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The differences between manufacturing engineers lead and design 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 manufacturing engineer lead, becoming a design engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a manufacturing engineer lead has an average salary of $88,937, which is higher than the $77,134 average annual salary of a design engineer.
The top three skills for a manufacturing engineer lead include lean manufacturing, sigma and CAD. The most important skills for a design engineer are C++, UL, and project management.
| Manufacturing Engineer Lead | Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,937 | $77,134 |
| Hourly rate | $42.76 | $37.08 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 74,287 | 138,173 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
Lead manufacturing engineers are responsible for assisting with new product expansion, product introduction, and pricing out planning for existing product lines alongside the implementation of engineering processes and principles. They help with the technical coordination between division and group leading manufacturing locations beyond the present site. Their duties include implementing manufacturing engineering to provide superior technical output promptly. Also, they fulfill technical subject matter competence, assist with the growth of organizational engineering or technical skills to reach the division and site strategies, as well as aid in the training for receiving and sending sites.
A design engineer is responsible for creating systems and applications based on their expertise. Design engineers work through client specifications based on business needs. A design engineer also provides recommendations on improving existing systems to boost its performance and increase efficiency. Design engineers must have an excellent command of computer systems, programming codes, and technical data to ensure the system's stability and high-quality processes. A design engineer should also have strong analytical and time-management skills to perform tasks and meet deadlines.
Manufacturing engineers lead and design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Manufacturing Engineer Lead | Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,937 | $77,134 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $112,000 | Between $57,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a manufacturing engineer lead and a design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Manufacturing Engineer Lead | Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between manufacturing engineers lead' and design engineers' demographics:
| Manufacturing Engineer Lead | Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.0% Female, 9.0% | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 17.0% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |