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The differences between project lead 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 project lead engineer, becoming a product design engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a project lead engineer has an average salary of $106,946, which is higher than the $94,827 average annual salary of a product design engineer.
The top three skills for a project lead engineer include project management, renewable energy and project execution. The most important skills for a product design engineer are CAD, mechanical design, and GD.
| Project Lead Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $106,946 | $94,827 |
| Hourly rate | $51.42 | $45.59 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 98,018 | 170,485 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Project lead engineers are engineering professionals who are responsible for leading other professionals in completing a particular project. These engineers must develop a project management framework to be implemented throughout the organization based on the inputs from internal stakeholders and team members. They are required to train junior team members so that they can provide proper technical support functions. Project lead engineers must also prepare and review cost estimates for a variety of projects during bidding, construction, and post-construction phases.
A Product Design Engineer designs new products that customers will want to purchase. They are responsible for designing, modeling, and testing prototypes for products.
Project lead engineers and product design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Project Lead Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $106,946 | $94,827 |
| Salary range | Between $78,000 And $146,000 | Between $69,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a project lead engineer and a product design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Project Lead Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between project lead engineers' and product design engineers' demographics:
| Project Lead Engineer | Product Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2% | Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 15.2% White, 66.1% 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% |