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The differences between senior product designers and product development 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 designer and a product development engineer. Additionally, a senior product designer has an average salary of $120,587, which is higher than the $86,075 average annual salary of a product development engineer.
The top three skills for a senior product designer include sketch, user research and user experience. The most important skills for a product development engineer are CAD, solidworks, and product development.
| Senior Product Designer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $120,587 | $86,075 |
| Hourly rate | $57.97 | $41.38 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 121,037 | 202,155 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A senior product designer is responsible for coordinating with clients to identify their requirements and specifications for the development of new products and services that also comply with the company's regulations and functions. Senior product designers work with a whole project management team to identify opportunities that would generate more revenue resources by analyzing public demands on industry trends. They handle the allocation of materials and must be able to utilize digital tools and equipment to create content for brand awareness on different media platforms. A senior product designer reviews consumers' reviews to facilitate any adjustments with the product's features.
A Product Development Engineer is responsible for creating and testing new product designs. They collaborate with market researchers to evaluate market needs, existing competition, and potential costs.
Senior product designers and product development engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Product Designer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Average salary | $120,587 | $86,075 |
| Salary range | Between $87,000 And $165,000 | Between $64,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Sunnyvale, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | ByteDance | Amazon |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior product designer and a product development engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Product Designer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between senior product designers' and product development engineers' demographics:
| Senior Product Designer | Product Development Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.4% Female, 18.6% | Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 10.3% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.7% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |