Principal mechanical engineer vs principle engineer

The differences between principal mechanical engineers and principle 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 principal mechanical engineer and a principle engineer. Additionally, a principle engineer has an average salary of $126,143, which is higher than the $102,451 average annual salary of a principal mechanical engineer.

The top three skills for a principal mechanical engineer include mechanical engineering, CAD and mechanical design. The most important skills for a principle engineer are architecture, java, and R.

Principal mechanical engineer vs principle engineer overview

	Principal Mechanical Engineer	Principle Engineer
Yearly salary	$102,451	$126,143
Hourly rate	$49.26	$60.65
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	127,517	158,235
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	6	6

Principal mechanical engineer vs principle engineer salary

Principal mechanical engineers and principle engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Principal Mechanical Engineer	Principle Engineer
Average salary	$102,451	$126,143
Salary range	Between $78,000 And $133,000	Between $92,000 And $171,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Mexico	California
Best paying company	Microsoft	The Walt Disney Company
Best paying industry	Professional	Finance

Differences between principal mechanical engineer and principle engineer education

There are a few differences between a principal mechanical engineer and a principle engineer in terms of educational background:

	Principal Mechanical Engineer	Principle Engineer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Mechanical Engineering	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	Michigan Technological University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Principal mechanical engineer vs principle engineer demographics

Here are the differences between principal mechanical engineers' and principle engineers' demographics:

	Principal Mechanical Engineer	Principle Engineer
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 94.4% Female, 5.6%	Male, 94.5% Female, 5.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 15.7% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.0% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between principal mechanical engineer and principle engineer duties and responsibilities

Principal mechanical engineer example responsibilities.

Used SolidWorks to design implantable leads, anchors, introductory devices and other accessories.
Manage and drive continuous improvement programs (CIP) of RF plasma ion immersion implanting equipment for the semiconductor industry.
Provide mechanical design and sustaining engineering expertise to troubleshoot manufacturing defect trends and achieve a more robust and producible product.
Used Matlab to compare results and gather data.
Perform stress analysis and strength calculations using FEA and 1st principals.
Used actual measurements to validate FEA model of complete fuel cell system.

Principle engineer example responsibilities.

Lead cross-functional development initiatives compliant with FDA 21 CFR 820.
Code the Linux socket base GigE protocol to manage and transfer streams of video data.
Manage Terraform and refactore from monolithic to application specific components.
Set up and configure PHP Java bridge to enable invoking Java services from a PHP script.
Design and develop low-level FC device driver as well as the Linux kernel interface layer for the product.
Have a detail-orient with a track record of delivering infrastructure enhancements on time and with minimal impacts to production.

Principal mechanical engineer vs principle engineer skills

Common principal mechanical engineer skills

Mechanical Engineering, 13%
CAD, 9%
Mechanical Design, 6%
Creo, 5%
DOD, 5%
Solidworks, 5%

Common principle engineer skills

Architecture, 10%
Java, 9%
R, 5%
API, 4%
System Design, 4%
Product Development, 4%

Principal Mechanical Engineer vs. similar jobs

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Principal Mechanical Engineer
Principal Mechanical Engineer vs Principle Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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