Plastics Engineer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Plastics Engineer designs and develops plastics materials and molds and products made with plastic. Researches and develops new plastics materials and production processes.
Job Outlook
There were 21 Plastics Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 630 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Materials Engineer industry, which includes the Plastics Engineer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Plastics 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 $93,639.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $93,639.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Plastics Engineer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $82,831.
Education and Experience
Posted Plastics 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 | 3.49% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 69.52% |
| Master's Degree | 13.17% |
| Doctoral Degree | 3.97% |
| Other | 3.33% |
Posted Plastics 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 | 22.38% |
| 3 to 5 years | 58.74% |
| 6 to 8 years | 12.35% |
| 9+ years | 6.53% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Plastics 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.
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (35.71%)
- Problem Solving (30.95%)
- Operations (29.37%)
- Communication (26.19%)
- Management (22.7%)
- Leadership (19.84%)
- Planning (17.78%)
- Innovation (17.46%)
- Research (15.24%)
- Sales (12.06%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Project Management (27.96%)
- New Product Development (24.18%)
- Process Engineering (28.78%)
- Injection Molding (41.94%)
- Plastics Engineering (44.24%)
- Plastic Materials (46.71%)
- Molding (Manufacturing Process) (38.98%)
- Manufacturing Processes (28.95%)
- Tooling (44.08%)
- SolidWorks (CAD) (22.7%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Product Design (11.18%)
- Design For Manufacturability (8.06%)
- 3D Modeling (10.36%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (15.13%)
- Process Improvement (14.47%)
- Tooling Design (13.32%)
- Project Engineering (11.02%)
- Lean Manufacturing (25.16%)
- Data Analysis (5.43%)
- Process Development (12.83%)
- Process Validation (4.11%)
- Injection Molding Machines (3.78%)
- Cost Reduction (7.24%)
- Thermoplastics (18.09%)
- Extrusion (31.09%)
- Root Cause Analysis (7.89%)
- Mold Flow Analysis (5.76%)
- Intravenous Therapy (11.84%)
- Thermoforming (8.22%)
- Overall Equipment Effectiveness (3.29%)
- Blow Molding (11.51%)
- Manufacturing Engineering (8.39%)
- AutoCAD (15.95%)
- Experimental Design (8.06%)
- Automation (12.99%)
- Statistical Methods (7.89%)
- Six Sigma Methodology (19.9%)
- Polymer Engineering (8.88%)
- Plastics Extrusion (11.51%)
- Fabrication (6.74%)
- Production Process (12.5%)
- Mechanical Engineering (21.71%)
- Computer-Aided Design (13.49%)
- Manufacturing Operations (2.63%)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (5.76%)
- Polyvinyl Chloride (10.03%)
- Development Environment (9.7%)
- Risk Analysis (3.78%)
- Data Collection (6.25%)
- Hydraulics (1.48%)
- Process Capability (3.12%)
- Composite Materials (2.96%)
- Product Quality (QA/QC) (3.78%)
- Milestones (Project Management) (6.91%)
- Quality Improvement (3.78%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- TurboCAD (4.11%)
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.
- Plastics Engineering (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Plastics Engineer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Plastics Process Engineer
- Plastics Manufacturing Engineer
- Assembly Process Engineer
- Extrusion Engineer
- Tool and Die Engineer
- Extrusion Process Engineer
- Principal Engineer
- Engineering Co-Op/Intern
- Postdoctoral Research Associate
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.
- Manufacturing Engineer (General)
- Manufacturing Product Design Engineer
- Manufacturing Assembly Engineer
- Process Engineer (General)
- Manufacturing Process Engineer
- Product Development Engineer
- Industrial Engineer (General)
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Plastics Engineer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Diedre Moire (73)
- GPAC (45)
- Ford (34)
- Airborn (20)
- Honda (16)
- Baxter International (14)
- University of Massachusetts (12)
- Actalent (10)
- Toyota Motors (7)
- Nissan (6)
North Carolina
- Diedre Moire (8)
- Hayward Industries (6)
- Herrmann Ultrasonics (2)
- Trane Technologies (1)
- Ford (1)
- Newell Brands (1)
- Newell Agency (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!
- Engineering – 2+2 Undergraduate Degrees
- Materials Science and Engineering Graduate Certificates
- Textiles Master's Degrees
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.