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The differences between hardware design engineers and lead hardware engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a hardware design engineer and a lead hardware engineer. Additionally, a lead hardware engineer has an average salary of $121,252, which is higher than the $106,135 average annual salary of a hardware design engineer.
The top three skills for a hardware design engineer include RF, PCB and analog. The most important skills for a lead hardware engineer are RF, system design, and FPGA.
| Hardware Design Engineer | Lead Hardware Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $106,135 | $121,252 |
| Hourly rate | $51.03 | $58.29 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 69,000 | 39,713 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A hardware design engineer is an individual who develops, improves, and test components and systems for computers and other devices. Hardware design engineers must develop and design hardware components, such as circuit boards, switches, and networking elements. They are required to examine technological specifications and functional requirements as well as design components and systems that will deliver the expected performance. Hardware design engineers are also involved with manufacturing hardware, and they work closely with software engineers and developers during the development cycle.
A lead hardware engineer partners with the mechanical engineering team and product team to design and define brand new hardware products. They lead the development of connectors, firmware protocols, cards, electric chargers, controllers, and chips. Besides supervising electrical and hardware engineers, lead hardware engineers also work hand-in-hand with business analysts, software engineers, and project managers. Other duties performed by lead hardware engineers include component sourcing and performing technical specification and technical requirements analysis. Also, they provide solutions for complicated material handling and paper challenges.
Hardware design engineers and lead hardware engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Hardware Design Engineer | Lead Hardware Engineer | |
| Average salary | $106,135 | $121,252 |
| Salary range | Between $80,000 And $139,000 | Between $89,000 And $163,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bothell, WA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a hardware design engineer and a lead hardware engineer in terms of educational background:
| Hardware Design Engineer | Lead Hardware Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Northeastern University |
Here are the differences between hardware design engineers' and lead hardware engineers' demographics:
| Hardware Design Engineer | Lead Hardware Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9% | Male, 92.8% Female, 7.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 50.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 29.5% White, 49.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |