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Mechanical design technician vs lead design engineer

The differences between mechanical design technicians and lead design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a mechanical design technician and a lead design engineer. Additionally, a lead design engineer has an average salary of $108,490, which is higher than the $60,714 average annual salary of a mechanical design technician.

The top three skills for a mechanical design technician include CAD, revit and fire protection. The most important skills for a lead design engineer are CAD, project management, and lead design.

Mechanical design technician vs lead design engineer overview

Mechanical Design TechnicianLead Design Engineer
Yearly salary$60,714$108,490
Hourly rate$29.19$52.16
Growth rate2%2%
Number of jobs62,685118,073
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age4141
Years of experience66

Mechanical design technician vs lead design engineer salary

Mechanical design technicians and lead design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Mechanical Design TechnicianLead Design Engineer
Average salary$60,714$108,490
Salary rangeBetween $47,000 And $77,000Between $82,000 And $143,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Meta
Best paying industry-Agriculture

Differences between mechanical design technician and lead design engineer education

There are a few differences between a mechanical design technician and a lead design engineer in terms of educational background:

Mechanical Design TechnicianLead Design Engineer
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common majorDrafting And DesignMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityMichigan Technological University

Mechanical design technician vs lead design engineer demographics

Here are the differences between mechanical design technicians' and lead design engineers' demographics:

Mechanical Design TechnicianLead Design Engineer
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 89.3% Female, 10.7%Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 10.4% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 15.5% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage5%5%

Differences between mechanical design technician and lead design engineer duties and responsibilities

Mechanical design technician example responsibilities.

  • Provide mechanical design and sustaining engineering expertise to troubleshoot manufacturing defect trends and achieve a more robust and producible product.
  • Design and model changes to drawings for support of fabrication and installation of HVAC, plumbing and major commercial/industrial/residential pipe systems.
  • Engineer air-conditioning, heating, refrigeration, plumbing, and electrical power supply for renovate building spaces.
  • Convert and clean-up architectural background drawings and establish mechanical and plumbing drawings.
  • Create BOM for the lines; compose design documentation utilizing technical drawings and engineering specifications.
  • Design and manufacture documentation for custom smart power distribution products including customer specifications and vendor BOM's.
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Lead design engineer example responsibilities.

  • Design the micro self-test libraries and achieve several projects s/w on the UL list.
  • Manage automation projects including purchasing, scheduling fabrication and assembly, debugging, and delivery to customer.
  • Introduce company to new rapid design and prototyping processes to include SLA and durable prototypes.
  • Provide assistance and technical support to regulatory department for UL, CE and CSA approval testing.
  • Lead a project for the FEA analysis-design of compressor wheel near net shape forging with common die sets.
  • Build and develop testing prototypes for reliability and FAA certification- dynamic and static testing (FMEA, FEA, DFMA).
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Mechanical design technician vs lead design engineer skills

Common mechanical design technician skills
  • CAD, 17%
  • Revit, 10%
  • Fire Protection, 9%
  • Solidworks, 8%
  • Assembly Drawings, 6%
  • BIM, 6%
Common lead design engineer skills
  • CAD, 9%
  • Project Management, 7%
  • Lead Design, 5%
  • FEA, 4%
  • UL, 4%
  • System Design, 4%

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