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The differences between senior product development engineers and project lead engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a senior product development engineer, becoming a project lead engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a project lead engineer has an average salary of $106,946, which is higher than the $98,348 average annual salary of a senior product development engineer.
The top three skills for a senior product development engineer include CAD, solidworks and product development. The most important skills for a project lead engineer are project management, renewable energy, and project execution.
| Senior Product Development Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $98,348 | $106,946 |
| Hourly rate | $47.28 | $51.42 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 195,294 | 98,018 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A product development engineer designs and develops new products in adherence to project goals and guidelines. They primarily perform research and assessments to identify and understand project requirements, select materials, develop drafts, create blueprints and prototypes, establish test structures for quality assurance, and facilitate upgrades as necessary. They can also produce product specifications and provide technical support to staff as necessary. Most product development engineers work in a team environment, which requires an open communication line for an efficient workflow.
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.
Senior product development engineers and project lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Product Development Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $98,348 | $106,946 |
| Salary range | Between $76,000 And $126,000 | Between $78,000 And $146,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sunnyvale, CA | Cupertino, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a senior product development engineer and a project lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Product Development Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between senior product development engineers' and project lead engineers' demographics:
| Senior Product Development Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.5% Female, 9.5% | Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.5% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 4% |