | Le Technology, Inc. | Bellevue, WA | Mar 17, 2016 | $210,000 |
| Staff Datacenter Engineer | Google Inc. | Mountain View, CA | Mar 08, 2016 | $205,000 |
| Staff Engineer | Vmware, Inc. | Palo Alto, CA | Oct 09, 2016 | $200,000 |
| Staff Engineer | Vmware, Inc. | Bellevue, WA | Oct 10, 2016 | $200,000 |
| Staff Engineer | Vmware, Inc. | Palo Alto, CA | Aug 31, 2015 | $200,000 |
| Staff Engineer | Nicira, Inc. | Palo Alto, CA | Nov 01, 2016 | $194,000 |
| Staff Engineer | Vmware, Inc. | Palo Alto, CA | Nov 28, 2016 | $192,000 |
| Staff Engineer | Vmware, Inc. | San Francisco, CA | Sep 29, 2015 | $190,000 |
| Staff Engineer | Captricity, Inc. | Oakland, CA | Nov 07, 2016 | $190,000 |
| Staff Engineer | Nicira, Inc. | Palo Alto, CA | May 12, 2016 | $190,000 |
| Staff Engineer | Vmware, Inc. | Palo Alto, CA | Aug 08, 2016 | $190,000 |
| Staff Engineer, Photolithography | Samsung Austin Semiconductor, L.L.C. | Austin, TX | Sep 10, 2015 | $190,000 - $200,000 |
| Staff Engineer | Vmware, Inc. | San Francisco, CA | Jun 29, 2015 | $190,000 |
| Staff Dimensional Engineer | Tesla Motors, Inc. | Palo Alto, CA | Apr 04, 2016 | $129,438 |
| Staff Engineer, Packaging | Inphi Corporation | Westlake Village, CA | Dec 09, 2016 | $129,001 |
| Engineer, Staff | Qlogic Corporation | San Jose, CA | Dec 15, 2016 | $129,000 - $132,000 |
| Staff Engineer | Mediatek USA Inc. | San Jose, CA | Dec 15, 2016 | $129,000 - $149,000 |
| Staff Engineer | IBM Corporation | Costa Mesa, CA | Jul 29, 2015 | $128,996 - $156,000 |
| Staff Soft. ENG. (Staff APP. Soft. ENG.) | Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. | Dublin, CA | Apr 30, 2016 | $128,543 |
| Engineer, Staff | Qlogic Corporation | Mountain View, CA | Aug 06, 2016 | $128,232 |
| Staff Engineer | ASML Us, Inc. | Santa Clara, CA | Sep 07, 2015 | $128,160 |
| Staff Engineer | Le Technology, Inc. | San Diego, CA | Jun 17, 2016 | $99,861 - $120,000 |
| Network Development Staff Engineer | Dell Products L.P. | Santa Clara, CA | Aug 13, 2015 | $99,838 |
| Staff Engineer Hvic Technology | Infineon Technologies Americas Corp. | El Segundo, CA | Jan 11, 2016 | $99,814 |
| Staff Engineer, Vlsi Design | Ikanos Communications, Inc. | Fremont, CA | Aug 27, 2015 | $99,798 - $147,000 |
| Network Development Staff Engineer | Dell Products L.P. | Santa Clara, CA | Nov 09, 2016 | $99,796 |
| Staff Engineer, Software-System | SONY Mobile Communications (USA) Inc. | San Mateo, CA | Sep 15, 2015 | $99,711 |
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Top Skills for A Staff Engineer
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Top Staff Engineer Skills
- Hardware
- Lab
- Facility
- Worked remotely with on-site support personnel to diagnose and correct hardware, operating system configuration, and software problems.
- Reference Manager: available upon request.
- Water Treatment Facility Modifications, Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, Sandy, Utah.
- Gained proficiency with Cadence Encounter Test tools.
- Worked in various engineering capacities during my tenure at Deere & Co., i.e.construction management, project management, construction safety.
Top Staff Engineer Employers
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