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The differences between principal project engineers and design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a principal project engineer, becoming a design engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a principal project engineer has an average salary of $122,090, which is higher than the $77,134 average annual salary of a design engineer.
The top three skills for a principal project engineer include project management, program management and DOD. The most important skills for a design engineer are C++, UL, and project management.
| Principal Project Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $122,090 | $77,134 |
| Hourly rate | $58.70 | $37.08 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 95,718 | 138,173 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A principal project engineer spearheads and oversees engineering projects, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. It is their duty to set guidelines and objectives, provide technical and engineering support to various teams, gather and analyze data, identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing procedures, implement solutions against problem areas, and conducting inspections to ensure that all processes adhere to the company's quality standards and safety regulations, including the state and industry laws. Moreover, as a principal project engineer, it is essential to monitor the progress of all operations, training junior engineers when necessary.
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.
Principal project engineers and design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Project Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $122,090 | $77,134 |
| Salary range | Between $74,000 And $200,000 | Between $57,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | Houston, TX | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Texas | California |
| Best paying company | Alphanumeric | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a principal project engineer and a design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Principal Project Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between principal project engineers' and design engineers' demographics:
| Principal Project Engineer | Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.7% Female, 11.3% | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.5% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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 | 4% | 5% |