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The differences between senior data center engineers and lead systems engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a senior data center engineer and a lead systems engineer. Additionally, a lead systems engineer has an average salary of $119,705, which is higher than the $103,215 average annual salary of a senior data center engineer.
The top three skills for a senior data center engineer include windows, vmware esxi and nexus. The most important skills for a lead systems engineer are systems engineering, architecture, and infrastructure.
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Lead Systems Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $103,215 | $119,705 |
| Hourly rate | $49.62 | $57.55 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 139,255 | 186,392 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A senior data center engineer specializes in designing and developing systems and networks to optimize data center operations. It is their responsibility to set guidelines and objectives, identify and understand the needs of facilities, conduct research and analyses, develop prototypes and test structures, troubleshoot problems, perform installations and repairs, and conduct regular maintenance checks on systems. Moreover, a senior data center engineer oversees projects and leads junior engineers to reach goals, all while implementing the company's data security policies and regulations.
A lead systems engineer is responsible for maintaining the safety and security of the systems infrastructure and improving the stability of the operating systems to support business operations. Lead systems engineers install and upgrade software applications and ensure that the technical strategies meet the quality standards and business requirements. They also enhance the performance of the existing systems, configuring features for optimization. A lead systems engineer must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially in supporting the end-users with technical failures and identifying accurate resolutions.
Senior data center engineers and lead systems engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Lead Systems Engineer | |
| Average salary | $103,215 | $119,705 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $140,000 | Between $90,000 And $158,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Idaho | California |
| Best paying company | CDW | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a senior data center engineer and a lead systems engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Lead Systems Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between senior data center engineers' and lead systems engineers' demographics:
| Senior Data Center Engineer | Lead Systems Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 97.9% Female, 2.1% | Male, 88.1% Female, 11.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 11.0% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 12.5% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |