Senior production planner vs product manager lead

The differences between senior production planners and product managers lead can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a senior production planner, becoming a product manager lead takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a product manager lead has an average salary of $138,531, which is higher than the $81,198 average annual salary of a senior production planner.

The top three skills for a senior production planner include production planning, ERP and logistics. The most important skills for a product manager lead are architecture, QA, and product management.

Senior production planner vs product manager lead overview

	Senior Production Planner	Product Manager Lead
Yearly salary	$81,198	$138,531
Hourly rate	$39.04	$66.60
Growth rate	-3%	10%
Number of jobs	67,432	110,157
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	45	39
Years of experience	2	10

What does a senior production planner do?

Senior production planners decide on items to be manufactured and their quantities based on carefully researched consumer demand forecasts. The production planners analyze data to revise staff schedules to reach the agreed quota in the manufacturing process. They find solutions for internal material concerns like quality checking and transfer issues. Also, they make sure that the products at the end of the manufacturing phase pass their quality standards.

What does a product manager lead do?

A product manager lead is responsible for supervising the development and strategic launch of the company's products from conceptualization to final market release. Product managers work closely with the marketing and sales team to identify efficient promotional techniques to enhance the brand's image across the market and develop outstanding features according to trends and public demands. They also handle media commitments and press releases and maximize product vision. A product manager lead directs the budgeting and sales forecasting, ensuring that the process adheres to budget limitations and deadlines.

Senior production planner vs product manager lead salary

Senior production planners and product managers lead have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Production Planner	Product Manager Lead
Average salary	$81,198	$138,531
Salary range	Between $64,000 And $102,000	Between $99,000 And $192,000
Highest paying City	Fremont, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Idaho	California
Best paying company	Intuitive Surgical	The Walt Disney Company
Best paying industry	Health Care	Start-up

Differences between senior production planner and product manager lead education

There are a few differences between a senior production planner and a product manager lead in terms of educational background:

	Senior Production Planner	Product Manager Lead
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Western Carolina University	University of Georgia

Senior production planner vs product manager lead demographics

Here are the differences between senior production planners' and product managers lead' demographics:

	Senior Production Planner	Product Manager Lead
Average age	45	39
Gender ratio	Male, 66.9% Female, 33.1%	Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 7.2% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	11%	10%

Differences between senior production planner and product manager lead duties and responsibilities

Senior production planner example responsibilities.

Manage forecast product as required by customer needs, including VMI and KANBAN programs.
Manage cost effective inventory levels for purchase & manufacture assemblies through ERP maintenance of WIP, safety stock & lead-time settings.
Set up reverse logistics supply chain to manage customer returns enabling timely replacement or repair to customers satisfying contractual agreements.
Manage customer requirements including factory schedules/production, planning and order integrity by directing manufacturing and logistics to optimize supply chain availability.
Reconcile inventory and make sure the allocated inventory is flushed out against work orders in process (WIP).
Perform key tasks, including BOM accuracy and shipment of materials that enable successful transfer of tools to volume manufacturing.

Product manager lead example responsibilities.

Manage horizontal UX prototyping resource needs, implementing effective collaborative expectations and cross-product timeline allocation strategies.
Work alongside a team of 24 frontend and backend engineers, designers and QA engineers.
Develop overall market and product requirements for WiMAX smart antenna base stations, customer premise equipment and wireless management infrastructure.
Used source codes for tracking programs against marketing costs for ROI analysis.
Manage horizontal UX prototyping resource needs, implementing effective collaborative expectations and cross-product timeline allocation strategies.

Senior production planner vs product manager lead skills

Common senior production planner skills

Production Planning, 5%
ERP, 5%
Logistics, 4%
Lean Manufacturing, 4%
Capacity Constraints, 4%
Purchase Orders, 4%

Common product manager lead skills

Architecture, 8%
QA, 8%
Product Management, 8%
Product Strategy, 7%
Regression, 6%
Lifecycle Management, 5%

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Senior Production Planner vs Product Manager Lead

Updated January 8, 2025

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