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The differences between senior lead systems engineers and senior principal engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a senior lead systems engineer, becoming a senior principal engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior principal engineer has an average salary of $130,642, 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 senior principal engineer are python, architecture, and java.
| Senior Lead Systems Engineer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $114,766 | $130,642 |
| Hourly rate | $55.18 | $62.81 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 251,239 | 272,459 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
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 senior principal engineer is responsible for leading engineering tasks within an organization and reports project updates to senior management. Senior principal engineers develop strategic methods and principles to improve the technical stability and efficiency of the company's systems, creating business proposals according to clients' specifications, and negotiating contracts with suppliers and other service providers. They also train new staff and identify innovations and business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources for the company.
Senior lead systems engineers and senior principal engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Lead Systems Engineer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Average salary | $114,766 | $130,642 |
| Salary range | Between $86,000 And $151,000 | Between $93,000 And $182,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Professional |
There are a few differences between a senior lead systems engineer and a senior principal engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Lead Systems Engineer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between senior lead systems engineers' and senior principal engineers' demographics:
| Senior Lead Systems Engineer | Senior Principal Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8% | Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8% |
| 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.2% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 5% |