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Design chief vs design team lead

The differences between design chiefs and design team leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a design chief, becoming a design team lead takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a design chief has an average salary of $103,343, which is higher than the $94,522 average annual salary of a design team lead.

The top three skills for a design chief include website design, design process and user experience. The most important skills for a design team lead are sketch, CAD, and product design.

Design chief vs design team lead overview

Design ChiefDesign Team Lead
Yearly salary$103,343$94,522
Hourly rate$49.68$45.44
Growth rate3%21%
Number of jobs49,81561,298
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age3839
Years of experience124

Design chief vs design team lead salary

Design chiefs and design team leads have different pay scales, as shown below.

Design ChiefDesign Team Lead
Average salary$103,343$94,522
Salary rangeBetween $45,000 And $233,000Between $66,000 And $134,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew York
Best paying companyAdvance Tooling ConceptsTEKsystems
Best paying industry--

Differences between design chief and design team lead education

There are a few differences between a design chief and a design team lead in terms of educational background:

Design ChiefDesign Team Lead
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorGraphic DesignMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaGeorgia Institute of Technology

Design chief vs design team lead demographics

Here are the differences between design chiefs' and design team leads' demographics:

Design ChiefDesign Team Lead
Average age3839
Gender ratioMale, 74.8% Female, 25.2%Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 30.0% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage13%8%

Differences between design chief and design team lead duties and responsibilities

Design chief example responsibilities.

  • Manage REVIT models for various BIM projects including updating, cleaning, and linking arch models for MEP design.
  • Create and present artwork and PowerPoint presentations for senior management, the sales and marketing group, and dealer viewing.
  • Compile PowerPoint presentations for trend inspiration and verification involving motion and music.
  • Elicit and gather user and business requirements through design sessions, brainstorming and prototyping.
  • Design and oversee graphics for apparel lines, integrating original style-guide art concepts with innovative detailing.
  • Establish agency-wide design production process guidelines, evaluate and implement new department software, and create procedures for prototyping.
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Design team lead example responsibilities.

  • Deliver high-level n-tier architecture design, managing project expectations and timetables throughout all phases of development process.
  • Simulate 3-D and 2-D Matlab contours.
  • Design high-quality HTML base sales and service email marketing campaigns in a fast pace/high volume atmosphere.
  • Adapt key attributes of HTML screens for translation into multiple languages and support on various browsers.
  • Assist in calculating, designing, drafting, and 3D modeling in SolidWorks of a roadside turbine.
  • Coordinate with QA to ensure that the solution develop is of acceptable quality as per the company standards.
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Design chief vs design team lead skills

Common design chief skills
  • Website Design, 10%
  • Design Process, 9%
  • User Experience, 7%
  • Product Design, 7%
  • CSS, 6%
  • Design Solutions, 6%
Common design team lead skills
  • Sketch, 10%
  • CAD, 10%
  • Product Design, 9%
  • Architecture, 8%
  • Design Concepts, 4%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 4%

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