Food Processing Engineer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
Develops and engineers equipment and processes used for food product manufacturing. Designs equipment and systems for handling or packaging food products. May work with research scientists to develop and produce new food products.
Job Outlook
There were 21 Food Processing Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 907 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Chemical / Process Engineer industry, which includes the Food Processing Engineer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2012:
Salary
Many new Food Processing Engineer jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $84,177.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $74,451.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Food Processing Engineer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $76,764.
Education and Experience
Posted Food Processing Engineer jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 74% |
| Master's Degree | 24% |
| Doctoral Degree | 1% |
| Other | 1% |
Posted Food Processing Engineer jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 26% |
| 3 to 5 years | 56% |
| 6 to 8 years | 11% |
| 9+ years | 7% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Food Processing Engineer positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication Skills (48%)
- Problem Solving (37%)
- Microsoft Office (36%)
- Teamwork / Collaboration (36%)
- Troubleshooting (31%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Process Engineering (81%)
- Food Safety (48%)
- Project Management (40%)
- Chemical Engineering (31%)
- AutoCAD (26%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Lean Six Sigma (18%)
- Process Design (18%)
- Mechanical Engineering (17%)
- Technical Support (16%)
- Industrial Engineering Industry Expertise (16%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Equipment Design (6%)
- Lean Manufacturing (5%)
- Fermentation (5%)
- Waste reduction (5%)
- Process Flow Development (4%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed along with the marginal value: the average salary difference between postings that request that skill and those that do not.
- Design of experiments (DOE) (3%) – marginal value $10,178
- Equipment Selection (3%) – marginal value $4,763
- Fermentation (5%) – marginal value $4,602
- Lean Manufacturing (5%) – marginal value $4,575
- Statistical Process Control (SPC) (2%) – marginal value $3,316
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Food Processing Engineer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Process Engineer
- Senior Process Engineer
- Process Engineer II
- Process Lead
- Food Process Engineer
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Food Processing Engineer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- ConAgra Foods (54)
- The J.M. Smucker Company (32)
- Abbott Laboratories (28)
- Four Seasons Produce Incorporated (22)
- Kerry Incorporated (20)
North Carolina
- Wayne Farms (3)
- Treehouse Foods (2)
- Albemarle Corporation (1)
- Bakkavor Group Ltd (1)
- Ethos (1)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.