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The differences between principal project engineers and project lead engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a principal project engineer and a project lead engineer. Additionally, a principal project engineer has an average salary of $122,090, which is higher than the $106,946 average annual salary of a project lead engineer.
The top three skills for a principal project engineer include project management, program management and DOD. The most important skills for a project lead engineer are project management, renewable energy, and project execution.
| Principal Project Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $122,090 | $106,946 |
| Hourly rate | $58.70 | $51.42 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 95,718 | 98,018 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
Project lead engineers are engineering professionals who are responsible for leading other professionals in completing a particular project. These engineers must develop a project management framework to be implemented throughout the organization based on the inputs from internal stakeholders and team members. They are required to train junior team members so that they can provide proper technical support functions. Project lead engineers must also prepare and review cost estimates for a variety of projects during bidding, construction, and post-construction phases.
Principal project engineers and project lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Project Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $122,090 | $106,946 |
| Salary range | Between $74,000 And $200,000 | Between $78,000 And $146,000 |
| Highest paying City | Houston, TX | Cupertino, CA |
| Highest paying state | Texas | California |
| Best paying company | Alphanumeric | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a principal project engineer and a project lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Principal Project Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between principal project engineers' and project lead engineers' demographics:
| Principal Project Engineer | Project Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.7% Female, 11.3% | Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2% |
| 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, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 15.2% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |