Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between manufacturing engineers lead and lead 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 lead engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a manufacturing engineer lead has an average salary of $88,937, which is higher than the $84,927 average annual salary of a lead engineer.
The top three skills for a manufacturing engineer lead include lean manufacturing, sigma and CAD. The most important skills for a lead engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Manufacturing Engineer Lead | Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,937 | $84,927 |
| Hourly rate | $42.76 | $40.83 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 74,287 | 301,777 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| 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 lead engineer's duties vary on their line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities will revolve around overseeing the progress of operations and performance of the workforce, ensuring that everything is running smoothly. They are also responsible for addressing issues and concerns, assessing risks, monitoring the budget, coordinating with clients and architects, and even training workers. Furthermore, as a lead engineer, it is crucial to conduct regular inspections to ensure the quality of work and maintain a safe environment for all workers.
Manufacturing engineers lead and lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Manufacturing Engineer Lead | Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,937 | $84,927 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $112,000 | Between $60,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a manufacturing engineer lead and a lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Manufacturing Engineer Lead | Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between manufacturing engineers lead' and lead engineers' demographics:
| Manufacturing Engineer Lead | Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.0% Female, 9.0% | Male, 90.8% Female, 9.2% |
| 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |