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Pharmaceutical engineer vs product development engineer

The differences between pharmaceutical 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 pharmaceutical 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 $84,592 average annual salary of a pharmaceutical engineer.

The top three skills for a pharmaceutical engineer include PLC, process improvement and FDA. The most important skills for a product development engineer are CAD, solidworks, and product development.

Pharmaceutical engineer vs product development engineer overview

Pharmaceutical EngineerProduct Development Engineer
Yearly salary$84,592$86,075
Hourly rate$40.67$41.38
Growth rate10%2%
Number of jobs38,658202,155
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4241
Years of experience46

Pharmaceutical engineer vs product development engineer salary

Pharmaceutical engineers and product development engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Pharmaceutical EngineerProduct Development Engineer
Average salary$84,592$86,075
Salary rangeBetween $58,000 And $121,000Between $64,000 And $113,000
Highest paying CityFoster City, CASunnyvale, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyGilead SciencesAmazon
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between pharmaceutical engineer and product development engineer education

There are a few differences between a pharmaceutical engineer and a product development engineer in terms of educational background:

Pharmaceutical EngineerProduct Development Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 75%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorChemical EngineeringMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeUniversity of Michigan - Ann ArborMichigan Technological University

Pharmaceutical engineer vs product development engineer demographics

Here are the differences between pharmaceutical engineers' and product development engineers' demographics:

Pharmaceutical EngineerProduct Development Engineer
Average age4241
Gender ratioMale, 66.7% Female, 33.3%Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 10.5% White, 73.3% 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 Percentage4%5%

Differences between pharmaceutical engineer and product development engineer duties and responsibilities

Pharmaceutical engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage overall validation programs for the GMP products at the manufacturing facility and the contract manufacturing company.
  • Participate in regulatory agency inspections (FDA, EU) as a subject matter expert and minimize findings.
  • Develop skills in process change control, aseptic technique and gowning, validation, FDA audits and writing manufacturing tickets.
  • Prepare installation qualification, operational qualification, and performance qualification (IQ/OQ/PQ) protocols and reports.
  • Expedite and simplify the quotation process for solar water heating systems by accurately representing solar water heating system performance through MATLAB models
  • Provide plant technical input for all modifications affecting EQ equipment.
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Product development engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage design control including FMEA risk analysis, surgeon clinical input documentation, design verification and validation activities.
  • Manage project from conceptual design through final debugging and animal/clinical testing resulting in a new business unit within the company.
  • Create java test template design to vary equation specs and loop pattern bursts.
  • Develop and maintain websites in HTML, CSS and JAVA script by writing, debugging, and testing.
  • Set up, troubleshot and maintain the Linux and Unix machines used in the development, build and test of ADINA.
  • Participate in engineering DFMEA activities.
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Pharmaceutical engineer vs product development engineer skills

Common pharmaceutical engineer skills
  • PLC, 28%
  • Process Improvement, 26%
  • FDA, 17%
  • API, 10%
  • Process Equipment, 10%
  • Sops, 3%
Common product development engineer skills
  • CAD, 6%
  • Solidworks, 5%
  • Product Development, 5%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Data Analysis, 4%
  • Product Design, 4%

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