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Product design manager skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Davide , Ph.D. Bolchini Ph.D.,

Matthew Lopresti

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical product design manager skills. We ranked the top skills for product design managers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 14.6% of product design manager resumes contained product design as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a product design manager needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 product design manager skills for your resume and career

1. Product Design

Product design can be described as a process of imagining, creating, and iterating products that solve user's problems and talk about the specific needs of users in the market. Product design is an engineering disciple and it is the basic design and idea that goes before the mass production of the product.

Here's how product design managers use product design:

Reported to Division General Manager While Manager Product Design, directed design and application engineering groups.
Delivered many innovations in assembly processes, product documentation, product design and manufacturing cost savings.

2. User Research

User research is a term that has a direct connection with the psyche, behavior, needs, and thoughts of a user. On a large scale, it refers to the studying and understanding of all these facets so that product managers and brands may improve the usability of their products or services by redesigning their business models to fit the user's needs.

Here's how product design managers use user research:

Managed quantitative and qualitative user research to guide product development.

3. Sketch

Here's how product design managers use sketch:

Generated specification packages, which included correct sample, flat sketch, construction details and estimated bill of materials.
Created specification packages including flat sketch, construction details, fabric, and trim details.

4. Product Management

Product management is a part of an organization's function that deals with product development, planning, pricing, forecasting, launching, and marketing the product.

Here's how product design managers use product management:

Provided a weekly report to Merchandising, Product Management & Designs on status & outstanding samples needed.
Promoted on merit through key positions of increasing leadership responsibility to lead and direct the Asia Pacific Product Management organization.

5. Facebook

Here's how product design managers use facebook:

Originated idea for and led Facebook Connect integration project.
Develop SEM to target specific demographics in Facebook and Google AdWords for marketing of new customers.

6. Visual Design

Visual design is an art where the artist uses visuals and graphics to communicate to the user. A visual design aims to increase a product's aesthetic appeal. A visual design consists of lines, use of colors, white spaces, layout, and typography. Each element is executed to attract the customer towards it. Different styles and textures are also normally seen in visual designs.

Here's how product design managers use visual design:

Performed field research, interaction and visual design, business validation and usability testing, as well as product launch activities.
Designed marketing website and UX design for end-to-end product, including research, visual design, wireframing, and prototyping.

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7. User Experience

Here's how product design managers use user experience:

Key contributor to user experience and functional design efforts.
Designed and developed the information architecture, interaction design and overall user experience design for RHI's consultant extranet platforms.

8. Product Development

Product development is the complete procedure of creating a product from concept until release of the final product. Product development has many stages after which a product is released into the market. Identifying the need, creating the opportunity, conceptualizing a product, and providing a solution, all are different stages of product development.

Here's how product design managers use product development:

Reviewed product launch requirements throughout the product development to assure meeting regulatory, quality, and legal requirements.
Facilitate requirement gathering sessions with Product owners and Developers in support of new Product Development project.

9. UI

Here's how product design managers use ui:

Led teams for branding, wire-framing, prototyping, user-testing, UX and UI design, and more.
Designed UI for iPad and legacy nursing assessment applications and an iPad DME delivery application.

10. Prototyping

Here's how product design managers use prototyping:

Create 3D CAD solid models for SLA Rapid Prototyping of existing golf club heads(reverse engineering).
Created and executed new design processes such as rapid prototyping, product review, and usability testing.

11. Design Process

The process by which a product is formed is referred to as the design process. It requires the conceptualization of what the product may look like in terms of aesthetics, what it will be made of and most importantly, what it will do. A design process puts this process in order so that the creation of the product is seamless and has the least amount of errors and slack while it is being made.

Here's how product design managers use design process:

Inspired stakeholders and donors by leading participatory design processes that created consensus around need and vision.
Design process refinement and iteration.

12. Market Research

Market research is a collective effort to collect information related to a consumer's needs and wants. It is a systematic approach that involves recording and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data. Market research helps a business to identify a target market correctly and identify the gaps in potential consumer's expectations.

Here's how product design managers use market research:

Conducted thorough market research and competitor analysis.
Developed more than nineteen complete families of products from market research phase through implementation of production phase and market launch.

13. HTML

Here's how product design managers use html:

Created product flow diagrams and HTML prototypes.

14. Product Line

Product line is a collection of similar or related products that may be under a single brand manufactured by the same company. It may include different varieties of a specific product of a brand which comes in different categories. In other cases, the product line may differ in some characteristics despite being from the same manufacturer.

Here's how product design managers use product line:

Developed, patented and marketed Adjust-A-Box product line of non- metallic electrical device enclosures.
Identified several enhancements to the product line that reduced customer cancellations, increased sales and reduced customer call volumes.

15. CAD

Here's how product design managers use cad:

Utilized computer-aided drafting (CAD) software to develop layouts, drawings and designs that meet engineering specifications.
Updated and reviewed CAD files for renderings and floor plan accuracy, for brochures and other marketing uses.

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What skills help Product Design Managers find jobs?

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What skills stand out on product design manager resumes?

Davide , Ph.D. Bolchini Ph.D.

Professor and Chair, Director, Human-Computer Interaction Program, Indiana University

In my experience, our most successful MS HCI graduates (https://soic.iupui.edu/hcc/graduate/hci/masters/) take the time to put together a compelling online portfolio that showcases their project experience and skill set in action, as applied to specific research opportunities they had with faculty or projects they worked on during their UX internships in the industry. The personal brand of UX junior professional can be greatly enriched when the portfolio includes not only what the student has done, but why and what was the design rationale behind the process and the results, what was the larger context and goal of the project (especially in large collaborative projects), and what was the specific role and contribution of the student. The discussion about the portfolio of a candidate has become a key ingredient of the interview for UX jobs, besides other important activities such as UX design exercises or remote assignments.

What product design manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Matthew Lopresti

Associate professor of Philosophy and humanities, Hawaii Pacific University

Captains of industry are often asked about the traits they look for in new hires. Critical thinking is always a must, as well as excellent written and oral communication skills.

These are the core competencies of the discipline of philosophy. Top-notch communication abilities begin with a depth of ability to understand nuanced, complex details, and then turn around and clearly communicate these complex ideas in easily digestible bits of information. It is no coincidence that students who graduate with philosophy degrees repeatedly dominate graduate and law-school entrance exams like the GRE and LSAT; they are often the sharpest thinkers with the quickest minds

What technical skills for a product design manager stand out to employers?

Patrick Lindsay

Assistant Lecturer, Miami University

Most all employers expect full competency in creatively using technology for communications. By that I don't mean mobile devices or social media usgae. I mean a widespread working knowledge of technology tools (apps, software, etc). Employers are seeking those candidates who can convey thoughts, ideas, responses in a multi-faceted way. Basic competency in written correspondence is no longer enough. Employers want to see daily business communication not only contain demonstration of good writing (grammar, syntax, formatting) but also being able to create embedded images, video, and relevant web links to better communicate. And not just for a big fancy client presentation, but consistently in regular communication. Further, they want words supported by data; support words with numerical evidence. As such, advanced excel skills and real experience in data sources and extraction stand out to employers.

Similarly, they expect professional virtual audio-visual communication. It is not enough to just be on the Zoom call. The expectation is to be prepared, to be engaged, to be aware of the audio and video angles and backgrounds. To demonstrate active listening as well as enthusiastic, energetic, even animated talking. Body language and facial expression are even more enhanced in virtual communications.

If there was a positive outcome from being thrust into an academic world that was all virtual, it was the need to learn new technical skills, not only for classwork, but also for social interaction. This will not only be appreciated by employers, but for many, expected.

Do you want to know more?

List of product design manager skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a product design manager resume and required skills for a product design manager to have include:

Product Design
User Research
Sketch
Product Management
Facebook
Visual Design
User Experience
Product Development
UI
Prototyping
Design Process
Market Research
HTML
Product Line
CAD

Saas
UX
Design Solutions
Web Application
Product Quality
User Interface
Trade Shows
ROI
Visualization
Brainstorming
Design Reviews
Consumer Products
Direct Reports
R
Design Efforts

QA
Lead Design
Animation
Industrial Design
Solidworks
User Stories
Market Trends
Design Specifications
Product Categories
Mechanical Design
Aided Design
Overseas Vendors
BOM
Market Place
OEM

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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