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The differences between process development engineers and product design 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 process development engineer, becoming a product design engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a product design engineer has an average salary of $94,827, which is higher than the $89,754 average annual salary of a process development engineer.
The top three skills for a process development engineer include data analysis, DOE and R. The most important skills for a product design engineer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.
| Process Development Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $89,754 | $94,827 |
| Hourly rate | $43.15 | $45.59 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 118,616 | 170,485 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A Process Development Engineer creates and implements process technology for product manufacturing to optimize workflow, improve operating capabilities, and help ensure workers' safety. They help enhance the speed and quality of processing from a variety of industries, such as mining or manufacturing.
A Product Design Engineer designs new products that customers will want to purchase. They are responsible for designing, modeling, and testing prototypes for products.
Process development engineers and product design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Process Development Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $89,754 | $94,827 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $114,000 | Between $69,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Rosa, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between a process development engineer and a product design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Process Development Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Chemical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between process development engineers' and product design engineers' demographics:
| Process Development Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.2% Female, 18.8% | Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.3% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.2% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |