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The differences between senior development engineers and lead 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 senior development engineer and a lead engineer. Additionally, a senior development engineer has an average salary of $113,763, which is higher than the $84,927 average annual salary of a lead engineer.
The top three skills for a senior development engineer include java, python and C++. The most important skills for a lead engineer are java, python, and architecture.
| Senior Development Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $113,763 | $84,927 |
| Hourly rate | $54.69 | $40.83 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 295,281 | 301,777 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A senior development engineer is responsible for designing and developing products and systems according to the needs of an organization. They typically conduct extensive research and analysis, create plans with designers and other engineers, build prototypes and test structures, troubleshoot problems, and create strategies to optimize operations. Moreover, being the senior development engineer, they must lead and serve as a role model to junior engineers in reaching goals, all while enforcing and promoting the company's policies and regulations.
A lead engineer's duties vary on their line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities will revolve around overseeing the progress of operations and performance of the workforce, ensuring that everything is running smoothly. They are also responsible for addressing issues and concerns, assessing risks, monitoring the budget, coordinating with clients and architects, and even training workers. Furthermore, as a lead engineer, it is crucial to conduct regular inspections to ensure the quality of work and maintain a safe environment for all workers.
Senior development engineers and lead engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Development Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average salary | $113,763 | $84,927 |
| Salary range | Between $87,000 And $148,000 | Between $60,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Netflix | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a senior development engineer and a lead engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Development Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior development engineers' and lead engineers' demographics:
| Senior Development Engineer | Lead Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.0% Female, 8.0% | Male, 90.8% Female, 9.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |