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What is a director of product development and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
Sachin Tuli
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A director of product development is responsible for the formulation and implementation of product development policies and objectives in a company. They must ensure that products align with their company's overall strategy and that consumer satisfaction is achieved. They lead the product development team and also spearhead research for new products, product upgrades, and rebrands.

A director of product development works closely with other professionals in engineering, operations, sales and marketing, finance, and software development in order to realize the company's product objectives. A successful director of product development has software engineering skills, user experience design skills, leadership skills, problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and communication skills.

A director of product development usually works 40 hours a week. This role also involves a bit of traveling to meet with different stakeholders.

What's a day at work look like for a director of product development?

Sachin TuliSachin Tuli LinkedIn profile

Director, International Business Major, Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The pandemic accelerated ongoing shifts with work-from-anywhere and use of remote meeting technologies. With mass adoption at all levels, these trends are likely to persist to some degree across fields and industries. There will likely be less travel for a number of years, but concurrently we may see more cross-team and cross-national collaboration and coordination. From an international business perspective, firms do plan to continue their globalization efforts and we know that graduates themselves increasingly seek potential global opportunities and mobility when choosing which organizations to work for.
ScoreDirector Of Product DevelopmentUS Average
Salary
8.7

Avg. Salary $140,507

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.5

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.1
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 8.15%

Black or African American 3.04%

Hispanic or Latino 8.67%

Unknown 5.32%

White 74.58%

Gender

female 27.96%

male 72.04%

Age - 38
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 - 38
Stress level
7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Director of product development career paths

Key steps to become a director of product development

  1. Explore director of product development education requirements

    Most common director of product development degrees

    Bachelor's

    71.3 %

    Master's

    17.5 %

    Associate

    6.6 %
  2. Start to develop specific director of product development skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Product Development11.96%
    Project Management9.21%
    Product Management8.70%
    R6.78%
    Product Strategy4.45%
  3. Complete relevant director of product development training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directors of product development 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 director of product development based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director of product development resumes.
  4. Research director of product development duties and responsibilities

    • Organize and manage project meetings between partners, vendors, and associates using both scrum and waterfall methodologies.
    • Manage long-term care, hospital transition, and Medicaid- Medicare expansion initiatives, that includes model of care design and implementation )
    • Manage packaging design and nutritional labeling within QA guidelines.
    • Manage company intellectual portfolio and develop key relationships with vendors and clients including leading global technology companies.
  5. Get director of product development experience

    Generally, it takes 8-10 years to become a director of product development. The most common roles before becoming a director of product development include product manager, product development manager team lead and project manager.
  6. Prepare your director of product development resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your director of product development 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 director of product development resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable director of product development resume templates

    Build a professional director of product development 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 director of product development resume.
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    Director Of Product Development Resume
    Director Of Product Development Resume
    Director Of Product Development Resume
    Director Of Product Development Resume
    Director Of Product Development Resume
    Director Of Product Development Resume
    Director Of Product Development Resume
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    Director Of Product Development Resume
    Director Of Product Development Resume
    Director Of Product Development Resume
    Director Of Product Development Resume
    Director Of Product Development Resume
    Director Of Product Development Resume
    Director Of Product Development Resume
  7. Apply for director of product development jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a director of product development job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

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

How did you land your first director of product development job

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Average director of product development salary

The average director of product development salary in the United States is $140,507 per year or $68 per hour. Director of product development salaries range between $100,000 and $196,000 per year.

Average director of product development salary
$140,507 Yearly
$67.55 hourly

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How do directors of product development rate their job?

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Director of product development reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2023
Pros

Solve tough problems, work on agile teams, outlet for creativity,

Cons

high expectations, constantly evolving technology, broad range of topics to learn (product management specifics, industry, technology, software development methods


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A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2022
Cons

If company is not supportive of new technology advancement.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros

Its not a specific job, As a product manager your job responsibilities cover many different areas and that's what i love about it.

Cons

all other teams think that they are doing a task for you instead of thinking that they are part of a team on a project


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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