Post job

Senior lead project engineer vs design engineer

The differences between senior lead project engineers and design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior lead project engineer, becoming a design engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior lead project engineer has an average salary of $102,402, which is higher than the $77,134 average annual salary of a design engineer.

The top three skills for a senior lead project engineer include risk management, R and product development. The most important skills for a design engineer are C++, UL, and project management.

Senior lead project engineer vs design engineer overview

Senior Lead Project EngineerDesign Engineer
Yearly salary$102,402$77,134
Hourly rate$49.23$37.08
Growth rate10%2%
Number of jobs128,828138,173
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4241
Years of experience46

Senior lead project engineer vs design engineer salary

Senior lead project engineers and design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Lead Project EngineerDesign Engineer
Average salary$102,402$77,134
Salary rangeBetween $78,000 And $133,000Between $57,000 And $102,000
Highest paying CityBellevue, WASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyASML HoldingMeta
Best paying industryFinanceTechnology

Differences between senior lead project engineer and design engineer education

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

Senior Lead Project EngineerDesign Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorMechanical EngineeringMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityMichigan Technological University

Senior lead project engineer vs design engineer demographics

Here are the differences between senior lead project engineers' and design engineers' demographics:

Senior Lead Project EngineerDesign Engineer
Average age4241
Gender ratioMale, 86.3% Female, 13.7%Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.3% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage4%5%

Differences between senior lead project engineer and design engineer duties and responsibilities

Senior lead project engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage BOM to support staff and AS400 applications.
  • Manage the manufacturing of defense and aerospace electro-mechanical print circuit boards from prototype to production level.
  • Work with the enterprise architecture team to assess and resolve issues relating to enterprise wide deployment and QA involvement.
  • Design and develop prototype and production line tooling using Solidworks and AutoCad.
  • Develop detailed construction drawing sets for solar PV projects using AutoCAD, including mechanical equipment, electrical and structural installation.
  • Conduct geotechnical and environmental subsurface investigations.

Design engineer example responsibilities.

  • Utilize CREO surfacing to achieve stylize toilets and components.
  • Lead innovative cost reduction activities for MBD which lead to industry wide changes.
  • Develop software in MATLAB & LabVIEW to post-process data, analyze images, and automate test modules.
  • Participate in new product design reviews, lead DFM sessions with suppliers, and develop part specifications.
  • Validate specifications that achieve function requirements and Honda standards using FTA, FMEA, simulation, design logic & team collaboration.
  • Develop tools using Perl script to automate integration/verification process.
  • Show more

Senior lead project engineer vs design engineer skills

Common senior lead project engineer skills
  • Risk Management, 17%
  • R, 13%
  • Product Development, 11%
  • Technical Issues, 9%
  • QA, 5%
  • HVAC, 4%
Common design engineer skills
  • C++, 4%
  • UL, 4%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Work Ethic, 4%
  • Engineering Design, 4%
  • RF, 3%

Browse architecture and engineering jobs