What does a senior product development engineer do?
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.
Senior product development engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior product development engineer resumes:
- Manage the manufacturing of defense and aerospace electro-mechanical print circuit boards from prototype to production level.
- Create solid model concepts, mold flow simulations and structural finite element analysis FEA culminating into complete product assemblies using SolidWorks.
- Design PC base units with windows like graphical interface that link to main VME system for monitoring and control.
- Conceptualize and modele new product designs with SolidWorks.
- Design and fabrication of fixtures and tooling for testing of prototype and production electronic manual transmissions and individual sub-component assemblies.
- Develop testing procedures and processes to troubleshoot and eliminate problems in production, increasing efficiency and reducing product rework.
Senior product development engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Senior Product Development Engineers are proficient in CAD, Solidworks, and Product Development. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Listening skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Product Development Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CAD, 7%
Mentored junior engineers on CAD techniques, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Finite Element Analysis (FEA).
- Solidworks, 7%
Conceptualized and modeled new product designs with SolidWorks.
- Product Development, 6%
Supported Product Development Engineering and Manufacturing by providing knowledge in areas of joint analysis, fastener selection and finish/material requirements.
- Product Design, 5%
Maintain weekly communication with external vendors to ensure they continue to meet product design specifications address reliability and performance issues.
- Medical Devices, 5%
Orchestrated DFMEA and design verification/validation activities of finished medical devices.
- Project Management, 4%
Provided cross-functional project management of plant, field and marketing issues to resolve problems and maintain production flow.
"cad," "solidworks," and "product development" are among the most common skills that senior product development engineers use at work. You can find even more senior product development engineer responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. One of the key soft skills for a senior product development engineer to have is creativity. You can see how this relates to what senior product development engineers do because "mechanical engineers design and build complex pieces of equipment and machinery." Additionally, a senior product development engineer resume shows how senior product development engineers use creativity: "focused on project management and the inventive side of new product design. "
Listening skills. Many senior product development engineer duties rely on listening skills. "mechanical engineers often work on projects with others, such as architects and computer scientists," so a senior product development engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways senior product development engineer responsibilities rely on listening skills: "communicated technical knowledge of the product line on a technical manual for internal usage. "
Math skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of senior product development engineers is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday senior product development engineer duties, as "mechanical engineers use the principles of calculus, statistics, and other advanced subjects in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "work with fea and cfd analysts to create mathematical models for virtual testing of genset subsystems. "
Mechanical skills. For certain senior product development engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "mechanical skills." The day-to-day duties of a senior product development engineer rely on this skill, as "mechanical skills allow engineers to apply basic engineering concepts and mechanical processes to the design of new devices and systems." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what senior product development engineers do: "conducted mechanical testing, authored, and filed test reports as required for fda submission. "
Problem-solving skills. Another common skill required for senior product development engineer responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." This skill comes up in the duties of senior product development engineers all the time, as "mechanical engineers need good problem-solving skills to take scientific principles and discoveries and use them to design and build useful products." An excerpt from a real senior product development engineer resume shows how this skill is central to what a senior product development engineer does: "received outstanding technical achievement award for innovative solutions and exemplary project management. "
The three companies that hire the most senior product development engineers are:
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Compare different senior product development engineers
Senior product development engineer vs. Staff engineer
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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, senior product development engineer responsibilities require skills like "solidworks," "product design," "medical devices," and "fea." Meanwhile a typical staff engineer has skills in areas such as "python," "architecture," "software development," and "api." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Staff engineers tend to make the most money working in the telecommunication industry, where they earn an average salary of $119,079. In contrast, senior product development engineers make the biggest average salary, $102,200, in the finance industry.staff engineers tend to reach similar levels of education than senior product development engineers. In fact, staff engineers are 2.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior product development engineer vs. Lead engineer
A lead engineer's duties vary on their line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities will revolve around overseeing the progress of operations and performance of the workforce, ensuring that everything is running smoothly. They are also responsible for addressing issues and concerns, assessing risks, monitoring the budget, coordinating with clients and architects, and even training workers. Furthermore, as a lead engineer, it is crucial to conduct regular inspections to ensure the quality of work and maintain a safe environment for all workers.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, senior product development engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "product design," "medical devices," "fda," and "fea." Meanwhile, a lead engineer has duties that require skills in areas such as "python," "architecture," "c #," and "javascript." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Lead engineers earn a lower average salary than senior product development engineers. But lead engineers earn the highest pay in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $110,872. Additionally, senior product development engineers earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $102,200 annually.lead engineers earn similar levels of education than senior product development engineers in general. They're 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior product development engineer vs. Design engineer
A design engineer is responsible for creating systems and applications based on their expertise. Design engineers work through client specifications based on business needs. A design engineer also provides recommendations on improving existing systems to boost its performance and increase efficiency. Design engineers must have an excellent command of computer systems, programming codes, and technical data to ensure the system's stability and high-quality processes. A design engineer should also have strong analytical and time-management skills to perform tasks and meet deadlines.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior product development engineers are more likely to have skills like "cad," "solidworks," "medical devices," and "fda." But a design engineer is more likely to have skills like "work ethic," "engineering design," "auto cad," and "ip."
Design engineers earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $86,213. Comparatively, senior product development engineers have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $102,200.When it comes to education, design engineers tend to earn lower degree levels compared to senior product development engineers. In fact, they're 6.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior product development engineer vs. Principal engineer
A principal engineer is responsible for monitoring the overall design phase of the construction process, including coordinating with the client for progress and updates, as well as performing adjustments as needed based on clients' specifications and requirements. Principal engineers also inspect the materials and resources used to ensure that the project stays within the budget goals and set timeframe. They should have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in preparing reports and training new staff.
Types of senior product development engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
