What does a supplier development engineer do?
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.
Supplier development engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real supplier development engineer resumes:
- Lead Kaizen event at Monterrey, Mexico supplier to produce efficiencies in raw material inventory.
- Manage operations and functions for multiple supplier and commodities simultaneously by using PDCA and KPI's.
- Coordinate all supplier PPAP submissions and coordinate approval; manage corrective action activity where necessary.
- Incorporate FMEA, PFMEA, APQP and SPC methodologies into source inspection plans and on-dock receiving inspection plans.
- Improve processes to create a sigma shift in quality and delivery results.
- Create current risk assessment process and all documentation used for ISO compliance.
- Direct audio interior suppliers to apply APQP, working closely with their product during the product development cycle.
- Validate that frozen processes meet statistical process control (SPC) targets, design drawings and specification flow downs.
- Review potential or material quality issues in order to coordinate and drive corrective/preventive actions (CAPA) with suppliers.
- Determine PPAP requirements for supply components.
- Audit and assess multiple suppliers to ensure compliance with ISO certification requirements.
- Initiate FMEA for electrical components including development of procedures and validation of inspections.
- Travele extensively to supplier facilities performing QMS, process capability & controls qualification assessments.
- Lead documentation and execution efforts for the injection molding remediation team responsible for the development and execution of IQ/OQ/PQ validations.
- Facilitate development of timelines for comprehensive DV and PV testing.
Supplier development engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 6% of Supplier Development Engineers are proficient in Supplier Development, Supply Chain, and Sigma. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Listening skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Supplier Development Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Supplier Development, 6%
Collaborate with operations, engineering and program management to ensure alignment of supplier development activities with business unit strategies and objectives.
- Supply Chain, 6%
Managed and audited international supply chain and ensured quality assurance of chassis components.
- Sigma, 5%
Provided Lean/Six Sigma project engineering support services including comprehensive product, process and system performance optimization projects services for client companies.
- Supplier Quality, 5%
Performed on-site supplier quality system and process audits in order to assess compliance to defined requirements and identify development opportunities.
- PPAP, 4%
Determined PPAP requirements for supplied components.
- Continuous Improvement, 4%
Guide suppliers to develop quality strategies to improve Quality System Implementation, utilizing Continuous Improvement and Problem Solving techniques.
Most supplier development engineers use their skills in "supplier development," "supply chain," and "sigma" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential supplier development engineer responsibilities here:
Creativity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a supplier development engineer to have is creativity. Their role and responsibilities require that "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." Supplier development engineers often use creativity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "resolve all problems relating to inventory, purchasing, pricing, cost savings, supplier quality, invoicing and personnel. "
Listening skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling supplier development engineer duties is listening skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "these engineers often operate in teams, but they also must solicit feedback from customers, vendors, and production staff." According to a supplier development engineer resume, here's how supplier development engineers can utilize listening skills in their job responsibilities: "communicated apqp open issues, make sure action plans are implemented. "
Math skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of supplier development engineers is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday supplier development engineer duties, as "industrial engineers use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "conducted training sessions in statistics, spc, and the basic quality tools. "
Speaking skills. A big part of what supplier development engineers do relies on "speaking skills." You can see how essential it is to supplier development engineer responsibilities because "industrial engineers sometimes have to explain their instructions to production staff or technicians before they can make written instructions available." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical supplier development engineer tasks: "represented supplier quality in other teams, including strategic component team and new product introduction team. "
Writing skills. Another crucial skill for a supplier development engineer to carry out their responsibilities is "writing skills." A big part of what supplier development engineers relies on this skill, since "industrial engineers must prepare documentation for other engineers or scientists, or for future reference." How this skill relates to supplier development engineer duties can be seen in an example from a supplier development engineer resume snippet: "involved in writing the test plan, test cases and test scripts for the application manually. "
Problem-solving skills. While "problem-solving skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to supplier development engineer responsibilities. Much of what a supplier development engineer does relies on this skill, seeing as "in designing facilities for manufacturing and processes for providing services, these engineers deal with several issues at once, from workers’ safety to quality assurance." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of supplier development engineers: "determined cause of supplier quality problems and assisted/implemented effective and timely resolutions. "
The three companies that hire the most supplier development engineers are:
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Supplier development engineer vs. Process engineer internship
A process engineering intern performs various tasks for an organization. These include collaborating with the technical team on cost savings, process efficiency improvements, and technology advancement, attending meetings with leadership teams, and participating in customer trials. Additionally, they may assist with the leadership or management teams in creating standard operating procedures. They are responsible for coordinating with engineers and work on projects assigned by the leadership. Ideal candidates for this role must have a degree in mechanical or industrial engineering, excellent communication skills, and knowledge and experience in process observation.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, supplier development engineer responsibilities require skills like "supplier development," "supply chain," "supplier quality," and "ppap." Meanwhile a typical process engineer internship has skills in areas such as "process engineering," "data analysis," "powerpoint," and "data collection." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
The education levels that process engineer interns earn slightly differ from supplier development engineers. In particular, process engineer interns are 4.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a supplier development engineer. Additionally, they're 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Supplier development engineer vs. Manufacturing engineering internship
A manufacturing engineering intern is responsible for assisting the manufacturing engineers on the plant's daily operations, analyzing the manufacturing process and procedures, and recommending strategic solutions to maximize productivity and minimize costs. Manufacturing engineering interns shadow the production staff, inspect the tools and equipment of the manufacturing, analyze the quality control documentation, and perform related administrative tasks to familiarize themselves with the plant structure. A manufacturing engineering intern must have excellent communication and organization skills, as well as the ability to adapt quickly to a fast-paced environment.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that supplier development engineer responsibilities requires skills like "supplier development," "supply chain," "supplier quality," and "supplier performance." But a manufacturing engineering internship might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "cad," "solidworks," "assembly line," and "pallets."
Manufacturing engineering interns earn a lower average salary than supplier development engineers. But manufacturing engineering interns earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $49,245. Additionally, supplier development engineers earn the highest salaries in the automotive with average pay of $92,605 annually.In general, manufacturing engineering interns achieve lower levels of education than supplier development engineers. They're 6.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Supplier development engineer vs. Engineer
Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from supplier development engineer resumes include skills like "supplier development," "supply chain," "sigma," and "supplier quality," whereas an engineer is more likely to list skills in "python," "cloud," "c++," and "c #. "
Engineers make a very good living in the automotive industry with an average annual salary of $97,672. On the other hand, supplier development engineers are paid the highest salary in the automotive industry, with average annual pay of $92,605.engineers typically earn similar educational levels compared to supplier development engineers. Specifically, they're 4.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Supplier development engineer vs. Process engineer
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.
Types of supplier development engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
