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The differences between production 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 production 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 $89,727 average annual salary of a production engineer.
The top three skills for a production engineer include java, continuous improvement and lean manufacturing. The most important skills for a product design engineer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.
| Production Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $89,727 | $94,827 |
| Hourly rate | $43.14 | $45.59 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 94,789 | 170,485 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A production engineer is responsible for monitoring the production operations, ensuring everyone's adherence to safety protocols, and evaluating the staff's performance, strategizing on maximizing productivity to deliver efficient results that would drive revenues and increase profitability. Production engineers inspect the reliability of production equipment and machinery, conducting preventive maintenance, and repair inconsistencies to prevent production delays. They also identify areas of improvement with the manufacturing processes and escalate best practices for improvement. A production engineer must be knowledgeable about technological advancements and incorporate ideas to minimize costs without sacrificing the quality of services.
A Product Design Engineer designs new products that customers will want to purchase. They are responsible for designing, modeling, and testing prototypes for products.
Production engineers and product design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $89,727 | $94,827 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $125,000 | Between $69,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Cheniere Energy | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a production engineer and a product design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Production Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between production engineers' and product design engineers' demographics:
| Production Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% | Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.4% White, 65.7% 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% |