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The differences between chief design engineers and lead 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 engineer. Additionally, a chief design engineer has an average salary of $91,363, which is higher than the $84,927 average annual salary of a lead engineer.
The top three skills for a chief design engineer include product design, autocad and mechanical design. The most important skills for a lead engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Chief Design Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $91,363 | $84,927 |
| Hourly rate | $43.92 | $40.83 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 96,075 | 301,777 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Chief design engineers and lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Chief Design Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $91,363 | $84,927 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $137,000 | Between $60,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | Kirkland, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a chief design engineer and a lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Chief Design Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between chief design engineers' and lead engineers' demographics:
| Chief Design Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.6% Female, 3.4% | Male, 90.8% Female, 9.2% |
| 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |