What is the difference between a Manufacturing Engineer and a Process Engineer?

The engineering industry encompasses an incredibly diverse array of career routes. This article will focus on two specific areas: manufacturing engineering and process engineering.

As these two areas often overlap, it’s worth defining the roles and responsibilities of each profession to understand where they’re similar and where they deviate from one another.

Once we’ve outlined the similarities and differences between the two roles, we’ll also help point you in the direction of resources where you can find process engineering and manufacturing engineering jobs. 

TRS Staffing is a results-driven recruitment specialist with expertise matching engineers with their ideal jobs, particularly in mechanical and processing roles.

So, let’s get to answering the fundamental question, “What is the difference between a Manufacturing Engineer and a Process Engineer?”.

Manufacturing Engineer vs. Process Engineer

Process Engineer

Job Duties

To begin, you might be wondering, “What does a Process Engineer do?”.

The work of a Process Engineer centres around designing and optimising commercial processes—monitoring them for safety purposes, and ultimately making them more efficient. 

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of a Process Engineer pertain to both lab and fieldwork. At their core, responsibilities relate to the development and implementation of industrial processes—and the troubleshooting of any issues that may arise.

Key skills

Professional Process Engineers usually have a niche skill set that spans process design and optimisation, data analysis, and control systems.

Examples of projects they can work on

Process Engineers are in demand across a wide range of niches. 

For example, a Process Engineer could be involved in designing and implementing water treatment systems, optimising the production of biofuels, or making the processes of chemical reactors more efficient.

Manufacturing engineer

Job duties

In a manufacturing engineering job, duties centre around the design and optimisation of manufacturing processes, specifically. In doing so, professional manufacturing engineers are focused on:

• improving the overall efficiency of the systems they work on
• maintaining quality
• reducing unnecessary costs

Responsibilities

Manufacturing Engineers are responsible for integrating new technologies into industrial processes, troubleshooting issues in production, and safeguarding their organisation’s regulatory compliance.

Key skills

Manufacturing Engineers typically have in-depth knowledge of equipment, control systems, and automation and AI—the latter of which are trends shaping the industry to no end.

But it’s not all hard skills:

As the role requires them to work alongside colleagues from other departments, the most successful Manufacturing Engineers also have strong teamwork and communication skills.

Examples of projects they can work on

A typical project that a Manufacturing Engineer might work on would be anything related to a production line or product manufacturing. 

For example, they may be enlisted to help find ways of reducing waste in manufacturing processes or improving the quality and consistency of products being made in a specific factory.

Similarities and differences between Manufacturing Engineers and Process Engineers

While both Process Engineers and Manufacturing Engineers are process and system-oriented, their focus is slightly different.

Process Engineers are more focused on making industrial processes more efficient, while Manufacturing Engineers work more with the mechanical systems that are involved in industrial systems.

Discover top-tier engineering jobs today

Now that you’ve gained a comprehensive understanding of the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Process Engineers, it’s time to find out about positions available via TRS Staffing.

With expertise spanning oil and gas, renewable energies, and life sciences, we at TRS Staffing are committed to setting qualified professionals en route to their ideal careers.