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The differences between lead product engineers and quality engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a lead product engineer, becoming a quality engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a lead product engineer has an average salary of $105,767, which is higher than the $79,672 average annual salary of a quality engineer.
The top three skills for a lead product engineer include java, solidworks and software development. The most important skills for a quality engineer are corrective action, continuous improvement, and ISO.
| Lead Product Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $105,767 | $79,672 |
| Hourly rate | $50.85 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 149,514 | 96,838 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A lead product engineer designs and develops products and their manufacturing process. As a lead product engineer, you will oversee the product's transition from design to manufacture. It is your duty to create and test product prototypes and source materials needed to build these prototypes. Other duties that you will perform include working closely with the product development team and ensuring all products meet safety policies. Additionally, you will also be responsible for providing product engineer support and maintaining product technical documentation.
A quality engineer's responsibilities include ensuring that the manufacturing processes are efficient and accurate, documenting findings that would raise concerns, conducting quality tests while observing parameters, and implementing changes as necessary to meet the highest quality standards. Quality engineers need to have excellent problem-solving and observation skills to detect any irregularities and possible malfunctions. They also must be able to communicate effectively with the clients for feedbacks and corrective adjustments, address complaints, and immediately resolve any inconsistencies made.
Lead product engineers and quality engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Product Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Average salary | $105,767 | $79,672 |
| Salary range | Between $81,000 And $137,000 | Between $61,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a lead product engineer and a quality engineer in terms of educational background:
| Lead Product Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between lead product engineers' and quality engineers' demographics:
| Lead Product Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.2% Female, 15.8% | Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.2% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 13.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 4% |