Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between development 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 development engineer and a lead engineer. Additionally, a development engineer has an average salary of $93,206, which is higher than the $84,927 average annual salary of a lead engineer.
The top three skills for a development engineer include java, python and software development. The most important skills for a lead engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Development Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $93,206 | $84,927 |
| Hourly rate | $44.81 | $40.83 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 224,881 | 301,777 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A Development Engineer is responsible for the development and validation of products, systems, and components. They are also responsible for quality control of work and continuous improvement of engineer activities.
A lead engineer's duties vary on their line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities will revolve around overseeing the progress of operations and performance of the workforce, ensuring that everything is running smoothly. They are also responsible for addressing issues and concerns, assessing risks, monitoring the budget, coordinating with clients and architects, and even training workers. Furthermore, as a lead engineer, it is crucial to conduct regular inspections to ensure the quality of work and maintain a safe environment for all workers.
Development engineers and lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Development Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $93,206 | $84,927 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $122,000 | Between $60,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a development engineer and a lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Development Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | 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 development engineers' and lead engineers' demographics:
| Development Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5% | Male, 90.8% Female, 9.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.7% White, 67.8% 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% |