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The differences between chief 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 engineer and a lead design engineer. Additionally, a lead design engineer has an average salary of $108,490, which is higher than the $108,050 average annual salary of a chief engineer.
The top three skills for a chief engineer include HVAC, plumbing and customer service. The most important skills for a lead design engineer are CAD, project management, and lead design.
| Chief Engineer | Lead Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $108,050 | $108,490 |
| Hourly rate | $51.95 | $52.16 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 88,473 | 118,073 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A chief engineer is responsible for monitoring the engineering department's overall operations, ensuring performance efficiency, and everyone's strict compliance with the safety standards and regulatory procedures. Chief engineers manage the distribution of the tasks to the team, communicate with the clients and management for instructions and specifications, monitor expenses and forecast sales reports, analyze and approve designs, negotiate contracts, and process disputes. A chief engineer must have excellent knowledge of the engineering disciplines and exemplary leadership skills to handle the team's performance towards the company's objectives.
A Lead Design Engineer produces design solutions that can be purchased, installed, and commissioned effectively. They are also responsible for the cost-effectiviness and safety of new designs.
Chief engineers and lead design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Chief Engineer | Lead Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $108,050 | $108,490 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $177,000 | Between $82,000 And $143,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | BGC Partners | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Agriculture |
There are a few differences between a chief engineer and a lead design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Chief Engineer | Lead Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | 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 engineers' and lead design engineers' demographics:
| Chief Engineer | Lead Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8% | Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 10.2% White, 71.7% 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% |