Director of new product development vs product management director

The differences between directors of new product development and product management directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a director of new product development and a product management director. Additionally, a product management director has an average salary of $156,724, which is higher than the $139,162 average annual salary of a director of new product development.

The top three skills for a director of new product development include product development, R and business development. The most important skills for a product management director are product management, product strategy, and cloud.

Director of new product development vs product management director overview

	Director Of New Product Development	Product Management Director
Yearly salary	$139,162	$156,724
Hourly rate	$66.90	$75.35
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	185,369	170,460
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	10	10

What does a director of new product development do?

A director of new product development spearheads and oversees a company's product development operations, from planning to production. They primarily take the lead in conducting research and analyses, coordinating engineers and other experts, evaluating product development plans and guidelines, and liaising with internal and external parties. They also have the authority to approve projects, make significant decisions, negotiate contracts, select concepts, and monitor all procedures, implementing solutions and strategies to optimize operations. Moreover, a director of new product development empowers employees while enforcing company standards and policies.

What does a product management director do?

A Product Management Director is responsible for a business product planning as well as execution throughout the life cycle of the business. They create the product strategy and requirements, develop and execute tactical plans, and maintain product and market knowledge.

Director of new product development vs product management director salary

Directors of new product development and product management directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director Of New Product Development	Product Management Director
Average salary	$139,162	$156,724
Salary range	Between $94,000 And $204,000	Between $112,000 And $219,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	California
Best paying company	DoorDash	Meta
Best paying industry	Media	Technology

Differences between director of new product development and product management director education

There are a few differences between a director of new product development and a product management director in terms of educational background:

	Director Of New Product Development	Product Management Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Georgia	University of Georgia

Director of new product development vs product management director demographics

Here are the differences between directors of new product development' and product management directors' demographics:

	Director Of New Product Development	Product Management Director
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 77.1% Female, 22.9%	Male, 77.1% Female, 22.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between director of new product development and product management director duties and responsibilities

Director of new product development example responsibilities.

Manage the design development process from designer sketch handover to bulk production delivery.
Review estimated demand levels and spearhead logistics operations to prevent shortage or excess liabilities due to limitations of supplier capacities.
Engage with new strategic sales partners and OEM partnerships, while growing partner revenue production by improving abilities and production.
Manage implementation teams on new system installations and retrofit projects.

Product management director example responsibilities.

Lead initiatives across broad categories ranging from search engine optimization to promotions and CRM to customer retention.
Deploy a highly customize third-party CRM and sales management software, managing $40MM annual ad sales revenue.
Manage a team of 8 developers , 3 editors , 1 QA person, and 1 graphic designer.
Manage cross-functional projects to integrate new products and features into the roadmap and GTM approach and drive adoption.
Manage the product management, business analyst, and UI teams in the development of a new class of EMM applications.
Manage the design development process from designer sketch handover to bulk production delivery.

Director of new product development vs product management director skills

Common director of new product development skills

Product Development, 23%
R, 10%
Business Development, 8%
Project Management, 7%
Market Research, 7%
Medical Devices, 4%

Common product management director skills

Product Management, 13%
Product Strategy, 7%
Cloud, 6%
Analytics, 5%
Market Research, 4%
Product Roadmap, 4%

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Director Of New Product Development
Director Of New Product Development vs Product Management Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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