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 4384 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 $114,699.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $98,991.

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 $96,176.

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	64.64%
Master's Degree	43.54%
Doctoral Degree	27.92%
Other	5.16%

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	19.43%
9+ years	15.56%

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 (35.86%)
Operations (32.8%)
Problem Solving (32.25%)
Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (25.82%)
Innovation (23.22%)
Research (21.1%)
Leadership (19.18%)
Management (18.75%)
Writing (14.42%)
Presentations (13.55%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

Process Improvement (24.16%)
Process Development (67.62%)
New Product Development (26.02%)
Manufacturing Processes (29.23%)
Process Engineering (33.87%)
Chemical Engineering (31.14%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

Technical Leadership (4.26%)
Equipment Design (4.38%)
Metrology (8.97%)
Root Cause Analysis (5.49%)
JMP (Statistical Software) (7.58%)
Tooling (9.87%)
Technology Transfer (12.98%)
Statistical Process Controls (15%)
Statistics (8.05%)
Risk Analysis (5.42%)
Research And Development (15.19%)
Process Capability (5.68%)
Process Control (7.14%)
Process Design (7.89%)
Process Flow Diagrams (4.5%)
Process Integration (11.05%)
Process Optimization (8.1%)
Production Line (3.16%)
Prototyping (3.27%)
Pharmaceuticals (8.9%)
Physics (15.03%)
Minitab (4.73%)
MATLAB (3.3%)
Mechanical Engineering (11.26%)
Manufacturing Operations (5.46%)
Scale (Map) (7.61%)
Project Management (19.19%)
Python (Programming Language) (5.93%)
Lean Manufacturing (6.05%)
Industrial Engineering (3.89%)
Scalability (6.29%)
Standard Operating Procedure (4.83%)
Failure Mode And Effects Analysis (4.1%)
Experimentation (13.14%)
Experimental Design (17.29%)
Design For Manufacturability (5.3%)
SolidWorks (CAD) (7.14%)
Commercialization (6.48%)
Continuous Improvement Process (15.64%)
Good Manufacturing Practices (19.38%)
Automation (11.09%)
Biochemistry (11.56%)
Biotechnology (8.57%)
Biology (11.12%)
Biopharmaceuticals (9.59%)
Analytical Techniques (5.25%)
Data Analysis (22.23%)
Cell Cultures (10.15%)
Chemistry (18.56%)
Electrical Engineering (10.79%)
Chromatography (8.46%)
Six Sigma Methodology (5.51%)
Quality Management Systems (4.4%)
Medical Devices (9.26%)
Workflow Management (4.95%)
Qualification Protocols (IQ/OQ/PQ) (4.4%)
Materials Science (17.17%)
Process Validation (11.14%)
Statistical Analysis (9.82%)
Semiconductors (12.98%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

Ellipsometry (1.79%)
Biochemical Engineering (5.51%)

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.

Biochemical Engineering (100%)

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.

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!

Chemical Engineering 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.

Engineering