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The differences between lead infrastructure engineers and senior 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 infrastructure engineer, becoming a senior engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a lead infrastructure engineer has an average salary of $120,774, which is higher than the $108,743 average annual salary of a senior engineer.
The top three skills for a lead infrastructure engineer include java, cloud and architecture. The most important skills for a senior engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Lead Infrastructure Engineer | Senior Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $120,774 | $108,743 |
| Hourly rate | $58.06 | $52.28 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 89,949 | 343,200 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
An infrastructure engineer acts as the one responsible for ensuring that all project objectives can be obtained and implemented correctly. They are the one who monitors, reviews and evaluates the current system policy to determines or identify what needs to be removed or replaced. Often, an Infra Engineer checks the computer application like the Windows, Mac Operating System, and Linux that will allow them to analyze and examines what needs for changing or fixing.
A senior engineer is responsible for overseeing all operations within a designated area. With years of experience and expertise, a senior engineer may take charge of establishing goals, deadlines, and budgets for a particular project. They must devise and implement strategies that would improve the quality of workflow and deliver significant results. Furthermore, a senior manager must also supervise a team of skilled engineers, leading them in the joint effort to reach the company's vision and mission, all while adhering to the safety standards and regulations.
Lead infrastructure engineers and senior engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Infrastructure Engineer | Senior Engineer | |
| Average salary | $120,774 | $108,743 |
| Salary range | Between $91,000 And $160,000 | Between $82,000 And $144,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | Idaho | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Roku |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a lead infrastructure engineer and a senior engineer in terms of educational background:
| Lead Infrastructure Engineer | Senior Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between lead infrastructure engineers' and senior engineers' demographics:
| Lead Infrastructure Engineer | Senior Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.1% Female, 5.9% | Male, 89.1% Female, 10.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 13.9% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.1% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 5% |