What does a lead product developer do?
Lead product developer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real lead product developer resumes:
- Manage development resources among development, QA, support, documentation, sales and marketing.
- Manage projects build on technologies including .NET, C++, H.264 video, PHP and AJAX, JavaScript.
- Target select electrical engineer database to yield increase and additional sales leads.
- Used Redgate API to create tools for syncing data across databases.
- Coordinate efforts among vendors to determine the mutual requirements and to define API.
- Utilize SQL to support data-driven analysis and decision processes to inform project prioritization, assess feature effectiveness, and troubleshoot issues.
- Create dynamic template for new product development ROI financial analysis that enable management to forecast risk exposure prior to funding commitment.
Lead product developer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 27% of Lead Product Developers are proficient in Lifecycle Management, Java, and Product Development. They’re also known for soft skills such as Organizational skills, Analytical skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Lead Product Developers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Lifecycle Management, 27%
Managed product portfolio encompassing multiple product lines including lifecycle management of products and identification and prioritization of new product introduction projects.
- Java, 9%
Developed extensively in Oracle Forms, PL/SQL packages, Pro*C batch modules, and Java Swing.
- Product Development, 8%
Single point of accountability for product development programs ranging from Research through Commercialization in Purdue's fully outsourced business model.
- Project Management, 7%
Mentor and coach for Project Managers and technical resources within the organization on project management methodology.
- R, 6%
Plotted various plots using various R libraries to find out the resulting trend.
- Product Management, 3%
Recognized for outstanding team leadership in 1999 with an all-expense paid trip to BMC Product Management and Development Cayman Island Event.
"lifecycle management," "java," and "product development" are among the most common skills that lead product developers use at work. You can find even more lead product developer responsibilities below, including:
Organizational skills. One of the key soft skills for a lead product developer to have is organizational skills. You can see how this relates to what lead product developers do because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must manage their time and budget efficiently while directing and motivating staff members." Additionally, a lead product developer resume shows how lead product developers use organizational skills: "manage scope changes and plan for project risk, monitoring against client needs, organizational goals, and business objective changes. "
Analytical skills. Many lead product developer duties rely on analytical skills. "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization.," so a lead product developer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways lead product developer responsibilities rely on analytical skills: "gap analysis of current business processes for custom code with continuing developer support and unit testing. "
Communication skills. lead product developers are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to lead product developer responsibilities, because "managers must be able to communicate effectively with a broad-based team made up of other managers or staff members during the advertising, promotions, and marketing process." A lead product developer resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "performed labeling lead project management including maintaining project schedules and collaborative communications and working relationships with cross-functional project team partners. "
Creativity. lead product developer responsibilities often require "creativity." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas." This resume example shows what lead product developers do with creativity on a typical day: "increased profit margins by 27% through negotiations, product development and disposing of obsolete inventory. "
The three companies that hire the most lead product developers are:
- AT&T65 lead product developers jobs
- Google21 lead product developers jobs
- DIRECTV Puerto Rico9 lead product developers jobs
Compare different lead product developers
Lead product developer vs. Marketing manager
Marketing managers are experienced employees who oversee the marketing department of the organization. They manage activities such as marketing campaigns, social media postings, company branding, and other strategic marketing activities. They provide strategic direction and come up with departmental goals. They also provide proper training for employees in the department to ensure that they have a deep understanding of its marketing tools. Marketing managers should be creative, should have good interpersonal skills, and should be flexible.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between lead product developers and marketing manager. For instance, lead product developer responsibilities require skills such as "lifecycle management," "java," "strong work ethic," and "product management." Whereas a marketing manager is skilled in "digital marketing," "marketing campaigns," "integrated marketing," and "email marketing." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Marketing managers earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $115,553. On the other hand, lead product developers are paid more in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $120,260.The education levels that marketing managers earn slightly differ from lead product developers. In particular, marketing managers are 11.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a lead product developer. Additionally, they're 3.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Lead product developer vs. Vice president, product management
A vice president of product management is responsible for handling the overall operational decisions of product deliverables, creating strategic procedures for product marketing strategy, and ensuring that the outputs provide the highest customer satisfaction. The vice president of product management monitors the department's budget, allocating adequate resources to every team to support operational promotions and research on current market trends. They also adjust product management approaches to meet the company's goals and objectives and identify opportunities to increase revenues and profitability.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real lead product developer resumes. While lead product developer responsibilities can utilize skills like "strong work ethic," "development process," "business process," and "process improvement," vice presidents, product management use skills like "analytics," "product strategy," "cloud," and "product roadmap."
Vice presidents, product management may earn a higher salary than lead product developers, but vice presidents, product management earn the most pay in the start-up industry with an average salary of $176,856. On the other hand, lead product developers receive higher pay in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $120,260.vice presidents, product management earn similar levels of education than lead product developers in general. They're 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Lead product developer vs. Product marketing manager
A product marketing manager is responsible for managing the company's goods and services, promoting brand awareness, developing effective marketing campaigns to attract existing and potential clients, generating more revenues, and achieving its profitability goals. Product marketing managers must have excellent knowledge of the marketing industry, as well as broad ideas on the current industry trends to meet clients' demands and identify business opportunities. A product marketing manager should be highly communicative and display excellent leadership skills to work with other departments and respond to clients' inquiries and concerns timely and efficiently.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, lead product developers are more likely to have skills like "java," "strong work ethic," "development process," and "business process." But a product marketing manager is more likely to have skills like "digital marketing," "marketing campaigns," "b2b marketing," and "market trends."
Product marketing managers make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $121,046. On the other hand, lead product developers are paid the highest salary in the manufacturing industry, with average annual pay of $120,260.Most product marketing managers achieve a lower degree level compared to lead product developers. For example, they're 6.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 3.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Lead product developer vs. Senior product marketing manager
A senior product marketing manager develops marketing projects and programs for new products, aiming to attract consumers and increase the brand value, which will translate into sales. They primarily have administrative duties such as making decisions, establishing schedules and guidelines, setting budgets and goals, delegating responsibilities among teams, and monitoring their progress, solving issues and concerns when any arise. They also lead the efforts to conduct market research and analyses, create marketing materials, and streamlining project requirements, all while implementing standards and regulations.
Types of lead product developer
Updated January 8, 2025