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Senior instrumentation engineer vs system design engineer

The differences between senior instrumentation engineers and system design 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 instrumentation engineer and a system design engineer. Additionally, a system design engineer has an average salary of $107,704, which is higher than the $91,301 average annual salary of a senior instrumentation engineer.

The top three skills for a senior instrumentation engineer include data acquisition, PLC and capital projects. The most important skills for a system design engineer are system design, architecture, and MATLAB.

Senior instrumentation engineer vs system design engineer overview

Senior Instrumentation EngineerSystem Design Engineer
Yearly salary$91,301$107,704
Hourly rate$43.89$51.78
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs26,206113,582
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age4545
Years of experience22

Senior instrumentation engineer vs system design engineer salary

Senior instrumentation engineers and system design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Instrumentation EngineerSystem Design Engineer
Average salary$91,301$107,704
Salary rangeBetween $72,000 And $115,000Between $77,000 And $149,000
Highest paying CityRichmond, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateAlaskaCalifornia
Best paying companyAppleMeta
Best paying industryManufacturingAutomotive

Differences between senior instrumentation engineer and system design engineer education

There are a few differences between a senior instrumentation engineer and a system design engineer in terms of educational background:

Senior Instrumentation EngineerSystem Design Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeMichigan Technological UniversityMichigan Technological University

Senior instrumentation engineer vs system design engineer demographics

Here are the differences between senior instrumentation engineers' and system design engineers' demographics:

Senior Instrumentation EngineerSystem Design Engineer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 93.7% Female, 6.3%Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 16.6% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 15.4% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between senior instrumentation engineer and system design engineer duties and responsibilities

Senior instrumentation engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead support of PLC base control systems.
  • Manage and perform verification activities to insure device meet all safety and EMC requirements.
  • Project involve reprogramming PLC codes to capture abnormal and alarming situation causing excessive line downtime.
  • Perform system design/validation; ensure conformity to UL requirements.
  • Revise PCB design and manufacturing data to support water purification equipment.
  • Contact manufacturers of controllers, valves, and transmitters for latest development of components and mechanical equipment.
  • Show more

System design engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage and harmonize cooperation between architect, structure engineer, HVAC engineer, plumping engineer, and electrical engineer.
  • Lead the PCB design effort including component layout/placement, handling of critical nets, and test issues including PCB scan.
  • Apply technical knowledge in electromagnetic theory and microwave technology to plan and manage projects concern with ground-base radar systems.
  • Coordinate with senior electrical engineers and achieve hands-on experience on coal fire plant power generation and power transformers, circuit breakers.
  • Design system level test hardware for the IC designers from QFN packages to highly dense FPGA.
  • Assist in the electrical design and generate drawings utilizing AutoCAD.
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Senior instrumentation engineer vs system design engineer skills

Common senior instrumentation engineer skills
  • Data Acquisition, 9%
  • PLC, 8%
  • Capital Projects, 6%
  • CAD, 5%
  • Technical Support, 5%
  • Engineering Design, 5%
Common system design engineer skills
  • System Design, 11%
  • Architecture, 8%
  • MATLAB, 7%
  • C++, 5%
  • CAD, 5%
  • Project Management, 3%

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