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The differences between senior product development engineers and senior 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 development engineer and a senior development engineer. Additionally, a senior development engineer has an average salary of $113,763, 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 senior development engineer are java, python, and C++.
| Senior Product Development Engineer | Senior Development Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $98,348 | $113,763 |
| Hourly rate | $47.28 | $54.69 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 195,294 | 295,281 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
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.
A senior development engineer is responsible for designing and developing products and systems according to the needs of an organization. They typically conduct extensive research and analysis, create plans with designers and other engineers, build prototypes and test structures, troubleshoot problems, and create strategies to optimize operations. Moreover, being the senior development engineer, they must lead and serve as a role model to junior engineers in reaching goals, all while enforcing and promoting the company's policies and regulations.
Senior product development engineers and senior development engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Product Development Engineer | Senior Development Engineer | |
| Average salary | $98,348 | $113,763 |
| Salary range | Between $76,000 And $126,000 | Between $87,000 And $148,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sunnyvale, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Netflix |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Professional |
There are a few differences between a senior product development engineer and a senior development engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Product Development Engineer | Senior Development Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior product development engineers' and senior development engineers' demographics:
| Senior Product Development Engineer | Senior Development Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.5% Female, 9.5% | Male, 92.0% Female, 8.0% |
| 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |