Salaries are annual unless otherwise stated.
Salary and wage information for New Zealand professions is compiled regularly by analysis of New Zealand jobs advertised in major publications.
Job titles in this occupation vary and some examples are process engineer, chemical engineer, petroleum engineer and waste engineer. Process engineers can also work as lecturers in colleges and universities.
New Zealand has a shortage of chemical engineers. As a result chemical engineers are currently on New Zealand’s long term skills shortage list.
A typical starting salary for a new graduate is around $55,000 to $62,000. With several years’ experience you can expect to earn between $70,000 and $95,000 a year. Experienced senior process engineers can earn up to $140,000.
For comparison, the average hourly wage in New Zealand for the quarter ending 31 March 2020 was $33.20 according to Statistics New Zealand. This would give an annual average salary of around $65,600, working standard full-time hours (38 hours).
Process Engineer Salaries / Wages in 2020
Position | Salary / Wage $ | Location |
---|---|---|
Process Improvement Engineer | 85,000 – 105,000 | Auckland |
Project Engineer – Gas Industry | 75,000 – 95,000 | Auckland |
Senior Process Engineer | 95,000 – 115,000 | Auckland |
Graduate Process / Chemical Engineer | 58,000 – 62,000 | Auckland |
Senior Chemical Process Engineer | 105,000+ | New Plymouth |
Pulpmill Process Engineer | 80,000 – 95,000 | Napier |
Process Engineer – Senior (Dairy) | 75,000 – 95,000 | Wellington |
Junior Process Engineer | 58,000 – 62,000 | Wellington |
Manufacturing Process Engineer | 95,000 | Christchurch |
Process / Chemical Engineer | 85,000+ | Dunedin |
Engineering New Zealand is the professional body which represents professional engineers from all disciplines in New Zealand. Their 2019 remuneration survey showed that for full-time salaried employees, the median base salary in 2019 for chemical engineers was around $90,000.
There are over 22,000 engineers working in New Zealand.
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