Also called: SQE, Supplier Development Engineer
Makes sure the parts a company buys from other factories are good enough before they ever arrive.
You fly to a supplier's plant to audit how they make a brake component, watching their machines and checking their records. When their parts start failing inspection, you work with them on a fix plan and decide whether to approve their next shipment.
Estimated from industry surveys.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in engineering; experience with auto (IATF 16949) or aerospace (AS9100) standards.
Ways in: 4-year college, Certification. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering.
Growing much faster than average (about 11% over 10 years). Grouped with industrial engineers, projected much faster than average.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI tracks supplier data and drafts reports; audits, plant visits and tough supplier conversations stay human.
Classes: AP Statistics, AP Physics, Spanish or Mandarin.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2112.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.