Process Development Engineer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Process Development Engineer designs and implements production systems in manufacturing, engineering or mining. Develops processes that are efficient and cost effective. Plans, implements and tests production systems and processes and ensures compliance with industry and regulatory standards.
Job Outlook
There were 147 Process Development Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 4382 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Chemical / Process Engineer industry, which includes the Process Development Engineer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Process Development 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 $115,532.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $102,286.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Process Development Engineer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $98,111.
Education and Experience
Posted Process Development 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 | 64.61% |
| Master's Degree | 43.56% |
| Doctoral Degree | 27.91% |
| Other | 5.18% |
Posted Process Development 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 | 25.57% |
| 3 to 5 years | 39.44% |
| 6 to 8 years | 19.39% |
| 9+ years | 15.6% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Process Development 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 (35.85%)
- Operations (32.82%)
- Problem Solving (32.27%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (25.83%)
- Innovation (23.19%)
- Research (21.11%)
- Leadership (19.17%)
- Management (18.76%)
- Writing (14.42%)
- Presentations (13.56%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Process Engineering (33.95%)
- Chemical Engineering (31.17%)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (19.37%)
- Manufacturing Processes (29.28%)
- Process Development (67.65%)
- New Product Development (26.03%)
- Process Improvement (24.16%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Semiconductors (13.03%)
- Statistical Analysis (9.79%)
- Analytical Techniques (5.24%)
- Process Validation (11.16%)
- Materials Science (17.18%)
- Qualification Protocols (IQ/OQ/PQ) (4.41%)
- Quality Management Systems (4.41%)
- Filtration (7.5%)
- Six Sigma Methodology (5.55%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (15.6%)
- Data Analysis (22.3%)
- Biochemistry (11.56%)
- Cell Cultures (10.12%)
- Medical Devices (9.27%)
- Biology (11.11%)
- Chromatography (8.45%)
- Automation (11.09%)
- Biotechnology (8.59%)
- Chemistry (18.59%)
- Experimental Design (17.3%)
- Electrical Engineering (10.81%)
- Industrial Engineering (3.89%)
- Biopharmaceuticals (9.58%)
- Bioprocess (5.07%)
- Design For Manufacturability (5.31%)
- Experimentation (13.17%)
- Failure Mode And Effects Analysis (4.11%)
- Lean Manufacturing (6.06%)
- SolidWorks (CAD) (7.1%)
- Commercialization (6.49%)
- Downstream Processing (6.39%)
- Mechanical Engineering (11.23%)
- Standard Operating Procedure (4.84%)
- Process Design (7.88%)
- Process Optimization (8.09%)
- Prototyping (3.28%)
- Python (Programming Language) (5.95%)
- Process Integration (11.07%)
- Physics (15.05%)
- Risk Analysis (5.43%)
- Manufacturing Operations (5.45%)
- Scalability (6.28%)
- Statistical Process Controls (15.01%)
- Scale (Map) (7.6%)
- Tooling (9.86%)
- Project Management (19.21%)
- Process Control (7.13%)
- Minitab (4.72%)
- Pharmaceuticals (8.92%)
- Process Flow Diagrams (4.53%)
- Statistics (8.05%)
- Production Line (3.19%)
- Research And Development (15.22%)
- Equipment Design (4.39%)
- Metrology (9.01%)
- Technology Transfer (12.95%)
- JMP (Statistical Software) (7.6%)
- Technical Leadership (4.27%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Cross-Flow Filtration (2.93%)
- Dry Etching (3.14%)
- Photolithography (3.96%)
- Chemical Mechanical Planarization (2.86%)
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.
- Dry Etching (8.13%)
- Process Engineering (88.01%)
- Photolithography (10.28%)
- Chemical Mechanical Planarization (7.4%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Process Development Engineer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Process Engineer
- Process Development Scientist
- Process Integration Engineer
- Process Development Associate
- Process Development Manager
- Engineering Intern
- Principal Scientist
- Process Technician
- Principal 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.
- Process Engineer (General)
- Chemical Engineer (General)
- Ceramic Engineer
- Manufacturing Chemist
- Research & Development Engineer
- Process Industrial Engineer
- Product Development Engineer
- Research and Development Chemist
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Process Development Engineer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Micron Technology (257)
- Actalent (90)
- Intel (84)
- Johnson & Johnson (64)
- Amgen (49)
- Eurofins (47)
- Medtronic (46)
- Sanofi (46)
- GlobalFoundries (41)
- Boston Scientific (39)
North Carolina
- Amgen (9)
- Grifols (7)
- Mohawk Industries (7)
- Novartis (6)
- Corning (6)
- Actalent (5)
- Unifi Manufacturing, Inc. (Makers Of Repreve) (5)
- Cook Medical (5)
- Fujifilm (5)
- Oxford Global Resources (4)
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.