What is a Product Engineer?
A Product Engineer is a Mechanical Engineer that specializes in the design and manufacturing of products. They also help to transition products from design to production at scale. Product engineers are employed in almost every industry that manufactures products for sale. They work in a corporate office or on-site at a manufacturing facility, working on designs and meeting stakeholders.
Product Engineer is an entry-level, skilled job. Employers are looking for candidates with at least a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering. As a Senior Product Engineer, you will be responsible for supervising and mentoring Product Engineers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for Mechanical Engineers (including Product Engineers) is expected to increase by 5 percent between 2024 and 2024.
What Does a Product Engineer Do?
Product Engineer Responsibilities and Duties
Many responsibilities and duties are involved in designing products and manufacturing them at scale. This list was compiled from a variety of Product Engineer job descriptions.
Design of Products and Processes
A Product Engineer is responsible for designing products and manufacturing processes. This includes using Computer-Aided Design software (CAD) to create digital models of product concepts.
Make and test product prototypes
After creating a digital model for a product, the Product Engineer creates and tests prototypes. Because prototyping is not always an easy process, this requires sophisticated problem-solving skills.
Choose the right materials for product manufacturing
The Product Engineer is responsible for sourcing the necessary materials to build a prototype and scaling it in a cost-effective way. This involves close collaboration with Logistics Managers and Shipping Managers.
Collaboration with Product Development Teams
Collaboration is key. Product Engineers must work closely with Product Development to make concepts a reality. This is where communication skills are essential since heated debates can arise between departments.
Assure that manufacturing meets safety standards and specifications
Product engineers are concerned about safety. Product engineers must ensure that product design meets all safety regulations. This also applies to the manufacturing process.
Product Engineer Skills
It’s easy to think that Product Engineers are all technical skills. Although technical skills are important, Product Engineers also need soft skills. Product engineers are often part of a team so they can thrive in a collaborative environment. Product engineers must also be multi-taskers in order to tackle all aspects of product engineering. To compile this list of core skills needed by most employers and some advanced skills that will impress them, we analyzed various job descriptions.
Core skills
The following skills are essential for Product Engineers.
- Proficiency with CAD software
- Proficiency with CAM software
- Mathematics proficiency
- Skills in critical thinking
- Multitasking ability
- Ability to work as a member of a team
- Decision-making skills
- Analytical skills
Advanced Skills
Here’s a list of advanced skills that are preferred by many employers.
- Expertise in CAD/CAM software
- Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical members of the team
Tools of the Trade
Product Engineers need to be able to use many tools in order to fulfill their duties and responsibilities. This is a list you need to know if you are interested in a job as a product engineer.
- Coordinate measuring machines
- Blue Ridge Numerics CFDesign is an analytical software.
- Software for Computer-Aided Design (CAD), such as Bentley MicroStation
- Computer-Aided Manufacturing Software, such as
- CadCam Unigraphics
- Adobe Illustrator is a graphic illustrator software.
Product Engineer Salary
The average product engineer’s salary is $90 638 per annum. This estimate is subject to change depending on job location, experience, and company size
