Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between manufacturing associate engineers and product development engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a manufacturing associate engineer, becoming a product development engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a product development engineer has an average salary of $86,075, which is higher than the $74,120 average annual salary of a manufacturing associate engineer.
The top three skills for a manufacturing associate engineer include process control, CAD and continuous improvement. The most important skills for a product development engineer are CAD, solidworks, and product development.
| Manufacturing Associate Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $74,120 | $86,075 |
| Hourly rate | $35.63 | $41.38 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 59,464 | 202,155 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
An associate manufacturing engineer is in charge of creating methods and strategies to optimize the design and development of manufacturing procedures, typically working alongside manufacturing engineers. Among their responsibilities include performing research and analysis, establishing guidelines and specifications, monitoring the budgets and processes, conducting maintenance checks, and keeping an active communication line with team members for a smooth and efficient workflow. Furthermore, an associate manufacturing engineer must promote and enforce the company's safety policies and regulations.
A Product Development Engineer is responsible for creating and testing new product designs. They collaborate with market researchers to evaluate market needs, existing competition, and potential costs.
Manufacturing associate engineers and product development engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Manufacturing Associate Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Average salary | $74,120 | $86,075 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $90,000 | Between $64,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | Mahwah, NJ | Sunnyvale, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Masimo | Amazon |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a manufacturing associate engineer and a product development engineer in terms of educational background:
| Manufacturing Associate Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between manufacturing associate engineers' and product development engineers' demographics:
| Manufacturing Associate Engineer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.7% Female, 16.3% | Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 12.2% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.7% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |