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What is a lead mechanical design engineer and how to become one
Before a company can build their latest groundbreaking product, they need to plan it first. From spaceships to computer parts, every product starts out as a scribble or an idea. Lead mechanical design engineers help bring a product from the initial idea to a detailed blueprint that can be used to build the product.
Lead mechanical design engineers are crucial people in the design process. They handle the technical aspects of product design by developing mechanical design layouts, testing the design for optimal functionality, and planning the equipment and materials needed to actually build a product. They use technical tools such as FEA analysis, computer-aided design (CAD) software, and more.
A lead mechanical design engineer usually supervises a whole team of engineers working on designing a product. This means that they need to be exceptionally knowledgeable about engineering in order to lead others. Many lead mechanical design engineers have bachelor's or even master's degrees in mechanical engineering and several years of work experience.
What general advice would you give to a lead mechanical design engineer?
Marco Schoen Ph.D.
Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of the Measurement and Control Engineering Research Center (MCERC), Idaho State University
Avg. Salary $75,506
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 2%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%
Asian 12.38%
Black or African American 3.45%
Hispanic or Latino 9.52%
Unknown 4.61%
White 69.93%
Genderfemale 4.43%
male 95.57%
Age - 39American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 39Stress level is high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Lead mechanical design engineer career paths
Key steps to become a lead mechanical design engineer
Explore lead mechanical design engineer education requirements
Start to develop specific lead mechanical design engineer skills
Skills Percentages CAD 11.58% Mechanical Design 10.67% Creo 7.56% Solidworks 7.25% Ansys 5.72% Complete relevant lead mechanical design engineer training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New lead mechanical design engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a lead mechanical design engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real lead mechanical design engineer resumes.Research lead mechanical design engineer duties and responsibilities
- Manage prototyping, orchestrate 1st-article approval process with suppliers such as IBM, and resolve mechanical and heat-sink thermal issues.
- Lead hardware/system engineer, lead a team to develop Ethernet interface board to ATM/IP interface board (IP routing control).
- Provide mechanical design and sustaining engineering expertise to troubleshoot manufacturing defect trends and achieve a more robust and producible product.
- Validate design by tolerance analysis, relate regulations and standards, FEA and thermal test, dynamic vibration test.
Get lead mechanical design engineer experience
Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a lead mechanical design engineer. The most common roles before becoming a lead mechanical design engineer include mechanical design engineer, design engineer team lead and mechanical engineer.Prepare your lead mechanical design engineer resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your lead mechanical design engineer resume.
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Apply for lead mechanical design engineer jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a lead mechanical design engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first lead mechanical design engineer job
Are you a lead mechanical design engineer?
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Average lead mechanical design engineer salary
The average lead mechanical design engineer salary in the United States is $75,506 per year or $36 per hour. Lead mechanical design engineer salaries range between $59,000 and $95,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do lead mechanical design engineers rate their job?
Lead mechanical design engineer reviews
It can gurantee you a good salary and if you are creative you can do many things.
you have to be creative.
Seeing the finished product and guest smiles after riding.
Incredibly long work hours at times to meet deadlines
Updated January 8, 2025
