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The differences between senior product design engineers and staff 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 staff engineer. Additionally, a staff engineer has an average salary of $107,530, 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 staff engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Senior Product Design Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $102,291 | $107,530 |
| Hourly rate | $49.18 | $51.70 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 175,933 | 277,011 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| 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.
Staff engineers are responsible for designing, developing, and inspecting various products, equipment, or structures. These professionals may perform varied duties depending on their specialization that includes overseeing the design and construction of buildings, bridges, sewer systems, and other infrastructure, estimating the financial costs of construction projects, and ensuring compliance with health and safety laws and regulations. Other duties include designing and developing machinery, tools, and engines, solving design problems, and building the manufacturing equipment needed to create their products.
Senior product design engineers and staff engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Product Design Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Average salary | $102,291 | $107,530 |
| Salary range | Between $79,000 And $131,000 | Between $69,000 And $167,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Mexico | California |
| Best paying company | Flexport | |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a senior product design engineer and a staff engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Product Design Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior product design engineers' and staff engineers' demographics:
| Senior Product Design Engineer | Staff Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.5% Female, 5.5% | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% |
| 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, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |