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The differences between lead hardware engineers and senior principal engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a lead hardware engineer, becoming a senior principal engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior principal engineer has an average salary of $130,642, which is higher than the $121,252 average annual salary of a lead hardware engineer.
The top three skills for a lead hardware engineer include RF, system design and FPGA. The most important skills for a senior principal engineer are python, architecture, and java.
| Lead Hardware Engineer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $121,252 | $130,642 |
| Hourly rate | $58.29 | $62.81 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 39,713 | 272,459 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
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.
A senior principal engineer is responsible for leading engineering tasks within an organization and reports project updates to senior management. Senior principal engineers develop strategic methods and principles to improve the technical stability and efficiency of the company's systems, creating business proposals according to clients' specifications, and negotiating contracts with suppliers and other service providers. They also train new staff and identify innovations and business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources for the company.
Lead hardware engineers and senior principal engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Hardware Engineer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Average salary | $121,252 | $130,642 |
| Salary range | Between $89,000 And $163,000 | Between $93,000 And $182,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Professional |
There are a few differences between a lead hardware engineer and a senior principal engineer in terms of educational background:
| Lead Hardware Engineer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between lead hardware engineers' and senior principal engineers' demographics:
| Lead Hardware Engineer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.8% Female, 7.2% | Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.2% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |