Side-by-side distribution
Plant Manager
$187,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 28.6%
- Live roles
- 70
Process Engineer
$137,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 31%
- Live roles
- 423
Highest-paying jobs
Plant Manager (Arizona)
Staff Product Manager, AI Factory
Senior Manager, Software Engineering, Plant Control
Manager, ML Solutions Architecture - Token Factory
Senior Engineering Manager, Factory Core
Manager, Software Engineering - Factory Platform
Manufacturing Plant Manager
Technical Account Manager - Token Factory
Product Marketing Manager - Token Factory
Plant Operations Manager (Jet Fuel Plant)
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Chemical Process Engineer
Principal Process Engineer, Fuel Cycle
Senior Process Engineer (Power Generation / Gas-to-Power)
Senior / Principal Silicon Photonic Packaging & Process Engineer
Process Engineer (New Grad December 2026)
Process Engineer (New Grad Summer 2027)
SMT Process Engineer
Senior Additive Manufacturing Process Engineer
Senior Manufacturing Process Engineer
Staff Engineer, Process Development and Manufacturing
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Nebius
|
$202,500 | 3 |
Anduril Industries
|
$174,750 | 2 |
|
Fluidstack
|
$353,000 | 1 |
|
Helion
|
$270,000 | 1 |
|
Domino Data Lab
|
$262,500 | 1 |
|
Hadrian Automation
|
$250,000 | 1 |
|
Relativity Space
|
$224,000 | 1 |
|
Standard Bots
|
$210,000 | 1 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$150,000 | 14 |
| OK Oklo | $130,000 | 6 |
SpaceX
|
$115,000 | 5 |
|
Freeform
|
$209,800 | 4 |
Antora Energy
|
$159,750 | 4 |
| SI Sila | $158,000 | 4 |
Blue Current
|
$135,800 | 4 |
Mariana Minerals
|
$133,750 | 4 |
Process Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $175,000 | 3 |
| Los Angeles | $167,500 | 7 |
| New York | $135,000 | 5 |
Plant Manager vs Process Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Plant Manager is $187,500 per year (typically $158,250–$230,500), versus $137,500 for Process Engineer ($110,250–$167,500). That puts Plant Manager about 36% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Plant Manager and Process Engineer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.