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The differences between supplier development 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 supplier development engineer and a production engineer. Additionally, a production engineer has an average salary of $89,727, which is higher than the $89,484 average annual salary of a supplier development engineer.
The top three skills for a supplier development engineer include supplier development, supply chain and sigma. The most important skills for a production engineer are java, continuous improvement, and lean manufacturing.
| Supplier Development Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $89,484 | $89,727 |
| Hourly rate | $43.02 | $43.14 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 88,396 | 94,789 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
The job of a supplier development engineer is to source, negotiate, and buy goods, services, and materials in order to meet an organization's operational requirements. You will supervise teams in developing new supply sources to improve the company's cost competitiveness. Typical duties include researching entrepreneurial companies to identify potential suppliers and sources, assessing new and existing supplier capabilities to meet cost, product, capacity, and quality, and driving improvements using lean methodologies. You will also perform benchmarking studies to determine future trends and best practices.
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.
Supplier development engineers and production engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Supplier Development Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average salary | $89,484 | $89,727 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $113,000 | Between $64,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | South San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Cheniere Energy | |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a supplier development engineer and a production engineer in terms of educational background:
| Supplier Development Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Business | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between supplier development engineers' and production engineers' demographics:
| Supplier Development Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.9% Female, 18.1% | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.6% 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% |