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The differences between senior hardware engineers and lead hardware 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 hardware engineer and a lead hardware engineer. Additionally, a lead hardware engineer has an average salary of $121,252, which is higher than the $116,383 average annual salary of a senior hardware engineer.
The top three skills for a senior hardware engineer include C++, RF and PCB. The most important skills for a lead hardware engineer are RF, system design, and FPGA.
| Senior Hardware Engineer | Lead Hardware Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $116,383 | $121,252 |
| Hourly rate | $55.95 | $58.29 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 55,261 | 39,713 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A Senior Hardware Engineer is responsible for designing computer hardware. They define and coordinate corrective action changes, as well as provide technical support to team members.
A lead hardware engineer partners with the mechanical engineering team and product team to design and define brand new hardware products. They lead the development of connectors, firmware protocols, cards, electric chargers, controllers, and chips. Besides supervising electrical and hardware engineers, lead hardware engineers also work hand-in-hand with business analysts, software engineers, and project managers. Other duties performed by lead hardware engineers include component sourcing and performing technical specification and technical requirements analysis. Also, they provide solutions for complicated material handling and paper challenges.
Senior hardware engineers and lead hardware engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Hardware Engineer | Lead Hardware Engineer | |
| Average salary | $116,383 | $121,252 |
| Salary range | Between $89,000 And $151,000 | Between $89,000 And $163,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Netflix | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a senior hardware engineer and a lead hardware engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Hardware Engineer | Lead Hardware Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Northeastern University |
Here are the differences between senior hardware engineers' and lead hardware engineers' demographics:
| Senior Hardware Engineer | Lead Hardware Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 93.5% Female, 6.5% | Male, 92.8% Female, 7.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 29.9% White, 50.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 29.5% White, 49.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |