product development manager
Product development managers coordinate the development of new products from beginning to end. They receive briefings and start envisioning the new product considering design, technical and cost criteria. They conduct research on market needs and create prototypes of new products for untapped market opportunities. Product development managers also improve and boost technological quality.
product development manager product development managers coordinate the development of new products from beginning to end. They receive briefings and start envisioning the new product considering design, technical and cost criteria. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include product life-cycle, design management, market research, industrial research and development, combine business technology with user experience.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £55,519 a year for Research and development (R&D) managers (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £44,101 to £75,207 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2161). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Managers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only product development manager, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 1. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Frequently asked questions
What does product development manager do?
Product development managers coordinate the development of new products from beginning to end. They receive briefings and start envisioning the new product considering design, technical and cost criteria. They conduct research on market needs and create prototypes of new products for untapped market opportunities. Product development managers also improve and boost technological quality.
What skills does product development manager need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include product life-cycle, design management, market research, industrial research and development, combine business technology with user experience, manage budgets. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace product development manager?
Our AI-durability model gives product development manager a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.