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The differences between senior product design engineers and project 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 senior product design engineer and a project engineer. Additionally, a senior product design engineer has an average salary of $102,291, which is higher than the $75,050 average annual salary of a project engineer.
The top three skills for a senior product design engineer include CAD, solidworks and prototype. The most important skills for a project engineer are project management, autocad, and construction management.
| Senior Product Design Engineer | Project Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $102,291 | $75,050 |
| Hourly rate | $49.18 | $36.08 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 175,933 | 176,689 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A senior product design engineer oversees system development, developing processes, and methodologies geared at promoting customer satisfaction. They are charged with analyzing and directing recommendations for resolving problems to fulfill client expectations. Their responsibilities include planning projects, conducting standard functional analysis of products to translate customer specification into product performance criteria, conducting benchmarking studies, and analyzing products' market performance to facilitate competitive delivery of designs.
A Project Engineer develops the plan that the entire team or company will undertake. The project engineer develops the plans, strategies, and goals of a project and then gives it to the management for approval and allocation. The Project Engineer will also recommend material, equipment, and the type of personnel needed. This position is integral in the smooth flow of any project, so hiring someone to hold this position will decide the success of a project.
Senior product design engineers and project engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Product Design Engineer | Project Engineer | |
| Average salary | $102,291 | $75,050 |
| Salary range | Between $79,000 And $131,000 | Between $55,000 And $100,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Mexico | Washington |
| Best paying company | Apple | |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Energy |
There are a few differences between a senior product design engineer and a project engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Product Design Engineer | Project Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior product design engineers' and project engineers' demographics:
| Senior Product Design Engineer | Project Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.5% Female, 5.5% | Male, 87.1% Female, 12.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 15.4% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 14.5% White, 68.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |