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The differences between senior lead systems 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 lead systems engineer and a lead systems engineer. Additionally, a lead systems engineer has an average salary of $119,705, which is higher than the $114,766 average annual salary of a senior lead systems engineer.
The top three skills for a senior lead systems engineer include java, systems engineering and architecture. The most important skills for a lead systems engineer are systems engineering, architecture, and infrastructure.
| Senior Lead Systems Engineer | Lead Systems Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $114,766 | $119,705 |
| Hourly rate | $55.18 | $57.55 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 251,239 | 186,392 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A senior lead systems engineer specializes in designing and developing systems for different industries. Besides engineering systems, they lead the efforts put into completing various projects and programs. Their duties usually include spearheading the research activities, establishing goals and guidelines, setting timelines, selecting resources, delegating responsibilities, and monitoring operations from planning to production, addressing issues and concerns to solve them promptly and efficiently. Additionally, as a senior lead systems engineer, they must lead and empower teams while implementing safety policies and industry standards.
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 lead systems engineers and lead systems engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Lead Systems Engineer | Lead Systems Engineer | |
| Average salary | $114,766 | $119,705 |
| Salary range | Between $86,000 And $151,000 | Between $90,000 And $158,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a senior lead systems engineer and a lead systems engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Lead Systems Engineer | Lead Systems Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between senior lead systems engineers' and lead systems engineers' demographics:
| Senior Lead Systems Engineer | Lead Systems Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8% | Male, 88.1% Female, 11.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 14.1% White, 60.8% 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% |