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The differences between lead user experience designers and senior user experience designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a lead user experience designer and a senior user experience designer. Additionally, a lead user experience designer has an average salary of $115,214, which is higher than the $111,933 average annual salary of a senior user experience designer.
The top three skills for a lead user experience designer include sketch, user experience and UI. The most important skills for a senior user experience designer are sketch, user experience, and user research.
| Lead User Experience Designer | Senior User Experience Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $115,214 | $111,933 |
| Hourly rate | $55.39 | $53.81 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 53,712 | 52,582 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Lead User Experience Designers are responsible for providing strategy and direction in designing a user's experience for a digital product or service. They work with cross-functional teams such as user researchers, product design teams, and project managers to deliver a specified timeline. Their duties include developing information architecture, designing wireframes, prototyping, creating content, and performing usability testing of system interaction. Lead user experience designers must know Adobe Suites and specialist wireframing and prototyping design tools such as Axure, Marvel, Invision to translate the design to product. They also liaise with clients regularly to ensure the design meets the business goal.
A Senior User Experience Designer is responsible for creating a friendly and intuitive user experience architecture. They collaborate with designers, product managers, and product engineers.
Lead user experience designers and senior user experience designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead User Experience Designer | Senior User Experience Designer | |
| Average salary | $115,214 | $111,933 |
| Salary range | Between $83,000 And $158,000 | Between $81,000 And $153,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | Netflix |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a lead user experience designer and a senior user experience designer in terms of educational background:
| Lead User Experience Designer | Senior User Experience Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between lead user experience designers' and senior user experience designers' demographics:
| Lead User Experience Designer | Senior User Experience Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.5% Female, 25.5% | Male, 72.5% Female, 27.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 13% |