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The differences between senior product design engineers and senior design 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 senior design engineer. Additionally, a senior design engineer has an average salary of $104,698, which is higher than the $102,291 average annual salary of a senior product design engineer.
The top three skills for a senior product design engineer include CAD, solidworks and prototype. The most important skills for a senior design engineer are CAD, project management, and RF.
| Senior Product Design Engineer | Senior Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $102,291 | $104,698 |
| Hourly rate | $49.18 | $50.34 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 175,933 | 127,035 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| 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 senior design engineer is responsible for creating mechanical and electrical designs for machines and systems, following clients' specifications and business guidelines. Senior design engineers also assist junior design engineers with their tasks, sharing best practices and techniques, and suggesting adjustments as needed. They also oversee the manufacturing process, inspect possible inconsistencies, and revise plans without exceeding the agreed budget or compromising the quality. A senior design engineer must be keen with details and highly organizational, especially on meeting deadlines with the highest client satisfaction.
Senior product design engineers and senior design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Product Design Engineer | Senior Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $102,291 | $104,698 |
| Salary range | Between $79,000 And $131,000 | Between $80,000 And $136,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | Cupertino, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Mexico | California |
| Best paying company | ||
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior product design engineer and a senior design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Product Design Engineer | Senior Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between senior product design engineers' and senior design engineers' demographics:
| Senior Product Design Engineer | Senior Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.5% Female, 5.5% | Male, 91.8% Female, 8.2% |
| 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.1% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |