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The differences between principal mechanical engineers and product engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a principal mechanical engineer and a product engineer. Additionally, a principal mechanical engineer has an average salary of $102,451, which is higher than the $89,645 average annual salary of a product engineer.
The top three skills for a principal mechanical engineer include mechanical engineering, CAD and mechanical design. The most important skills for a product engineer are CAD, product design, and project management.
| Principal Mechanical Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $102,451 | $89,645 |
| Hourly rate | $49.26 | $43.10 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 127,517 | 157,888 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A principal mechanical engineer is responsible for managing and maintaining the company's machinery, designing equipment that would support the business functions and operations efficiently, and inspecting tools for production processes. Principal mechanical engineers assist the work of junior engineers in manufacturing operations and resolving issues and tickets. They also conduct quality check procedures for the outputs, identify areas of improvement, and identify opportunities that would help the business grow more revenues and increase the company's profitability.
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.
Principal mechanical engineers and product engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Mechanical Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Average salary | $102,451 | $89,645 |
| Salary range | Between $78,000 And $133,000 | Between $68,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Mexico | California |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Technology |
There are a few differences between a principal mechanical engineer and a product engineer in terms of educational background:
| Principal Mechanical Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between principal mechanical engineers' and product engineers' demographics:
| Principal Mechanical Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.4% Female, 5.6% | Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 15.7% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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% |