How To Become A Lead Mechanical Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a lead mechanical engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Marco Schoen Ph.D.

Lead mechanical engineers lead the development, design, testing, and inspection of mechanical devices and systems. Similarly, they provide technical leadership to less experienced engineers and technicians. They are involved in proposal development, project planning, industry research, and client relations. They also manage and execute varying projects. Further duties include assessing the condition of building mechanical systems, developing cost estimates from mechanical building systems, identifying complex technical issues, and providing relevant solutions to resolve them.

To become a lead mechanical engineer, you need at least a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or a related field. Employers require a professional engineer license. Applicants must have a minimum of three years of relevant work experience. You must also have experience using CAD software like SolidWorks, AutoCAD, etc. You must possess communication, creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, and interpersonal skills. These professionals earn about $109,231 yearly. Their salary ranges between $82,000 and $146,000.

What general advice would you give to a lead mechanical engineer?

Marco Schoen Ph.D.

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of the Measurement and Control Engineering Research Center (MCERC), Idaho State University

Stay current. Engineering evolves continuously; new tools, new technologies, and new areas where engineers can contribute, learn, and work. When graduating, students have the feeling they are set for their careers. However, this is not true; they might be set to start their careers. To be consistently successful in their pages, they need to stay informed and updated.

ScoreLead Mechanical EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.4

Avg. Salary $94,184

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 12.82%

Black or African American 3.42%

Hispanic or Latino 9.39%

Unknown 4.60%

White 69.66%

Gender

female 6.23%

male 93.77%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a lead mechanical engineer

Explore lead mechanical engineer education requirements

Most common lead mechanical engineer degrees

Bachelor's

75.7 %

Master's

14.8 %

Associate

5.4 %

Start to develop specific lead mechanical engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Mechanical Engineering	13.91%
CAD	8.02%
Solidworks	5.89%
Mechanical Systems	5.41%
Mechanical Design	4.64%

Complete relevant lead mechanical engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New lead mechanical 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 engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real lead mechanical engineer resumes.

Research lead mechanical engineer duties and responsibilities

Optimize structural design of bolted/weld cabinet with analyst using ANSYS to achieve desire weight of structure.
Manage outside contractors as an adept mechanical engineer, experience in plumbing.
Provide mechanical design and sustaining engineering expertise to troubleshoot manufacturing defect trends and achieve a more robust and producible product.
Review and approve CFD and/or structural analysis and technical specifications prior to finalizing engineering drawings.

Get lead mechanical engineer experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a lead mechanical engineer. The most common roles before becoming a lead mechanical engineer include mechanical engineer, senior mechanical engineer team lead and project engineer.

Prepare your lead mechanical engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your lead mechanical engineer resume.

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