Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between development engineers and senior software development engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a development engineer, becoming a senior software development engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a senior software development engineer has an average salary of $116,926, which is higher than the $93,206 average annual salary of a development engineer.
The top three skills for a development engineer include java, python and software development. The most important skills for a senior software development engineer are java, software development, and python.
| Development Engineer | Senior Software Development Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $93,206 | $116,926 |
| Hourly rate | $44.81 | $56.21 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 224,881 | 346,833 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
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 senior software development engineer specializes in leading the efforts in designing and developing software and information systems, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities typically revolve around installing and repairing existing computer systems, conducting regular maintenance checks, troubleshooting, testing new designs, and performing research and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of operations, improving them to achieve optimal performance. Furthermore, as a senior software development engineer, it is essential to monitor and encourage the team, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Development engineers and senior software development engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Development Engineer | Senior Software Development Engineer | |
| Average salary | $93,206 | $116,926 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $122,000 | Between $87,000 And $156,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Roku |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a development engineer and a senior software development engineer in terms of educational background:
| Development Engineer | Senior Software Development Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between development engineers' and senior software development engineers' demographics:
| Development Engineer | Senior Software Development Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5% | Male, 83.9% Female, 16.1% |
| 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, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 30.6% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 8% |