Production operator lead vs production technician

The differences between production operators lead and production technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a production operator lead and a production technician. Additionally, a production operator lead has an average salary of $46,527, which is higher than the $37,550 average annual salary of a production technician.

The top three skills for a production operator lead include quality checks, production operations and GMP. The most important skills for a production technician are hand tools, preventative maintenance, and quality checks.

Production operator lead vs production technician overview

	Production Operator Lead	Production Technician
Yearly salary	$46,527	$37,550
Hourly rate	$22.37	$18.05
Growth rate	-	3%
Number of jobs	111,952	135,266
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Average age	46	45
Years of experience	2	2

Production operator lead vs production technician salary

Production operators lead and production technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Production Operator Lead	Production Technician
Average salary	$46,527	$37,550
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $62,000	Between $28,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	-	Frederick, MD
Highest paying state	-	Maryland
Best paying company	-	Cornerstone Research
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between production operator lead and production technician education

There are a few differences between a production operator lead and a production technician in terms of educational background:

	Production Operator Lead	Production Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Production operator lead vs production technician demographics

Here are the differences between production operators lead' and production technicians' demographics:

	Production Operator Lead	Production Technician
Average age	46	45
Gender ratio	Male, 74.3% Female, 25.7%	Male, 71.4% Female, 28.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 4.7% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between production operator lead and production technician duties and responsibilities

Production operator lead example responsibilities.

Manage employee's schedules, time off requests, vacation and payroll with the KRONOS time management software.
Assist towards a successful FDA audit.
Perform batch record and GMP documentation entries.
Follow company policies and guidelines corresponding to FDA ,
Create work instruction and visual aids for manufacturing in compliance with ISO standards.
Give accurate information to answer questions for co-workers, troubleshoot problems and concerns, and resolve complaints.

Production technician example responsibilities.

Relay to the oncoming shift everything accomplish and the projected workload through use of PowerPoint and excel.
Implement and develop safety standards and operations exceeding those require by OSHA.
Can demonstrate good manual dexterity.
Analyze QC test samples using multisizer machine.
Implement and oversee plant's safety program including LOTO program.
Test and repair rf system compponents of cellular test set.

Production operator lead vs production technician skills

Common production operator lead skills

Quality Checks, 11%
Production Operations, 9%
GMP, 9%
Safety Standards, 7%
Production Lines, 6%
Production Floor, 6%

Common production technician skills

Hand Tools, 7%
Preventative Maintenance, 6%
Quality Checks, 5%
Production Equipment, 5%
Basic Math, 5%
Safety Procedures, 5%

Production Operator Lead vs. similar jobs

Production Operator Lead related careers

Production Operator Lead related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Production and Manufacturing Industry
Production Operator Lead
Production Operator Lead vs Production Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse production and manufacturing jobs