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The differences between manufacturing engineers lead and product engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a manufacturing engineer lead, becoming a product engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a product engineer has an average salary of $89,645, which is higher than the $88,937 average annual salary of a manufacturing engineer lead.
The top three skills for a manufacturing engineer lead include lean manufacturing, sigma and CAD. The most important skills for a product engineer are CAD, product design, and project management.
| Manufacturing Engineer Lead | Product Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,937 | $89,645 |
| Hourly rate | $42.76 | $43.10 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 74,287 | 157,888 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
Lead manufacturing engineers are responsible for assisting with new product expansion, product introduction, and pricing out planning for existing product lines alongside the implementation of engineering processes and principles. They help with the technical coordination between division and group leading manufacturing locations beyond the present site. Their duties include implementing manufacturing engineering to provide superior technical output promptly. Also, they fulfill technical subject matter competence, assist with the growth of organizational engineering or technical skills to reach the division and site strategies, as well as aid in the training for receiving and sending sites.
A product engineer specializes in designing and developing commercial materials and services. They are primarily responsible for conducting thorough research and analysis of the latest trends and marketing conditions to come up with new ideas and products for the public. Moreover, they are also responsible for producing reports and presentations, coordinating with the development team of their company. Product engineers also reach out to vendors and suppliers for the raw materials, set regulations and standards for the product, and even conduct a rigorous and regular quality check.
Manufacturing engineers lead and product engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Manufacturing Engineer Lead | Product Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,937 | $89,645 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $112,000 | Between $68,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a manufacturing engineer lead and a product engineer in terms of educational background:
| Manufacturing Engineer Lead | Product Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between manufacturing engineers lead' and product engineers' demographics:
| Manufacturing Engineer Lead | Product Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.0% Female, 9.0% | Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 17.0% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.0% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |