Product engineer vs UX Designer

What is a product
engineer?

by Philip Wong

Toys

Home

Clothing

Sports

There are many different
types of products we create.

Books

Electronics

Beauty & Health

Food

A product engineer is a professional responsible for the development, design, and optimization of products. They help turn products into reality, ensuring products are functional, efficient, and user-friendly while meeting the business and market needs.

In short…

A product engineer is someone who helps design and build products, making sure they work well, look good, and are safe and easy for people to use.

Currently, the product I work on is automotive interior.

Product engineers have a lot of similar responsibilities to UIUX designers, only that for UIUX, the product is typically digital – website, mobile app, software.

Product Engineer

Design – create mock-ups, test material/physical properties, iterate designs
Quality – ensure product is durable and reliable, according to specification, continuous improvements
Collaboration – work closely with clients, product managers, manufacturing plant, and others to communicate technical details and changes
Optimization – ensure product can be manufactured and are cost-effective without compromising quality; improve and streamline production
Problem-Solving – iterate on product design based on data and testing

Product Engineer

Design – create prototypes, conduct user testing, iterate designs
Quality – meet WCAG or other web accessibility standards as well as consistency with company branding
Collaboration – interact consistently with clients, users, program managers, developers, shareholders, and many others
Optimization – ensure designs are feasible and can be developed in a timely and effective manner as deadlines are tight
Problem-Solving – conduct various research methods to understand user pain points and needs

I will highlight just three of these items briefly below.

Target Audience

Product engineers fix issues. What is considered an “issue” may differ for each person. Manufacturers care more about the feasibility of assembly; Studio cares about aesthetics; Business, the costs; Program Managers, the timing; Quality, the safety and reliability; Customers, a mix of everything. There are many solutions to a problem – some might be more expensive but better quality, some are time-sensitive and need a quick fix. A product engineer’s role is to find the best solution to satisfy all departments.

Likewise, UIUX designers need to understand who their target audience is. Certain design choices might be more intuitive to some but confusing to others.

American websites tend to have large attention-grabbing images with bright and striking visuals. However, Japanese websites focus more on displaying information crammed in tight spacing, reflecting a culture of detail and thoroughness.

For my first project, I had to re-iterate my designs several times. The direction changed from travel planning to goal-accomplishing to list organizing. The scope also changed as I realized that trying to appeal to everyone instead of a focused audience made the site mediocre. I had to redo my research since my target audience also changed. Check out Mt. Everlist case study for more information.

Data-Driven

In order to know what issues need to be fix and how to fix them, product engineers measure parts and analyze data. If there’s a gap between two components, what is the cause? Were the parts molded small, wrapped too tight, or were there issues in assembling, or something else? We can 3D-scan parts to understand the issue better. If a part fell off a vehicle, is it due to certain impact or temperature conditions that weakened the glue? We can do testing and analyze pull test data to figure out how to proceed and what we need to fix.

Without data, we might be fixing a surface issue that might work in some scenarios but not address the root cause.

Likewise, UIUX designers do research and conduct user tests to see why users behave a certain way so they can address an issue better.

If conversion rates are low, is it because customers cannot find the CTA? Or that they didn’t understand what the product is right away and got disinterested?

Looking through website analytics and watching a user access the website live helps determine what the issue is and how to best fix it.

Designing without proper research (data) can often lead to a design that is not useful for the user. When I tried to update or add a feature for Spotify, I started from a blank slate, trying to understand the pain-points of a large group of users. After that, I honed in on one specific topic. You can see my process in this Spotify case study.

Communication

Communication is vital across all industries, and especially with product engineers. Because everyone has different interests, biases and skillset, being able to communicate your intention, reasons, and complex ideas is extremely necessary.

If there’s a problem that cannot be fixed by a deadline, I need to communicate why and list out the steps we’re taking in order to maintain client trust. We can then maybe push the deadline out or find a temporary solution. If there’s a complex change that involves reshaping a tool, I need to make sure the tool shop understands what we are doing, so they can provide proper input or avoid costly errors, as each change can take weeks and costs tens of thousands of dollars.

Likewise, UIUX designers are constantly communicating with developers and program managers to ensure they deploy the proper design in a timely manner.

To implement a live website (instead of just a design concept) involves collaboration with others – shareholders, developers, etc. I’ve had the privilege of working with several clients and grew a lot from the process. I have created a summary of some key points I learned in my Client case study.

WHY THE MOVE?

Both product engineer and UIUX designer’s job is to solve problems, one on physical products and the other, typically, digital. Many qualities, such as understanding your target audience, conducting research and testing, and communication are crucial to the success of these roles.

I love the problem-solving nature of a product engineer and understanding how products are made – from the raw material stage to the molding and assembly to the final product.

My desire to transition to UIUX is due to my interest in various industries (not just automotive) and the quicker turnover timeline for each project. Automotive projects typically last 2-3 years due to its complexity and constant changes. Furthermore, I love the aspect of visual design and opportunities to research and interview people in UIUX. Understanding and interfacing with customers at a deeper level brings greater confidence on why changes to a product matters.