What is a product design engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Marco Schoen Ph.D.

A product design engineer utilizes engineering and design knowledge to create products or improve existing ones. They work collaboratively with marketing, manufacturing, and research and development teams to ensure that products meet customer needs, safety standards, and cost requirements. A product design engineer may use computer-aided design software to create 3D models, simulations, and prototypes. They also analyze data, conduct market research, and stay up-to-date with industry trends.

What general advice would you give to a product design engineer?

Marco Schoen Ph.D.

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of the Measurement and Control Engineering Research Center (MCERC), Idaho State University

Stay current. Engineering evolves continuously; new tools, new technologies, and new areas where engineers can contribute, learn, and work. When graduating, students have the feeling they are set for their careers. However, this is not true; they might be set to start their careers. To be consistently successful in their pages, they need to stay informed and updated.

ScoreProduct Design EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.4

Avg. Salary $94,827

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 16.17%

Black or African American 3.15%

Hispanic or Latino 8.20%

Unknown 4.53%

White 67.85%

Gender

female 9.10%

male 90.90%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a product design engineer?

Pros

Room for growth and professional development
Competitive salary and benefits
Opportunity to travel for work
Satisfaction of seeing your designs come to life
Ability to improve the world through sustainable design

Cons

High pressure to meet deadlines and deliverables
Long hours and overtime required during project crunch times
Risk of being replaced by outsourcing or automation
Limited job opportunities in certain geographic areas or industries
Possibility of burnout due to high workload and stress levels

Key steps to become a product design engineer

Explore product design engineer education requirements

Most common product design engineer degrees

Bachelor's

73.7 %

Associate

12.1 %

Master's

11.0 %

Start to develop specific product design engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
CAD	15.38%
Mechanical Design	4.70%
GD	4.55%
Prototyping	4.39%
Industrial Design	4.02%

Complete relevant product design engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New product design engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a product design engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real product design engineer resumes.

Research product design engineer duties and 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.

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