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The differences between chief design engineers and lead design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a chief design engineer and a lead design engineer. Additionally, a lead design engineer has an average salary of $108,490, which is higher than the $91,363 average annual salary of a chief design engineer.
The top three skills for a chief design engineer include product design, autocad and mechanical design. The most important skills for a lead design engineer are CAD, project management, and lead design.
| Chief Design Engineer | Lead Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $91,363 | $108,490 |
| Hourly rate | $43.92 | $52.16 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 96,075 | 118,073 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Chief design engineers and lead design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Chief Design Engineer | Lead Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $91,363 | $108,490 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $137,000 | Between $82,000 And $143,000 |
| Highest paying City | Kirkland, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | California |
| Best paying company | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Agriculture |
There are a few differences between a chief design engineer and a lead design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Chief Design Engineer | Lead Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between chief design engineers' and lead design engineers' demographics:
| Chief Design Engineer | Lead Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.6% Female, 3.4% | Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 13.5% White, 69.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 15.5% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |