How To Become A Materials Process Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a materials process engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Experts

James Swisher,

Rick Wise Ph.D.

Materials process engineers are responsible for providing engineering support to the materials value stream. They primarily turn raw materials into finished goods through a series of steps, which involves altering the materials by implementing process improvements on the existing structure of the material and developing new materials. Materials process engineers earn an average sum of $75,000 annually or $36 per hour.

Materials process engineers are experts at their job and are highly revered for what they do. They are involved in the training of operators and ensure that they are compliant with the requirements. They are also tasked with preparing the project budget and monitoring spending throughout the project. Part of their duties may include maintaining the accuracy of manufacturing documentation and responding to customer complaints, and ensuring no reoccurrence of the same complaints.

Materials process engineers typically hold a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, or other related fields. They are expected to possess excellent verbal and written communication skills. Some employers also prefer candidates with meticulous record-keeping capability and the ability to manage multiple responsibilities with little to no supervision.

What general advice would you give to a Materials Process Engineer?

James Swisher

Director of Continuing Education, Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers

It's truly an exciting time to be an Industrial and Systems Engineer. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects demand for ISEs to grow by 10% over the next ten years, which is much faster than the rate for all occupations. Firms across a broad range of industries will continue to focus on the skills that ISEs bring to improve efficiencies, enhance quality, and lower costs. In addition, ISEs bring skills in the related fields of big data, artificial intelligence, and project management that make them extremely valuable to organizations. ISEs ability to quickly make an impact in an organization also means that their potential for promotion is very good. It's a great profession to be in.

ScoreMaterials Process EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.1

Avg. Salary $90,788

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.2

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.34%

Asian 18.33%

Black or African American 2.29%

Hispanic or Latino 8.31%

Unknown 3.51%

White 67.22%

Gender

female 21.70%

male 78.30%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress Level

5.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.6

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.9

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a materials process engineer

Explore materials process engineer education requirements

Most common materials process engineer degrees

Bachelor's

75.7 %

Master's

16.9 %

Associate

3.8 %

Start to develop specific materials process engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Failure Analysis	9.82%
Material Properties	8.83%
Process Specifications	5.64%
Engineering Drawings	4.73%
DOD	4.37%

Complete relevant materials process engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New materials process engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a materials process engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real materials process engineer resumes.

Research materials process engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage and successfully complete carbon/epoxy material qualification and gain approval from FAA to use in manufacturing of composite aircraft parts.
Redesign polymer formulations for critical defense and aerospace programs due to chemical obsolescence.
Pulled/Analyze data in JMP package.
Project manager for electrical and thermo-property testing to ASTM standards.

Get materials process engineer experience

Prepare your materials process engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your materials process engineer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a materials process engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Materials Process Engineer Resume templates

Build a professional Materials Process Engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Materials Process Engineer resume.

Apply for materials process engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a materials process engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do materials process engineers rate their job?

-/5

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Materials Process Engineer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019

Pros

Being on the field doing running inspections and learning from the technicians

Cons

Being expose to bad weather that compromise the safety of operations.

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019