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Product applications engineer vs product design engineer

The differences between product applications engineers and product design 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 product applications engineer and a product design engineer. Additionally, a product applications engineer has an average salary of $101,877, which is higher than the $94,827 average annual salary of a product design engineer.

The top three skills for a product applications engineer include technical support, product line and RF. The most important skills for a product design engineer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.

Product applications engineer vs product design engineer overview

Product Applications EngineerProduct Design Engineer
Yearly salary$101,877$94,827
Hourly rate$48.98$45.59
Growth rate6%2%
Number of jobs101,218170,485
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age4441
Years of experience66

What does a product applications engineer do?

A product applications engineer's job is to determine business needs and develop solutions with product managers and address customer queries and issues promptly. They typically address customer questions and issues in a timely manner. They communicate feedback from customers to the design team and provide post-sales support to make suitable modifications in product design. Moreover, it is part of their responsibility to evaluate new software products, check defects, conduct internal application trials for verification, and maintain accurate documentation of problems related to applications, including solutions.

What does a product design engineer do?

A Product Design Engineer designs new products that customers will want to purchase. They are responsible for designing, modeling, and testing prototypes for products.

Product applications engineer vs product design engineer salary

Product applications engineers and product design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Product Applications EngineerProduct Design Engineer
Average salary$101,877$94,827
Salary rangeBetween $75,000 And $138,000Between $69,000 And $129,000
Highest paying CityMountain View, CASan Mateo, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyGoogleMeta
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between product applications engineer and product design engineer education

There are a few differences between a product applications engineer and a product design engineer in terms of educational background:

Product Applications EngineerProduct Design Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityMichigan Technological University

Product applications engineer vs product design engineer demographics

Here are the differences between product applications engineers' and product design engineers' demographics:

Product Applications EngineerProduct Design Engineer
Average age4441
Gender ratioMale, 89.4% Female, 10.6%Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 1.4% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.6% Asian, 11.1% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%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 Percentage7%5%

Differences between product applications engineer and product design engineer duties and responsibilities

Product applications engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage the manufacturing of defense and aerospace electro-mechanical print circuit boards from prototype to production level.
  • Analyze and debug digital and RF hardware and systems in-house and at customer sites.
  • Work on XML base integration for data exchange between OTM and client applications.
  • Support transactions include legacy systems, DLMS EDI and XML formats as well as custom XML.
  • Assist in wide variety of technical assessments of OEM customer requirements in support of sales and business development activities.
  • Design an automatic gain control algorithm (AGC) for LTE base station receivers along with other RF performance improvement techniques.
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Product design engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead team members and shop floor personnel to correct all floor and inventory issues to insure BoM accuracy.
  • Manage automation projects including purchasing, scheduling fabrication and assembly, debugging, and delivery to customer.
  • Perform environmental testing, cost reductions, FMEA's, failure analysis, and successfully launch electronic control modules.
  • Provide design concepts, design analysis and prototyping solutions for parts and product assemblies to satisfy customer project requirements.
  • Create 3D and 2D models, designs, assemblies, drawing, BOM's and customer conceptual design packages.
  • Interpret UL documents for compatibility of products/specs.
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Product applications engineer vs product design engineer skills

Common product applications engineer skills
  • Technical Support, 8%
  • Product Line, 7%
  • RF, 5%
  • Product Design, 4%
  • Trade Shows, 3%
  • Solidworks, 3%
Common product design engineer skills
  • CAD, 15%
  • Mechanical Design, 5%
  • GD, 5%
  • Prototyping, 4%
  • Industrial Design, 4%
  • Creo, 4%