What is Product Design?
Product design can be described as a process of imagining, creating, and iterating products that solve user's problems and talk about the specific needs of users in the market. Product design is an engineering disciple and it is the basic design and idea that goes before the mass production of the product.
How is Product Design used?
Zippia reviewed thousands of resumes to understand how product design is used in different jobs. Explore the list of common job responsibilities related to product design below:
- Lead product design and development, creating marine engine products for $20M manufacturing operation.
- Controlled all product design engineering from the initial design through the completed product.
- Optimized excavator product designs (layout, powertrain matching, and hydraulic systems).
- Ensured technical integrity of the product design (design controls, mitigations, compliances, certifications).
- Maximized the overall efficiency of existing under-performing manufacturing processes by optimizing the product designs, assembly operations, and supply chain.
- Worked closely with manufacturing to develop efficient, repeatable assembly methods, and effective production solutions with new product designs.
Are Product Design skills in demand?
Yes, product design skills are in demand today. Currently, 14,522 job openings list product design skills as a requirement. The job descriptions that most frequently include product design skills are chief design engineer, assistant product development manager, and product design manager.
How hard is it to learn Product Design?
Based on the average complexity level of the jobs that use product design the most: chief design engineer, assistant product development manager, and product design manager. The complexity level of these jobs is challenging.
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What jobs can you get with Product Design skills?
You can get a job as a chief design engineer, assistant product development manager, and product design manager with product design skills. After analyzing resumes and job postings, we identified these as the most common job titles for candidates with product design skills.
Chief Design Engineer
- Product Design
- Autocad
- Mechanical Design
- Design Engineering
- ISO
- Design Process
Assistant Product Development Manager
- PLM
- Product Development
- Product Design
- BOM
- Market Trends
- Sketch
Product Design Manager
Job description:
A product design manager typically works with engineers and specialists in the joint effort to develop high-quality standard products. As a product design manager, they are responsible for managing product design teams, understanding and identifying a project's needs, performing research and analysis, setting objectives and guidelines, liaising with external parties, and presenting prototypes for client approval. Moreover, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage staff to reach product goals while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
- Product Design
- User Research
- Sketch
- Product Management
- Visual Design
Head Designer
Job description:
The Head Designer is the overall command over the creative team's design and the entire company. The heads of the organization look toward the head designer to provide insights into the artistic path the company will take to achieve a unique brand in the market. The head designer is highly-creative, good in management, and can articulate abstract ideas clearly and relay them to company administrators, customers, and clients. A head designer's responsibilities are to handle the creative team, train each member, and provide guidance in every part of the designing process.
- Product Design
- UI
- Sketch
- User Experience
- Product Development
- Lead Design
Design Team Lead
- Sketch
- CAD
- Product Design
- Architecture
- Design Concepts
- Subject Matter Experts
Product Design Internship
Job description:
Product design interns are students who are doing their on-the-job training under the product design department of an organization. They are usually assigned administrative tasks. However, they must also be exposed to the activities done by product designers. As such, product design interns may join team meetings, ideation activities, and product presentations. They learn about the necessary skills in product designing. They learn about different materials needed for the product or different programs related to the software. They learn about user behavior and how important understanding the customers is when designing a product. They may also help the team by giving user experience feedback.
- Design Intern
- Sketch
- Product Design
- Visual Design
- User Research
- User Experience
Design Chief
- Website Design
- Design Process
- User Experience
- Product Design
- CSS
- Design Solutions
Value Engineer
Job description:
A value engineer specializes in designing and developing procedures and strategies to enhance the value of projects and operations in an organization. Although the extent of their responsibilities varies on their company or industry of employment, it usually includes conducting research and analysis, reviewing documentation, developing tools, creating and presenting financial models, and help in developing processes and practices to optimize operations. Moreover, a value engineer typically works in a team environment, which requires an active communication line for a safe and efficient workflow.
- Project Management
- CAD
- Sigma
- Product Design
- Lean Manufacturing
- Lean Six Sigma
Associate Product Developer
Job description:
An associate product developer oversees the aspects of product marketing in an organization. Associate product developers maintain and source relationships with manufacturers and vendors. They take responsibility for the development of new products. It is their job to facilitate the timely execution of tasks making sure that they are in line with the FDA audit. They use skills in subject matter expertise to create and maintain a manufacturing reference database within an organization.
- Product Development
- Project Management
- PowerPoint
- Product Design
- PLM
- Sketch
Design Director
Job description:
A design director spearheads and oversees design projects in a company or organization. They typically have the authority to lead the creative and design teams, make significant decisions, delegate responsibilities, set goals and schedules, manage budgets and resources, and direct the project's cycle from planning to execution. They also coordinate with clients and solve issues when any arise. Additionally, a design director leads and encourages teams to reach goals, all while implementing standards and policies, developing new ones when necessary.
- Sketch
- Human Centered Design
- Product Design
- User Experience
- Architecture
- UI
Configuration Analyst
Job description:
Configuration Analysts work in the business technology department of the company. They handle the hardware, software, and other technological needs of the company. They evaluate the organization's needs and its people and come up with solutions to address these needs. They develop solutions based on the requirements of the different users in the company. Upon identifying solutions, configuration analysts test the feasibility of these solutions. They conduct trials to see whether the solutions meet the technological requirements and if such investments would provide long-term solutions. Configuration Analysts also manage the installation and upkeep of different software and hardware while ensuring that everything is working and is properly configured.
- Product Design
- System Configuration
- SharePoint
- Product Data Management
- Technical Support
- Strong Analytical
Electrical Products Engineer
Job description:
An electrical product engineer works inside a factory, designing electrical products according to manufacturing standards. They are responsible for the product's completeness, from assembling parts to making it whole. They oversee staff performances, delegate tasks, and ensure safety standards are followed. They can even hire and train new staff to increase production. Ensuring safety, they also provide training and seminars, sharing basic knowledge of electricity and how to avoid accidents involving equipment.
- Product Development
- C++
- UL
- Product Design
- PCB
- Development Process
Director, Product Engineering
Job description:
A director of product engineering usually works at manufacturing plants where they oversee production operations from planning to execution. They lead all initiatives, set goals and roadmaps, establish production schedules and guidelines, take part in recruitment procedures, coordinate internal and external parties, and build positive relationships with industry partners. They may also participate in developing new products, enhancing existing processes, and making significant business decisions. Moreover, a director, product engineering implements industry standards and company policies, creating new ones as necessary.
- Cloud
- Product Engineering
- Java
- Continuous Improvement
- Product Design
- Product Development
Mechanical Development Engineer
Job description:
A mechanical development engineer plans and designs tools, engines, machines, and other mechanically functioning equipment. They perform duties such as overseeing the installation, operation, maintenance and repair of equipment and systems. They also produce specifications for new or modified systems. They supervise design engineering for a variety of facilities, and they coordinate the construction, assembly, and testing of equipment and systems.
- CAD
- Solidworks
- FEA
- Product Design
- R
- Mechanical Design
Consultant In Product Development
Job description:
Product development consultants create products with enhanced or additional features to help their clients remain competitive. They evaluate the proposed designs of products before advising their team to start its development. Their jobs are mainly to report on actions to improve the product proposals and give constructive criticisms regarding the staff's performance during meetings or group huddles. They must also have strong written and verbal communication skills, knowledge in product development processes, and detail orientation to perform the duties of the job well.
- Cycle Management
- Business Development
- Product Development
- Lifecycle Management
- Product Design
- R
Senior Product Development Engineer
Job description:
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.
- CAD
- Solidworks
- Product Development
- Product Design
- Medical Devices
- Project Management
Product Engineer
Job description:
A product engineer specializes in designing and developing commercial materials and services. They are primarily responsible for conducting thorough research and analysis of the latest trends and marketing conditions to come up with new ideas and products for the public. Moreover, they are also responsible for producing reports and presentations, coordinating with the development team of their company. Product engineers also reach out to vendors and suppliers for the raw materials, set regulations and standards for the product, and even conduct a rigorous and regular quality check.
- CAD
- Product Design
- Project Management
- C++
- Solidworks
- Product Development
How much can you earn with Product Design skills?
You can earn up to $91,363 a year with product design skills if you become a chief design engineer, the highest-paying job that requires product design skills. Assistant product development managers can earn the second-highest salary among jobs that use Python, $93,224 a year.
| Job title | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Design Engineer | $91,363 | $44 |
| Assistant Product Development Manager | $93,224 | $45 |
| Product Design Manager | $133,190 | $64 |
| Head Designer | $116,986 | $56 |
| Design Team Lead | $94,522 | $45 |
Companies using Product Design in 2025
The top companies that look for employees with product design skills are Meta, Ford Motor, and Intel. In the millions of job postings we reviewed, these companies mention product design skills most frequently.
Departments using Product Design
The departments that use product design the most are art/design, it, and finance.
| Department | Average salary |
|---|---|
| Art/Design | $103,437 |
| IT | $98,527 |
| Finance | $86,292 |
20 courses for Product Design skills
1. Product Design
Learn the steps you need to turn an idea into reality. By the end of this course you’ll learn how to bring an idea from concept to hand off for development and onto creation of a prototype...
2. Product Ideation, Design, and Management
This Specialization is designed for aspiring and active product leaders seeking to pursue careers in product management, product design, and related roles. Through five practical courses, you will learn the fundamentals for designing and managing products. Upon completion, you will have created your own personal toolbox of knowledge and techniques for approaching and solving real-world problems that product leaders face...
3. Engineering and Product Design Processes
Welcome to “Engineering and Product Design Processes!” In this short course, you will learn how engineering design processes and product design processes are carried out. After the course, you will be familiar with the steps in both design processes. You will also be familiar with the main goal of each design process, as well as their similarities and differences...
4. Product Design: How to Launch Successful Products
Join acclaimed product designer Joey Roth for a behind-the-scenes look at how products come to life...
5. Strategic Digital Product Design
In a world rife with problems caused by digital experiences user-centered design matters now more than ever. Countless people want to use their skills to help others but designing a positively impactful product is harder than it sounds. Catt Small a Senior Product Designer will teach you how to design user experiences in a more iterative agile brand-centered way that highlights potential problems early and leads to long-term success...
6. Designing a Product Line: Making Products From Your Designs + Illustrations
Hi I’m Pauline Stanley I’m a designer/artist/illustrator and the designer behind my art brand Pauline Stanley Studio. I’ve been designing and selling my art jewelry home goods and gift products for the past 8 years and I’m here to share all the product design tips tricks and techniques I’ve learned along the way...
7. The Productivity Equation: Design a Balanced and Productive Lifestyle
Productivity is a state of balance . Push too hard and youll burn out. Go too slowly and nothing will get finished. The goal is to build a sustainable system that allows us to work efficiently over the long run...
8. Ultimate Guide to Product Design: Design Thinking Approach
Product Design Using Design Thinking 3.0 - The #1 BEST-SELLING Product Design Course! (with over 900 ratings)>> COURSE REGULARLY UPDATED (Last updated: OCTOBER 2023): NEW TIPS, MORE LESSONS CERTIFIED COACH, SPEAKER, AND TRAINER OVER 346,000 STUDENTS IN TOTAL...
9. Master Digital Product Design: UX Research & UI Design
Digital products are more abstract and complex than any product we've designed before. People are using their digital devices faster, with less conscious thought and more distracted than ever in history. These issues present new challenges that require a new kind of design team to address. These design teams need to understand a complex range of behavioral psychology, perception, creativity, business. They need to understand what has come before, the history of design didn't start with the iPhone. The history of product design started with the history of products! I created this course out of frustration. Frustration that design education has been reduced to a handful of feal good quotes, an ineffective standardised design process, unquestioned research activities and no mention of philosophy or critical thought. We are designing the most complex product in history for the most distracted users. We're expecting designers to work with an embarrassingly narrow understanding of design. I had to create this course for them, I had to create The Master Digital Product Design Course because no one else was doing it ;)The Master Digital Product Design Course will give you everything you need to start designing products people love. It will take time and I advise you to work through all the exercises over a period over several months, leaving time for reflection and experimentation. This is not a fast track to any design job, this is a slow track to a great career. What do I get with this course?This course comprises of 12 modules, each around an hour long. Each module contains high-quality explainer videos with multiple activities and downloadable worksheets. Every video has resource links for further reading to ensure you get a range of opinions and allow you to dig deeper into topics that interest or apply to you. The modules will cover a unique range of topics that I believe are missing from the majority of modern design curriculums. The 12 sections are: Introduction: background into the industry and some of the problemsWhat is Design?: looking at, where design came from and some misconceptions about how to designDesign Process: the elements of a design process. You'll then create your design processCritical Thinking: the core skill to design effectively, how to challenge ideas, especially your ownExperience Economy: experience is vital to create products people love, yet most people are ignoring it! Creativity: you can learn to be creative, I'll show you what it is and how to get it! Perception: looking at how people see the world and how we can design for them (people)Usability: let's make sure your product is easy to use and doesn't frustrateFigma: is a rapid design and prototyping tool, you'll learn to mock up your designsForm & Function: why your product has to look good and what to do about itMinimalism: minimalism is hard and we often get it wrongBalance: you can have too much of anything. lets balance standards with trendsIs this course for me?I created The Master Digital Product Design Course to fill many of the holes in other product design courses, for this reason, I believe it'll be useful for a seasoned designer. I've also created it with the beginner in mind so if you have never designed anything you will be just at home (and everyone has designed something before, you just don't know it!). As well as designers I also had in mind all the people who project manage, own or develop digital products. I believe there is a lot of interesting materials that will help the whole business think differently about creating digital products...
10. Cover Design Tips for Digital Products
An essential skill for any creative designer freelancer or entrepreneur should be to create great product covers that stand out in the marketplace. In this 30 minute class Ill explain some design princinples and tips of creating useful product covers...
11. Design Thinking and Predictive Analytics for Data Products
This is the second course in the four-course specialization Python Data Products for Predictive Analytics, building on the data processing covered in Course 1 and introducing the basics of designing predictive models in Python. In this course, you will understand the fundamental concepts of statistical learning and learn various methods of building predictive models. At each step in the specialization, you will gain hands-on experience in data manipulation and building your skills, eventually culminating in a capstone project encompassing all the concepts taught in the specialization...
12. Product Design: Draw a Classic Armchair using SketchUp
In this 1-hour long project-based course, you will learn how to conduct a complete research on the basic dimensions of a classic Armchair, design the Chair Legs using the research measurements, design the chair’s handles and seat, design the back of the Chair, the Cochin and the Pillow and finally give it a realistic features by rendering the final design. Note: This course works best for learners who are based in the North America region. We’re currently working on providing the same experience in other regions...
13. Product Design Management for Agile Practitioners
Agile software development practices and product management borrow a number of concepts from the domain of traditional product design and manufacturing engineering, for example, lean development, Kanban and more. However, it is quite common for organisations who implement agile methodologies, like Scrum, to hold the illusion that these would act as the silver bullet to resolve all the weaknesses in their software development and management practices. The reality is, this is far from being the case! To be able to conceive and foster great software products, the way they are engineered ought to be based on the kinds of theoretical and practical underpinnings that are inherent of traditional branches of engineering. This way, the sufficient level of rigour can be achieved to permit the evolution of well-rounded and well-engineered software products that deliver value to stakeholders and customers. This is where product design management can be leveraged to revitalise and complement agile software development practices. Product design management may be seen as an enterprise philosophy and a multi-disciplinary management framework that fosters the embodiment, the deployment and gradual improvement of the products that the enterprise develops, grows and retires over time. Aspiring to proper product design management in the world of agile software development demands not only the right mindset as individuals, but also the use of suitable tools as well as the skills to apply a range of appropriate techniques. This course will shed light on a set of important tools and techniques to support strategic and tactical agile product management. The course is chiefly targeted at agile practitioners, for example, product managers, product owners, business analysts, agile project managers, etc. The course may also be taken if you have an interest in applied product design management, provided you have had some prior basic exposure to agile software development or have worked within an agile business. What this course is NOT about: NOT a course in agile methodologies, agile manifesto, Scrum, Kanban, user story mapping, velocity charts, etc. NOT a course about interaction or user experience design...
14. Introduction to Automotive Product Design & development
The Automotive product development process is based on he Mechanical design and development process Starting from product planning to Detail DesignThis course will cover the key aspects of these stages and key activities carried out along with major milestonesConcepts coveredConcept of Concurrent engineering and how teams are formed in cross functional setupMajor milestones at each stage The nature of product development and types of product developmentHow concepts are developed and differences between industrial design and engineering design What are ergonomic analyses and H point. Importance in establishing the concept What is Vehicle architecture and types of Vehicle construction and types of Suspension used in different types of vehiclesWhat are vehicle platforms and modular designs. Importance of standardizationActivities in Systems design - Interfaces and Integration of complex systemsActivities in Detail design phase including DFMEA, DVP preparation and Concern resolutionWhat is BOM , PLM and engineering releaseThe Main outcome of the course is to develop a holistic understanding of the whole process from idea to production level design The course is useful for Design engineering aspirants in automotive domain or for anyone interested in gaining insights how automobiles are developed in industry...
15. Automotive product design using CATIA V5
Construction of a successful career begins with making right choices, but more often than not, there is no one to guide, explain and show the path to these right choices and how to make them. Often various students face dilemma regarding the correct way to kick start their career. We helps such students achieve these objectives by providing a blend of domain knowledge and the usage of software tools & technologies in every stage of product life-cycle. Most engineering students learn basic cad tools and expect industries to hire them as a design engineer. they believe that they can become full-fledged design engineers just by learning few CAD software. Along with computer aided tools you need to learn a particular domain. To become a design engineer you need to learn how a product is developed from scratch, understand the design considerations of the product, acknowledge how components are manufactured, how different parts function, what can be the problems while manufacturing, what are the countermeasure for those, what are the testing criteria for those and so on...
16. Music Production - Designing Audio Logos
Boost Your Brand by Creating an Audio Logo Music Production Tap into the niche market of creating Audio Logos. In this course from composer/sound designer Gary Hiebner will guide you through the music production process on how to create your own audio logo within your respective DAW's. This will cover creating your own sound effects, such as hits and whooshes. Then onto how create tonal and sequencer patterns to build up memorable chords and melodies in your logo. And finally he'll show you how to mix, master, and export out the audio and embed it to the video logo. Course Content includes: Importing Video into your DAW Creating Markers for important areas in the Video Adding Hits and Sub Hit sounds Creating your own Whoosh sounds Adding in Sound Effects to accompany the audio Using Reversed sounds for Builds Embellishing your logo with Sparkle sounds Adding Tonal color to the Logo Using Pulsing sequencer patterns to create rhythm and movement Applying Mixing processes to the audio Exporting the finalised audio and embedding it to the video What You'll Get From This Course: Step-by step instructions on how to get started with the creation process of building an Audio Logo in your DAW. Easy to follow on screen examples of how to create a complex sounding Audio Logo music production. Tips & Tricks from an experience composer and sound designer Course Goals: At the end of this course you'll have a good understanding on how an audio logo music production is created. And you'll be able to use the same steps to build up components in your audio logo to build up an interesting and complex sounding audio logo...
17. Engineering Design Process - Product Development
In this course, you will learn how to plan, develop, and maintain a physical product according to a systematic method without having to rely on elusive creativity or luck. The content of this course is based on the German Konstruktionslehre (En. Theory of Design) - an engineering methodology established in the 1970s, taught at elite German technical universities and used by many organizations. The premise of this method is to give engineers or product designers the tools and resources to easily break down any technical problem and arrive at an optimal solution that fulfills the customer's needs. Together with Design Sprint, TRIZ and VDI 2221, the German Konstruktionslehre is one of the most commonly applied design methods in the industry. We will start by getting to know the scope and background of modern Product Development Processes, the current trends and challenges that impact the way we work. We will then learn why a systematic approach is best suited for tackling product development and introduce methods that form the basise of our technique. Once this is covered, we will jump into the hands-on part of the course. It starts with gathering the product requirements, formulating its specs, and setting up a solution-neutral, graphical representation of our product's functionality - the Function Structure. It serves as a basis for developing discrete engineering solutions for each functionality and combining them into a working Product Concept. In the next step, we will learn how to transform the Concept into a final product ready to be manufactured, applying rules for simple, clear, and safe design. The resulting Embodiment Design of the product forms a basis for Simulation, CAD modeling, Tolerancing and Dimensioning, and Rapid Prototyping. The last chapter will teach you how to recognize, trigger, and handle Engineering Change Management after the Product release to accommodate changing customers' needs. By the end of this course, you will be able to systematically develop your product idea and design it into a successful product without the risk of getting stuck or arriving at a sub-optimal result...
18. Mechanical design and Product development process
Product development is the process through which a mechanical product is realized from just an idea into a fully detailed entity ready for production. This course is an attempt to cover that process at an introductory level covering all the key concepts, ideas and details from a perspective of a Mechanical design engineer. The course is structured in a way as to build on the product development process step by step. From the way an Idea is generated, incubated, to how a concept is generated, evaluated, how specifications are created and set towards the system design of a product , followed by a overview of activities in Detailed design and prototyping. Topics covered: Opportunity identification and product idea generationWhat are customer needs?What are specifications and when are they set ? how are they set?How are concepts generated?How to select and score concepts?Techniques for Generating ideas and conceptsWhat is modularity? and difference between modular designs and integral designsWhat is product architecture along with the example of a Vehicle architectureImportance of the Engineering drawing in Detail designDesign for X and Design for manufacturing and Assembly Types of prototypes and the purpose of prototypingWhat you will learn from this course?To understand the overall process of product development and develop a Holistic understanding of how products are developedTo learn ways of developing ideas, opportunities for new product developmentTo understand concepts like product architecture, modularity and Interfaces relating to mechanical design...
19. Complete Product Design From Home Course
At Home Engineering The Course has helped thousands of people worldwide to learn CAD and product design. This is the course to learn CAD, product design, and engineering fundamentals. I have over 8 years of experience designing and building in industry and research, and I have a Masters of Science in mechanical engineering from the U of MN. I was a mechanical engineer at Google [X], and I've worked with multiple world-leading researchers in technology. After taking this course, you will be able to make custom parts from almost any material, including metal, plastic, ceramic, and composites, enhancing you through tools and knowledge. Using modern, professional, and free tools, I bring together the best of the internet to get you designing and building in 2021. You'll Learn: CAD from the ground up. What CAD program to use, the 4 methods to draw any part in 3D, and bringing your product to motionSimplified materials: How to choose materials for your designs, whether a metal, plastic, ceramic, or composite - AND when to choose them. The 6 manufacturing methods to produce any part. You'll also learn programs and websites to get your parts made. With these 6, you can command real parts from your computer to your door. How to produce quality 3D images that can be used for marketingDesign a product! I take you through a design from idea to final design Check out the course outline. I don't just teach you CAD, I teach you CAD mindset and methods when you are designing. I teach you the list of "need to know" manufacturing methods. I simplify materials for you, and give you go-to materials that will meet almost all of your needs. The course is built to get anyone up and running, drawing parts in 3D in a CAD program, and getting them made. Whether you want to build an idea you have, sharpen your design skills or are new to product design altogether, this course will take you there...
20. Digital Product Design: Build a Flexible Design System That Lasts
Design better digital products with a design system! Join web developer Brad Frost to learn how you can build a truly flexible effective system that lasts. Now more than ever before designers developers and product managers are using design systems to improve and simplify their work. Through clear guidelines and easy-to-use components design systems keep everyone aligned enabling everyone to spend less time on repeating tasks and more time on the creative work that matters. After working with many organizations to develop customized design systems Brad saw the need for a straightforward approach that anyone could use to create a more effective system from scratch. His solution? The Atomic Design method. This 60-minute class will teach you to build a custom design system using Brads tried-and-true step-by-step method. You’ll learn how to: Conduct an interface inventory to start your initiative...