What does a product development engineer do?

Question

Zippia Team · Accepted Answer

A product development engineer develops, designs, creates, and manages new product ideas for businesses. This highly specialized role comes with specific knowledge of taking products from the idea stage through to execution and commercialization.

Since product development is highly specialized, the trained engineer must be familiar with all phases of the Product Development Cycle.

The Production Development Cycle includes the following phases:

idea validation
design
prototype product
product testing
business planning
pilot production
manufacturing
commercialization

They must also constantly keep updated with the latest technologies in a constantly evolving industry. In addition, the product development engineer might be able to combine technical knowledge, human factors, and creativity to make the industrial product successful in the marketplace.

The responsibility of a product development engineer is to take an idea and mold and develop the idea so that it can be successfully produced and sold. The product development engineer must then select the materials and the type of prototyping, tooling, and manufacturing methods that will be cost-effective and satisfy their company.

A product development engineer can often be characterized as someone who relishes learning and imitating how products are made (developing solutions) and how they function (understanding the inner workings). Inherently, most engineers tend to be creative, problem-solving, and have vivid imaginations.