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The differences between lead development engineers and principal engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a lead development engineer, becoming a principal engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a principal engineer has an average salary of $130,213, which is higher than the $114,658 average annual salary of a lead development engineer.
The top three skills for a lead development engineer include java, python and API. The most important skills for a principal engineer are java, architecture, and python.
| Lead Development Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $114,658 | $130,213 |
| Hourly rate | $55.12 | $62.60 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 357,390 | 312,683 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 39 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Lead development engineers and principal engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Development Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Average salary | $114,658 | $130,213 |
| Salary range | Between $88,000 And $148,000 | Between $95,000 And $177,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Netflix | Grubhub |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a lead development engineer and a principal engineer in terms of educational background:
| Lead Development Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between lead development engineers' and principal engineers' demographics:
| Lead Development Engineer | Principal Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.2% Female, 12.8% | Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.6% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 5% |