Lead operator vs senior operator

The differences between lead operators and senior operators 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 operator, becoming a senior operator takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a lead operator has an average salary of $88,429, which is higher than the $85,677 average annual salary of a senior operator.

The top three skills for a lead operator include customer service, HR and process improvement. The most important skills for a senior operator are safety procedures, math, and powerpoint.

Lead operator vs senior operator overview

	Lead Operator	Senior Operator
Yearly salary	$88,429	$85,677
Hourly rate	$42.51	$41.19
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	87,338	45,548
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	46	43
Years of experience	2	4

What does a lead operator do?

Lead operators are responsible for the direction and supervision of the day-to-day activities in facilities. As machine operators, they control machines and take charge of industrial operations. They handle and move objects, monitor processes, and inspect materials, structures, and equipment. Also, they may serve as mentors for the new production employees concerning occupational health and safety. They must be skilled in safety procedures, heavy equipment, preventive maintenance, and other things related to machine operations.

What does a senior operator do?

Senior Operators are responsible for managing the operations and maintenance of all plants and facilities. Their duties include troubleshooting issues using root-cause analysis, carrying out testing and quality checks, assisting the lead operator in coordinating maintenance activities as well as ensuring plant and facilities condition and performance adhere to mandatory legal regulations. Senior Operators are responsible for writing daily updates for the lead operator and help human resources in conducting staff skills training.

Lead operator vs senior operator salary

Lead operators and senior operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lead Operator	Senior Operator
Average salary	$88,429	$85,677
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $142,000	Between $54,000 And $135,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Meta	Google
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between lead operator and senior operator education

There are a few differences between a lead operator and a senior operator in terms of educational background:

	Lead Operator	Senior Operator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Lead operator vs senior operator demographics

Here are the differences between lead operators' and senior operators' demographics:

	Lead Operator	Senior Operator
Average age	46	43
Gender ratio	Male, 73.5% Female, 26.5%	Male, 72.8% Female, 27.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 4.6% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 17.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 2.6% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	6%	4%

Differences between lead operator and senior operator duties and responsibilities

Lead operator example responsibilities.

Plan, organize, and lead Kaizen activities as well as managed the cost reduction activities from idea to implementation.
Contact potential REO listing brokers achieving the highest return call rate.
Create UAT scripts and utilize statistical process controls to manage loan process quality and ensure consistency.
Achieve goals in various metrics, from sales to plan, payroll, additional services, print center.
Manage and organize incoming records and publications for use on SharePoint.
Need method to proactively manage the business improving cross-functional collaboration & KPI visibility.

Show more

Senior operator example responsibilities.

Measure and inspect parts with calipers, scale, MRP, leads, micrometers and taper.
Manage the master calendar and schedule resources such as communication equipment, weapons, transportation and ammunition forecast and delivery.
Operate QC testing equipment such as calipers and micrometers.
Experience with MVS and JES2 command sets, the weekly shutdown and initial power load of production systems.
Assist in migration to the LAN environment, perform quality control and JCL setup and interface with user and vendor communities.
Train with TSO, JES2, and UCC7.

Show more

Lead operator vs senior operator skills

Common lead operator skills

Customer Service, 18%
HR, 10%
Process Improvement, 6%
Project Management, 6%
Continuous Improvement, 6%
Safety Procedures, 4%

Common senior operator skills

Safety Procedures, 17%
Math, 8%
PowerPoint, 7%
Windows, 5%
Logistics, 5%
CDL, 5%

Lead Operator vs. similar jobs

Lead Operator related careers

Lead Operator related jobs

What similar roles do

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse production and manufacturing jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z